What’s the Buzz: NRL clubs demand radical State of Origin makeover
Four of the game’s biggest names have been injured during the State of Origin period, prompting fed-up NRL club bosses to call for a radical change to the game’s biggest rivalry.
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Supercoach Wayne Bennett and some of the heaviest hitters in rugby league have called on the NRL to scrap State of Origin in its current mid-season format to protect player welfare and the integrity of the competition.
There is a push for the premiership to be suspended for three weekends to play Origin on consecutive Wednesday nights – or shifted to after the grand final in October
The debate is raging as three of the biggest superstars in the game – Tom Trbojevic, Nathan Cleary and Latrell Mitchell – are all sidelined for extended periods with Origin-related injuries.
Bennett wants the series to be condensed into three consecutive Wednesday nights rather than the current schedule from round 13 to round 20 (May to July) which destroys the comp for eight weeks.
Rabbitohs boss Blake Solly says the current format is “unsustainable” and in need of an urgent review. “We have pleaded with the NRL for a better schedule for at least five years,” he said.
His Penrith Panthers counterpart Brian Fletcher said: “Players are human beings, not robots. It’s got to be looked at.”
We checked in with leading administrators from around the NRL, all of whom agreed it was an issue the NRL needs to urgently address.
BLAKE SOLLY
South Sydney’s Solly favours Origin being played over consecutive weeks in June.
“There is an urgent need for a review,” he says, “The current set-up is unsustainable.
“The NRL is now the best rugby league or union competition by light years. Instead of building on this success, we disrupt the competition for eight weeks.
“All clubs understand and accept that Origin has to take place during the season. We understand it is good for the whole of the game.
“We subsidise the series when our best players are in camp. But we have pleaded with the NRL for a better schedule for at least five years. Instead it has got worse.
“The NRL Club competition generates 90% of the NRL’s revenues. Yet the focus for almost a third of the season is diverted away from the competition.”
NICK POLITIS
“We’ve been talking about this for 30 years,” said Sydney Roosters supremo Politis.
“Maybe now, with the administration we have, it’s something they should look at because it has become such an enormous burden on the clubs.
“Peter V’landys has always had club-friendly views on important issues like this.”
WAYNE BENNETT
The Dolphins’ supercoach — like Solly — wants Origin condensed into three weeks.
“As a club coach I’ve been through every bit of torture and torment with Origin,” Bennett said. “It’s cost me grand finals.
“But we can’t walk away from Origin — it’s the biggest showpiece in the game outside of the grand final.
“It’s a great concept and it must always be here as part of our season.”
Bennett returned to the Origin arena and coached Queensland for the 2020 series over three straight weeks.
“I thought the format was great,” he said.
“We stuck together for three weeks and never broke camp. It’s the way to go.”
He says injuries from player overload in the current schedule is ripping off fans.
“If I’m paying up to $400 for a ticket, I want to watch the best players,” he said.
“Look at the players we’ve lost around Origin. Nathan Cleary, Jai Arrow, Latrell, Tom Trbojevic, Tom Gilbert. When they’re tired is when they’re vulnerable.
“The game’s too hard to play Origin and club footy. We should be asking them to do both.
“We’re already playing club footy without Origin players.
“You pick 20-man squads then the series is done and dusted in three weeks and we all move on.”
BRIAN FLETCHER
The Panthers boss wants to move the series to the end of the season like during Covid.
“Look at the strain on the players with wear and tear,” he said. “They are human beings, not robots.
“Four days after the grand final we sent 20 players on a plane to England for the World Cup. They came back, did a short pre-season, played in the World club challenge final, started the season and then play Origin.
“We’re not complaining because we have six in Origin. If you don’t have an Origin player “you can’t win the comp.
But we’ve got to look after them (the players). It takes a huge toll on the players, mentally and physically.”
FRANK PONISSI
Melbourne’s Ponissi suggests international footy could be played on weekends mid-year with Origin on three consecutive Wednesday nights.
“It’s hard because Origin is such a massive part of our game,” he said, “but our domestic competition is being devalued.
“Maybe we keep it mid-season but stop the competition for three weeks and play some international football on the weekends with the likes of New Zealand, Tonga, Samoa, Fiji, PNG and England.
“Plus we’ve got the women’s game. And games like the junior Kangaroos.”
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Origin is no longer the money spinner it once was. Adelaide didn’t sell out. There could be 30,000 empty seats in Sydney.
The 2020 Origin series was played over three consecutive Wednesday nights in November because of Covid and the TV ratings were largely unaffected.
The third game in 2020 actually rated higher than the third games in 2018 and 2021.
Originally published as What’s the Buzz: NRL clubs demand radical State of Origin makeover
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