Origin v NRL opens up debate

EACH weekend The Chronicle sport team looks at pressing issues on the Saturday Soapbox.

Q: With State of Origin over for another year, does the scheduling of the inter-state series need to be looked at as not to detract from the NRL competition?

Ben Drewe: THERE no doubt needs to be something done to address the way Origin takes over the NRL mid-season.

State of Origin is no doubt the pinnacle of rugby league in Australia. There is nothing wrong with that being the case.

But as it runs during the middle of the NRL season, it certainly does take away from the club competition.

It not only diverts the focus of rugby league supporters, but takes away the best players in the game from their clubs and the week-by-week competition.

The problem is there doesn’t seem to be an obvious solution.

The idea of having Origin played on stand-alone weekends, possibly three in a row, has been floated as solution.

I don’t know if that will work though on a couple of fronts.

The way Origin is played now, it is incredibly demanding and brutal.

Will players be able to back up week after week for three Origins in a row?

Given the increased focus on player welfare and the already lengthy season, it is a massive ask to place on the game’s elite talents.

That could change the way Origin is played as the stars competing may need to play each game in a way to get through all three, or more durable players might need to be selected.

The other issue with that is the NRL would then halt for three weeks.

Super Rugby has a mid-season break for international matches and it spoils the momentum of the club competition.

The brutality and physical nature of Origin these days necessitates the need for a new schedule, but the best format is a big question that needs to be investigated to find an answer.

Glen McCullough: The State of Origin series to me seemed to drag on for ages this season.

I can’t recall the format from recent years, but three weeks between matches seems too long.

I thought the series was running out of steam leading up to this week’s deciding match and I think the media had just about run out of ammunition needed to keep it in the headlines.

So I would definitely like to seen the series compacted, say two weeks between games.

And for good measure, let’s make game two a Sunday afternoon match. How good would that be? But I’m sure it isn’t that simple and whatever ideas are thrown up, there will be plenty of whingers and knockers not happy.

For a start, that would leave a rugby league-free Friday night and Saturday on our television screens.

I could live with that, but there are plenty that couldn’t.

At the end of the day it will be about revenue, and that’s fair enough.

It is hard-to-come by sponsors and money that drives professional sport.

What impact Origin has on the NRL competition and its clubs opens up a strong debate.

We all want the best of both worlds.

We don’t want to see either the premiership or Origin weakened by the other so perhaps it’s best to leave it as it is.

After all, it ain’t broken.