Monday Buzz: Proof State of Origin is killing the NRL season

THIS is the final undeniable proof that State of Origin, for all its glory, is killing club rugby league for nine weeks of the season, writes PHIL ROTHFIELD.

EVERY Monday morning NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg walks into his office at Moore Park headquarters and gets a copy of the weekend TV ratings.

Normally it shows NRL games have won clearly and blown all other sports out of the park. Not this Monday morning.

Figures we’ve obtained for the weekend games show rugby league not only got beaten on Friday night on Fox Sports but absolutely slaughtered by the AFL.

The Rabbitohs’ loss to the Eels rated poorly compared to the AFL. Picture: Mark Evans

And on Saturday night the unheard of happened — the NRL was knocked off by rugby union. Boring, boring rugby union. What a bloody embarrassment.

This is the final undeniable proof that State of Origin, for all its glory, is killing club rugby league for nine weeks of the season.

On Friday night two of the NRL’s most popular and best supported clubs, the Rabbitohs and the Eels, played in what is normally one of the highest rating games of the season.

Greg Inglis fends off Adam Reynolds during State of Origin I. Picture: Mark Evans

It had virtually no media build-up because of Origin. It had no Greg Inglis, no Adam Reynolds and no Michael Jennings. Over on the other Fox Sports channel, Hawthorn were playing a top-of-the-ladder contest against North Melbourne. It didn’t just beat the NRL nationally — it DOUBLED its audience.

It was in fact the equal biggest AFL ratings figure ever for a club game on Fox Sports, attracting as many viewers as the annual Essendon-Collingwood Anzac Day blockbuster.

Obviously casual sports fans who normally watch rugby league switched over.

FOX SPORTS RATINGS

Friday night

• AFL: 398,000 Hawthorn v North Melbourne
• NRL: 198,000 Rabbitohs v Eels

Saturday night

• Rugby: 318,000 Wallabies v England
• NRL: 240,000 Dragons v Storm

On Saturday night it was a similar story. The Dragons hosted Melbourne in Wollongong. No Cameron Smith, no Cooper Cronk, no Tyson Frizell because of Origin.

No Billy Slater, no Will Chambers, no Josh Dugan and no Cameron Munster because of injuries. It was almost like a NSW Cup game. Most fans wouldn’t have heard of half the players.

On the other channel the Wallabies were trying to save their Test series against the English.

Now rugby union, even Bledisloe Cup games, rarely beats rugby league, yet on Saturday night it attracted a 32 per cent bigger audience than the Dragons against the Storm, who played in front of just 7568 fans.

Gareth Widdop in action for the Dragons against the Storm. Picture: Mark Evans

Rugby league supporters are not mugs. They will not pay for tickets to watch footy without the stars.

They will not watch on TV if the elite players are not playing.

There is surely a message for the NRL from these weekend TV ratings.

That while it’s great to boast every year about State of Origin attracting three of the five biggest audiences on Australian television, it is also ruining the actual competition for nine weeks.

Finding a solution is not easy. At least in 2018 when the NRL takes back control of its own schedule, one State of Origin game will be played on a Sunday evening. That in itself is not enough.

The ratings have shown the rubbish dished up over the weekend is just not acceptable.