State of Origin as International

[deluded pom?]

Only the Aussies do that.

We would never see our Ref look after a Test we played in, it would smack of bias especially if they were the Ref in the deciding game of a series.

Always a Neutral Ref is what we want, its the only fair way.

I take it you never received a sense of humour for Christmas then?

[deluded pom?]

I don't think the states should play internationals, but I do think the popularity of SOO could be used to boost the profile of the international game.

As part of the new TV deal, from 2018, SOO will have one standalone, NRL free weekend, with the Pacific Nations already pencilled in to play each other to fill Aussie airtime outside the SOO test. NRL NZ and England players would also be free.

SOO have been considering on-the road games to interntionalising their brand, with Wembley mooted.

How about a Wembley SOO test Saturday, which would sell out due to expats, as well as RL fans traveling down from the north, with England playing NZ at the Olympic stadium the following day. Smaller venue as less expats will attend, but enough RL fans still in London to sell out what is still an iconic and high-profile venue.

What a weekend that would be. In June so not clash with football or RU seasons. Would really sell our sport a big time

Would 90,000 turn out for a SoO match at Wembley? Not all Aussies in London come from NSW or QL. As most northern fans would be in London for the proposed England v NZ game I doubt  enough would go to both matches to make it a sell out.

[JoneslessBishop]

I think that is a very negative perception deluded. c40k regularly travel to watch England games in London. Most would jump at the chance to see SOO, as would many Aussies who are living in London would wouldn't normally call themselves RL fans. Many Union fans would also jump at the chance to watch SOO (I recall Jeremy Guscott calling it the most intense level of rugby on the plant in his high profile BBC RU blog).

70-80k RL fans travel south for the Challenge Cup every year. The majority of them wouldn't ant to watch SOO?

If you can't see the value of this sort of festival of top level RL over a sunny weekend in June, I suspect you have fallen out of love with our great sport.

[Tex Evans Thigh]

Having SoO in England would no doubt appeal, whether to the tune of 90k I'm not sure. The problem is with the CCF in August, would many travel down for another expensive weekend in London only a couple of months before? It may dilute both events. You're then relying on casual fans and ozzies to turn up. You would probably be better in a smaller venue to gauge appetite - Olympic Stadium maybe. Origin could attract new fans though potentially if marketed right.

 

One thing we certainly shouldn't do is reduce England v New Zealand to a sideshow or warm-up for Origin. I couldn't think of a worse message for international RL in England. Origin can be the build up event for a test match if they want, or better still have them as separate games in different parts of the country.

[deluded pom?]

I think that is a very negative perception deluded. c40k regularly travel to watch England games in London. 

We got 44,000 for the OP Test. One or two were from the south I believe. SoO isn't as fantastic as you seem to think it is. Gone are the days when you would see 30 of the world's best in their position on display. It might be 15 to 20 now if you were lucky.

[gstarck]

What exactly does State of Origin have to do with London or England or any place outside of Australia for that matter? It's a contest between 2 Aussie states. It should stay in Australia. It's ludicrous to suggest that it should be played in London.

This is rl's problem. Always looking for a quick fix when it comes to growth instead of doing the hard yards first. When ever someone suggests that SOO be played elsewhere to promote growth, it's a clear sign that they've run out of ideas.

[JoneslessBishop]

What does the NFL have to do with London gstarck. They play 5-6 games year here. We operate in a global sports market, something that the Aussies are very much warming up to, and they have the finances and acumen to make it work.

Tex - if I was suggesting a double header at Wembley, Eng v NZ could be considered a 'warm up'. I'm not. A deferent day, and a different stadium, with players being flown in from the other side of the world is a long way from being a side show

[Bob8]

National borders are less important than they used to be.  Also, St Helens vs Hull is a big fixture for us, yet it is hard to express how uninteresting that would be for the vast majority of people in London.  Bizarrely, NSW vs Queensland would be appealing to a large and pretty much separate audience to a Challenge Cup final of St Helens vs Hull.

 

The contrast between the interest in the NFL games over here and the lack of interest in the domestic sport is telling.  To get back to rugby league, the average age attending the Challenge Cup final seems to go up almost ten years per decade.  It is a shame, as it is a great occasion, but I was one of the young people in the crowd ten years ago and I still am now.  A NSW vs Queensland clash would be a new thing, carry a glamour that the Challenge Cup does not and bring in new people.

[Allora]

I take it you never received a sense of humour for Christmas then?

Just over all the cheating Refs comments, it discredits our game.

The Kiwis probably thought we got the rub of the green with the Refs last year but I don't recall their fans banging on about it non stop.

[Bob8]

Just over all the cheating Refs comments, it discredits our game.

The Kiwis probably thought we got the rub of the green with the Refs last year but I don't recall their fans banging on about it non stop.

The only sports games I have ever watched where I firmly believed the officiating was corrupt was the UEFA Cup Final of Porto vs Celtic and a couple of key deciding England vs Australia games.  There were plenty in New Zealand who watched the game who seemed to think the same thing.  I believe it was done in what the ARL felt to be in the best interest of the game.

[Allora]

The only sports games I have ever watched where I firmly believed the officiating was corrupt was the UEFA Cup Final of Porto vs Celtic and a couple of key deciding England vs Australia games.  There were plenty in New Zealand who watched the game who seemed to think the same thing.  I believe it was done in what the ARL felt to be in the best interest of the game.

 

 

I would have thought England beating Australia would be in the best interests of the game moving forward

They do not appear to have the same issues of having "their" Refs let New Zealand beat them.

Do the ARL just hate England?

[Farmduck]

Just over all the cheating Refs comments, it discredits our game.

The Kiwis probably thought we got the rub of the green with the Refs last year but I don't recall their fans banging on about it non stop.

 

I watch about 200 games of RL every year and I reckon I see maybe 4-5 calls a year that I consider blatantly wrong. I can only remember about 3 from the last 5 years and one was in my team's favour. I only remember these because they were extreme interpretations of rules and contrary to what we see week in, week out.

 

I haven't seen a ref cheat in a game since Barry Gomersall retired.

[Phil]

I watch about 200 games of RL every year and I reckon I see maybe 4-5 calls a year that I consider blatantly wrong. I can only remember about 3 from the last 5 years and one was in my team's favour. I only remember these because they were extreme interpretations of rules and contrary to what we see week in, week out.

I haven't seen a ref cheat in a game since Barry Gomersall retired.

Tony Archer?

[Barnaby Reddin]

How about a Wembley SOO test Saturday, which would sell out due to expats, as well as RL fans traveling down from the north

Interesting..... We got 67k for Australia, new Zealand, Fiji and england in 2013....and you reckon we'd get a full house for 2 Aussie states on their own?

Club/state footie is of little interest to expats in london......the #1 shirt worn by expat Aussies is gold and its not the roos

Shirt.....

[ParraEelsNRL]

Yeah it is, a socceroos shirt, don't kid yourself about union as, they do not sell anywhere near what you will spout, they may have once when they held a wc but that isn't every year, my club would kill the wallabies in jumper sales each year without fail, that's just one club side.

 

The Cricket side also plays in Gold, so you going to relegate them too?

 

The Kangaroos brand doesn't even try Gutters and it's still smashes the wallabies in every area out here in Aus maybe outside jumper sales because for some reason they don't put them on sale much but when they do, they are snapped up in no time. Probably the most iconic international jumper in Aus because it hardly ever changes in design, a few changes here and there over the years but not like any of the other national jumpers that get flogged off each year to try and help certain sports make a few bucks somehow.

 

And as for jumpers and London, how many actual Aussie rugby league jumpers do you see compared to any other rugby union jumper from Australia outside a Wallabies one?

 

Answer that please without some stupid excuse.

[gstarck]

Yeah it is, a socceroos shirt, don't kid yourself about union as, they do not sell anywhere near what you will spout, they may have once when they held a wc but that isn't every year, my club would kill the wallabies in jumper sales each year without fail, that's just one club side.

The Cricket side also plays in Gold, so you going to relegate them too?

The Kangaroos brand doesn't even try Gutters and it's still smashes the wallabies in every area out here in Aus maybe outside jumper sales because for some reason they don't put them on sale much but when they do, they are snapped up in no time. Probably the most iconic international jumper in Aus because it hardly ever changes in design, a few changes here and there over the years but not like any of the other national jumpers that get flogged off each year to try and help certain sports make a few bucks somehow.

And as for jumpers and London, how many actual Aussie rugby league jumpers do you see compared to any other rugby union jumper from Australia outside a Wallabies one?

Answer that please without some stupid excuse.

Lol did he hit a nerve or something? Way to get defensive. You know what he said is true judging by your reaction. You're kidding yourself if you think that the Kangaroos sell more jerseys than the Wallabies. Heck they don't even play every year!

Most famous people who visit Australia whether they be celebrities or artists wear the gold jersey of an Australian national team. And I can tell you it's definitely not the Roos jersey. Yes it's the Wallabies jersey.

Even speaking to most Australians who travel overseas. Their go to jersey to show national pride is the Wallabies jersey. It's also the one that will make people aware that they're from Australia.

[Barnaby Reddin]

Yeah it is, a socceroos shirt, don't kid yourself about union as, they do not sell anywhere near what you will spout, they may have once when they held a wc but that isn't every year, my club would kill the wallabies in jumper sales each year without fail, that's just one club side.

 

The Cricket side also plays in Gold, so you going to relegate them too?

 

The Kangaroos brand doesn't even try Gutters and it's still smashes the wallabies in every area out here in Aus maybe outside jumper sales because for some reason they don't put them on sale much but when they do, they are snapped up in no time. Probably the most iconic international jumper in Aus because it hardly ever changes in design, a few changes here and there over the years but not like any of the other national jumpers that get flogged off each year to try and help certain sports make a few bucks somehow.

 

And as for jumpers and London, how many actual Aussie rugby league jumpers do you see compared to any other rugby union jumper from Australia outside a Wallabies one?

 

Answer that please without some stupid excuse.

I repeat....and this is from someone who employed a great number of Aussies on their OE.......club sport means nothing to the vast majority of traveling aussies and AFL shirts would be the most seen after national shirts. As for the wannabees......spout the same rhetoric as often as you want, they shift international tickets in vast numbers even though we are told they are at deaths door.......cricket is #1 in AU as it's your national sport, Soccer is now #2 due to the massive interest from your immigrant populus, but as an international sport with ticket and shirt sales as the benchmark, the wannabees are streets ahead of the roos.......389,000 watched the B&I Lions in 9 games in Aus in 2013......nearly 100k more than attended twice as many matches at 2008 RLWC.......remind me again how poorly supported International Union is to International league in aussie.

 

Your rabid defense is admirable if a little misplaced.....I'm just assuring you that SoO at Wembley would not see 90,000....even at a tenner a ticket.....let alone the massive drop in TV ratings back home for a breakfast KO.

[damp squib]

You're kidding yourself if you think that the Kangaroos sell more jerseys than the Wallabies.

He literally said the opposite to that.

[The Future is League]

Tony Archer?

Probably the worse and the most biased referee i ever see in watching International Rugby League for over 50 years

[Barnaby Reddin]

He literally said the opposite to that.

Surely there's more eels shirts in london than wannabees....because he did claim the eels sell more shirts than the wanabees.

[damp squib]

Surely there's more eels shirts in london than wannabees....because he did claim the eels sell more shirts than the wanabees.

Yeah but that's not what gstark pulled him up on. If you're going to make a snarky reply to someone you should probably make sure you're right.

[Shadow]

Yeah but that's not what gstark pulled him up on. If you're going to make a snarky reply to someone you should probably make sure you're right.

Are you new round here?

[JoneslessBishop]

Yes Barnaby, I do think that with the right marketing, SOO at Wembley could sell out. You are correct about the 67k RLWC semi final crowd, but it is a well know fact that international RL does not enthuse Aussies, due to too many years of lack of competition (and the prospect of thrashing Fiji in the SF was not going to change that), and whilst that is changing, it will take some time to shift Aussie consciousness back to internationals due to the phenomenal growth of SOO in that time.

But that is why SOO can be such a success, and those used to the RFLs more conservative approach to marketing would be surprised at the ambition and acumen of the Aussies. The NFL play games with bad air times in London, the Premier League play pre-season overseas, and London Irish are playing Saracens in NYC. RL shouldn't get caught behind the curve, and the Aussies are unlikely to allow us to.

It not my idea to have a SOO in London, just to combine it with an England NZ the following day now there is an NRL window to free up players. Thus with the novelty and glamour of Origin appealing to UK RL fans and Aussies alike, and thousands of England fans likely to travel down for the Kiwi test (especially if scheduled in a year when Engalnd will be down under in the autumn), the opputunities my to cross-sell the two games would to my mind make both very likely to sell-out. Whilst some Aussies attending SOO wont go to the England NZ game, Origin will be a big attraction to UK fans and I find it hard to believe that any traveling down won't want to see both, especially if combination tickets available.

[Dunbar]

Yeah but that's not what gstark pulled him up on. If you're going to make a snarky reply to someone you should probably make sure you're right.

 

Let's not fall into the trap of actually reading people's posts before we respond to them.  It's the thin end of the wedge, who knows where we would end up!

[John Drake]

Locking this. It's only going one way and it won't end well.