The Serve

Origin and AFL: Here’s the solution

Listening to stars like Jonathan Brown, Brad Johnson and Matthew Pavlich talk glowingly of the need for State Of Origin to return to Australian Rules should be enough evidence that - with the right format and the right incentives - the biggest stumbling block - the players - could be overcome and an elite event could return to its rightful stage.

The reason the concept fell apart was simple. The coaches of AFL teams didn’t want their stars risked, while the players weren’t passionate enough, so they were easily persuaded to pull out with dubious injuries.

Rugby League’s phenomenal success with origin is a continued embarrassment for the AFL, especially considering the very concept was invented by Australian Rules. Even more attention grabbing for the heavies at AFL House is the revenues the league series brings in. If there is something the AFL doesn’t have a problem with, it’s making money. But if was to ever work, there would need to be a format that can make origin a premier event again, as well as feasible for the clubs and players to accept.

The formatThere are four teams. Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia and The Allies.

Sorry, but The Allies have to go. This is State Of Origin, not an all-star game. The minute a conglomeration is put together, the passion is gone. Imagine if rugby league put together a third origin side, filled with the best of the rest, such as Sonny Bill Williams, Benji Marshall and Roy Asotasi. Be a hell of team. It would also dilute what made the very concept work. Origin is sport in its simplest and purest form. If that means superstars born outside the three big states, such as Nick Reiwoldt, don’t get a chance, tough.

So that leaves three. How do we get them all involved each year?

Simple. We can’t.

How about Victoria against South Australia one year, then Victoria v WA the next, rotated every two years?

Sure, Victoria would play every year, but let’s be honest, State Of Origin is Victoria. It’s about South Australia and Western Australia beating their brothers from the east. Look at the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup golf. America plays annually. Why? Because it works. Nobody complains that Europe doesn’t play the rest of the world.

So that means one game and one game only each year. Surely the clubs could adhere to that.

And do you think players from SA and WA would dare miss their opportunity, if their turn came once every two years, and at home once every four? Perhaps the prize for an origin match can be home ground advantage two years later. That’s a discussion for another time.

The timingThe split round would seem the obvious choice to manipulate, however the clubs and the players would have no part of anything that would take away their week off in the middle of the season, so that stays.

Brown’s suggestion on The Footy Show for a stand alone game at about round seven or round eight makes perfect sense. The players have their touch back, while at the same time haven’t been hit with fatigue. They should be at their peak. To get that extra week, the season would need to start earlier. Hardly a problem given first bounce isn’t until the last weekend of March.

The incentivesThis won’t work without every available player putting his hand up. If that means a hefty pay check for their services, so be it. The game cannot afford to botch Origin again. The game wouldn’t come under the auspices of the current television contract, meaning it could be sold as a separate entity, with Ten, Seven and even Nine trying to outbid each other. If each home and away game can net close to $850,000 through television, imagine the possibilities of a one off marquee match each season. An enormous money spinner. Add that to the significant gate, and the game could easily afford to pay its contestants, say, $40,000 each. Then the players would really have no excuse to turn up.

So there you have it. A State Of Origin concept that would surely make everyone happy. What do you think?