origin aftermath - because it deserves its own thread

[Ken Gargett]

it might not have been the greatest match ever but it might be the greatest performance ever. agree with daley on one thing - i did not see that coming.

a few thoughts.

just occasionally everything goes right and occasionally everything falls apart and we saw both last night. happens. what should never happen, especially in origin, is that a side runs up the white flag and gives up. that is what nsw did with about 20-15 to go. disgraceful. reflects incredibly poorly on daley and gallan. loved one comment - a side led by gallen could not beat time with a stick. good player, when not whinging or trying filthy little tricks, but no leader.

when gallen went off, apparently (i missed this on tv) the ref asked who was the nsw captain and both josh m and ennis said 'me'. wow! in an origin decider, there has been so little planning and communication that nsw did not have any idea who was to take over? anyone tells me mal can't coach, i might point to that.

i remember the 56 points nsw scored back in 2000. awful night but the difference was johns in the game of his life and a very strong nsw side against a poor qld one. but they did not give up. if i recall correctly, we got most of our 16 ppoints towards the end. nsw might have taken their foot off but the maroons kept trying. not to try in an origin is unimaginable. at least to a qlder.

clearly, short of taking a gun onto the field and shooting someone, there will never be a send-off. if merrin and tamou didn't deserve to go, i can't imagine what you need to do.

interesting that on a heap of sites, the whinging about why nsw lose is because inglis is a qlder. still? it is not going to change. he looked like a qlder last night. and this from the state who pick tamou (and what a dismal game he had) when all he'd done was fly over nsw and apparently bonk some woman from the state. and who have insisted that young keary must play for nsw even though he was born in qld, lived and played here till he was about 14, been a qld fan all his life and begged to be allowed to play for qld. nsw just don't get it. does anyone really think he'll run on with the pride and pasion that the qlders had last night?

finally, i thought gagai was pretty good - better than expected. when jennings made his break, gagai might not have caught him but kept level. if jennings is supposedly the fastest bloke in the nrl, love to see him race milford. when knights and broncs played recently, milford scored a 70 metre try where he ran away from gagai and later, when gagai made a break, he ran him down.

and while morgan was fine, imagine if milford had come on against a tiring, uninterested nsw. he would have torn them to shreds.

we will have some tough years in future but there is still life.

what a great team!

and ps - i've seen lots of posts elsewhere saying that giving hodges the last kick for goal was just a deliberate and unnecessary humiliation of nsw. i think they managed to do that to themselves. or it could have been a lovely way to send off a bloke who is one of the greats, played origin since 2002, been one of our best for years and who thoroughly deserved last night. as for the humiliating bit, that was just the cherry on top.

[Dimmers]

Queenslander!

[madbunny]

how good was the cricket last night

[khamy]

How good was the alignment between Jupiter/ Venus and the international space station last night.

[asmith]

and ps - i've seen lots of posts elsewhere saying that giving hodges the last kick for goal was just a deliberate and unnecessary humiliation of nsw. i think they managed to do that to themselves. or it could have been a lovely way to send off a bloke who is one of the greats, played origin since 2002, been one of our best for years and who thoroughly deserved last night. as for the humiliating bit, that was just the cherry on top.

I agree with every thing you said Ken, because of your beautiful turn of phrase, could you please describe for the forum how you saw Hodges first game for QLD? I am sure it is still clear in your mind.

[Ken Gargett]

I agree with every thing you said Ken, because of your beautiful turn of phrase, could you please describe for the forum how you saw Hodges first game for QLD? I am sure it is still clear in your mind.

no problem smithy.

i saw a young bloke with endless talent, and a bit of cheek, who showed he was not afraid to try the unexpected and the unorthodox. it doesn't always come off but, as he has proved over and over again in an illustrious career, it does come off far more often than not. thankfully for us it has. and does it not speak volumes for the character of the bloke that he not only came back from a horror evening but did so in such glorious fashion?

if you have a look at the video, the second one was clearly a knock-on by nsw but in typical cheating fashion, the video ref gave them a try. nothing changes.

and don't forget, that even after those minor peccadilloes, qld still won that game.

actually, hodgo provided my all time fave moment of origin, when a possible qld try was sent to the video ref and hodgo had a few words to the on-field ref. have a listen. priceless, in the heat of battle.

[WarriorPrincess]

Now that is funny it was worth a try

[Munts]

I had a feeling something like this might happen based solely on the Alex McKinnon comments about Cam Smith.

I'm not going to go into the rights or wrongs of that...BUT what can happen in these instances, and seems to have happened here, is that the team will galvanise around the captain.

I'm not sure how much of an impact it had on the result... however I am sure it did have some role to play in it.

[Coolio]

I spent the first 3 hrs of my shift last night sending up the scores to our aircraft via the comms system. I think only one flight crew actually believed that scoreline possible!

[Ken Gargett]

I spent the first 3 hrs of my shift last night sending up the scores to our aircraft via the comms system. I think only one flight crew actually believed that scoreline possible!

i would have lost a lot of money if offered that. never believed it likely.

[markmurase]

A fantastic way to win back the State of Origin shield. Great to be a Queenslander.

[soutso]

It's not all bad for NSW.

A lot of folk here in Sydney are happy for Sam Thaiday that one of our own has succeeded in this great Qld team.

The people of Kempsey should also be proud that one of theirs has done his bit to keep Origin alive and ensuring that Qld thrives.

Congratulations Qld.

[jat]

And if not for that hiccup last year, that might have been the 11th series win !

All is right with the world and all things are as they should be.

[Fuzz]

NSW was as lackluster as the 1st cigar I was smoking last night ('08 RA Pheonicio RE Libano). Loose draw and not much flavour.

We started an impromptu long ash comp to take our mind off the drubbing. Had a fantastic Sancho Panza Belicosos that held it's ash all the way down to a nub. Damn thing even hung on when I held the cigar horizontal!

[JohnS]

NSW was as lackluster as the 1st cigar I was smoking last night ('08 RA Pheonicio RE Libano). Loose draw and not much flavour.

We started an impromptu long ash comp to take our mind off the drubbing. Had a fantastic Sancho Panza Belicosos that held it's ash all the way down to a nub. Damn thing even hung on when I held the cigar horizontal!

Yes, that was the most entertaining part of the night...

http://www.friendsofhabanos.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=123612

[Ken Gargett]

NSW was as lackluster as the 1st cigar I was smoking last night ('08 RA Pheonicio RE Libano). Loose draw and not much flavour.

We started an impromptu long ash comp to take our mind off the drubbing. Had a fantastic Sancho Panza Belicosos that held it's ash all the way down to a nub. Damn thing even hung on when I held the cigar horizontal!

fuzz, i had a regional RA estupendos from 07. i can't honestly say it was as good as the game but it was not far short (mind you, i expect smoking rolled dog turds would have sung last evening). some zacapa xo and laphroiag '15 years' helped.

"And if not for that hiccup last year, that might have been the 11th series win !

All is right with the world and all things are as they should be."

jat, sadly just 10. we won 8 and then lost the 9th but as you say, all is now right with the world.

"It's not all bad for NSW.

A lot of folk here in Sydney are happy for Sam Thaiday that one of our own has succeeded in this great Qld team.

The people of Kempsey should also be proud that one of theirs has done his bit to keep Origin alive and ensuring that Qld thrives.

Congratulations Qld.".

wow! any chance you blokes will ever give it up or stop the hypocrisy?

inglis played for qld under what were believed to be the correct rules at the time. he has always said he feels a qlder and never wanted to play for nsw - largely because of the way they treated indigenous players. did not really look like a nsw player last night. sam? seriously? he left when he was four. i understand they asked him who he would eventually want to play for in the years to come and he answered, not the filth.

and yet you blokes go so quiet when anyone mentions sterlo.

then there is james tamou (though the shocker he had last night, you are welcome to him). flew over nsw. that is good enough. lived most of his life in nz. played for the kiwi juniors. was in the nz squad in 2011 and pledged himself to nz in 2012. hardly played a game in nsw unless it was for a team based elsewhere.

luke keary. born in qld. played and lived here till he was 14. always insisted he is a qlder. begged to play for qld. the nsw admin insist he must play for a team he hates. way to build a culture!

even in the report in the sydney morning herald (i think), when they mentioned inglis, it was "nsw born greg inglis". wow! get over it. i'll bet that was not the case last year.

a map of nsw should be next to 'hypocrisy' in the dictionary.

mind you, the incessant bitching really is music to the ears. it simply means yet another successful series.

[Fuzz]

RA Estupendos, Zacapa XO and Laphroiag 15. Sounds like the makings of a great night, Ken.

Realistically, I don't care who's on whose team. I just want a good, tight game from both sides.

[Duxnutz]

I spent the first 3 hrs of my shift last night sending up the scores to our aircraft via the comms system. I think only one flight crew actually believed that scoreline possible!

Gotta love good Seeeeeeervice!

[Coolio]

Gotta love good Seeeeeeervice!

Well I wont say there weren't a few expletives uttered on more than one occasion Dux.

I had to laugh as I got a request for the result before the game had started. I went back with "Nil all. Was pretty boring. Although the national anthem was good".

[soutso]

"It's not all bad for NSW.

A lot of folk here in Sydney are happy for Sam Thaiday that one of our own has succeeded in this great Qld team.

The people of Kempsey should also be proud that one of theirs has done his bit to keep Origin alive and ensuring that Qld thrives.

Congratulations Qld.".

wow! any chance you blokes will ever give it up or stop the hypocrisy?

inglis played for qld under what were believed to be the correct rules at the time. he has always said he feels a qlder and never wanted to play for nsw - largely because of the way they treated indigenous players. did not really look like a nsw player last night. sam? seriously? he left when he was four. i understand they asked him who he would eventually want to play for in the years to come and he answered, not the filth.

and yet you blokes go so quiet when anyone mentions sterlo.

then there is james tamou (though the shocker he had last night, you are welcome to him). flew over nsw. that is good enough. lived most of his life in nz. played for the kiwi juniors. was in the nz squad in 2011 and pledged himself to nz in 2012. hardly played a game in nsw unless it was for a team based elsewhere.

luke keary. born in qld. played and lived here till he was 14. always insisted he is a qlder. begged to play for qld. the nsw admin insist he must play for a team he hates. way to build a culture!

even in the report in the sydney morning herald (i think), when they mentioned inglis, it was "nsw born greg inglis". wow! get over it. i'll bet that was not the case last year.

a map of nsw should be next to 'hypocrisy' in the dictionary.

mind you, the incessant bitching really is music to the ears. it simply means yet another successful series.

Well Ken, for the record I wouldn't want guys like Inglis in the Blues side. If the guys heart lies in Qld then they are welcome to him.

It does make a mockery of the "Origin" label but it is what it is. Perhaps it should be relabeled "The State of Preference Series"

Both states have had representatives born in the other state or even from other countries but one thing is undeniable:

Queensland have had more NSW born players than NSW have had Qld born players.

Queensland have had more overseas born players than NSW

Queensland are the heart and soul of origin. Had NSW won 8 series in a row SOO would be dead and buried. Qld must be kept strong for the series to remain relevant. Hence the facts stated above.

This is why only NSW give up their home game for a match in Melbourne. It's all designed to favour the Maroons because that's what keeps the match/series relevant and of course that translates in massive revenue to the game.

This is why I watch the games but my heart is not in it. It's not a genuine contest

[Ken Gargett]

Well Ken, for the record I wouldn't want guys like Inglis in the Blues side. If the guys heart lies in Qld then they are welcome to him.

It does make a mockery of the "Origin" label but it is what it is. Perhaps it should be relabeled "The State of Preference Series"

Both states have had representatives born in the other state or even from other countries but one thing is undeniable:

Queensland have had more NSW born players than NSW have had Qld born players.

Queensland have had more overseas born players than NSW

Queensland are the heart and soul of origin. Had NSW won 8 series in a row SOO would be dead and buried. Qld must be kept strong for the series to remain relevant. Hence the facts stated above.

This is why only NSW give up their home game for a match in Melbourne. It's all designed to favour the Maroons because that's what keeps the match/series relevant and of course that translates in massive revenue to the game.

This is why I watch the games but my heart is not in it. It's not a genuine contest

i agree with some of what you say but not all.

qld is undoubtedly the heart of origin, and i do not mean in a jingoistic manner. without them pushing, it would never have occurred and interstate footy would be long dead. mind you, understandable as year after year, we had to play against our own players. nsw does not have that history.

the eligibility for origin has long been a difficult issue and i am not certain you can solve it. we throw up sterlo but i know no one who means it seriously. he moved when very young. ditto sam. be absurd to make him play for nsw when he moved when he was 4.

overseas players? if a kid, such as K hunt in his pre drug days, moves to qld with his family from nz, and plays junior footy in qld (he was at the same school i went to - years later - so i know he is not just a ring in, in any way), does not want to be considered for nz, surely he is legit? tamou is a bit too dodgy. but he is in now and no changing it.

as for the figures of who born where, not sure it is relevant for the reasons stated. it gets much more blurry when you have a kid like keary who was born and bred in qld and only moved down in his mid teens. nsw insists on him? in doing so, nsw gives up any right to ***** about eligibility ever again. i mean, seriously?

but the aru are trying to put rules in place. not sure there is an absolute correct way to do it. there will always be one or two from outside the formula who make it seem difficult.

this 'qld must be kept strong' argument is a condescending load of crap. and utterly insulting to every player who has worn a maroon jersey. in the years we were thrashed, where was that crap? not a word of it from nsw. just about how good you were. we hated it but we copped it and kept coming back. if it were true, some of the disgraceful ref'ing we have seen over the years might not have occurred.

as for giving up a game, please remember that it is often hard to tell from a post whether someone is taking the piss. i assume you are? there are two games in sydney next year. so why not two in brizzy this year? that is how it is supposed to go. went to melbourne.

and they have never 'given up' anything. they have sold it. spare me the nonsense that there was something altruistic in this. complete rubbish. administrators took the cash ahead of whatever benefits the team might enjoy by playing at home. don't blame qld for that.

remember that suncorp usually sells out very quickly. local administrators know the enormous backlash and antagonism they would encounter if they gave away a game like that.

'designed to favour the maroons'. wow. is this to be the next endless whinging by nsw?

remember that we have a playing base, from which we can select players, of something like 20% of the overall playing group. it is a matter of great pride to qlders. if your state doesn't feel the same then fine, though it does seem that your state only ever feels like that after another loss, but do not put it down to that truly insulting rubbish about it is all to benefit qld. it really is so wrong, so stupid and so offensive.

[soutso]

I appreciate your passion but I feel it gets in the way of your judgement. The game is a product and quite simply without it being a contest most seasons, the product dies. You state yourself that Qld has around 20% of the playing group. If that's a fact, that reflects the neccessity to give Qld the breaks it gets.

I've no doubt the guys who wear Maroon are proud of it. I've no doubt that 100% of them love the state.

That said, if there is a kid who was born in NSW, moved to Qld and has a feeling for both states he will

ultimately be seduced by the state who gives him his big chance. The state that first hands him a jersey

and an opportunity is the one he will love and bleed for.

Some will say that that is great scouting - to pick them in their teens and secure them. I don't mean it in a cynical

way but the admin know the kids that stick out at junior level and they place them evenly to ensure healthy competition. The

Melbourne Storm are an example of this. Their coaching and development of players is first class but they have enjoyed

picking up the finest young talent. Why? Because the NRL want them to succeed. The NRL need to make this work. At

the Broncos expense, the Storm have prospered. Thus the Storm were blessed with Slater, Smith and co.

This happens at state level too. As you say, Qld has a small pool to choose from. Are Queenslanders superhuman? Maybe,

though probably not. Imagine you ran the game, wouldn't you favour Qld when a 50-50 kid comes up through the ranks to

ensure an even playing field given NSW's numerical advantage? If I was running the game, I would. I think it's obvious.

This is a game that employs a salary cap to keep an even playing field at club level. I'm not naive to not notice unofficial eveners

when it comes to the Storm or Qld. That said, well played to both because they manage the resources they inherit and are given brilliantly.

With regard to us losing the home game to Melbourne, are you saying that the NSWRL cashes in? If that's the case - where the NSWRL makes extra revenue and the QLDRL doesn't - then we are shooting ourselves in the foot football wise. If it's simply a grab for cash (which makes sense) then I take back the argument that it's designed to boost Qld's chances.

At the end of the day, don't take offense to anything I have said. I could very well be wrong, I could very well be stupid (though I wouldn't know if I am stupid because I'd be too stupid to realise it lol) I'm just being honest with what I'm saying and if it's fired you up a little, if it's made you hate the Blues a little bit more.... then mission accomplished.

[Ken Gargett]

I appreciate your passion but I feel it gets in the way of your judgement. The game is a product and quite simply without it being a contest most seasons, the product dies. You state yourself that Qld has around 20% of the playing group. If that's a fact, that reflects the neccessity to give Qld the breaks it gets.

I've no doubt the guys who wear Maroon are proud of it. I've no doubt that 100% of them love the state.

That said, if there is a kid who was born in NSW, moved to Qld and has a feeling for both states he will

ultimately be seduced by the state who gives him his big chance. The state that first hands him a jersey

and an opportunity is the one he will love and bleed for.

Some will say that that is great scouting - to pick them in their teens and secure them. I don't mean it in a cynical

way but the admin know the kids that stick out at junior level and they place them evenly to ensure healthy competition. The

Melbourne Storm are an example of this. Their coaching and development of players is first class but they have enjoyed

picking up the finest young talent. Why? Because the NRL want them to succeed. The NRL need to make this work. At

the Broncos expense, the Storm have prospered. Thus the Storm were blessed with Slater, Smith and co.

This happens at state level too. As you say, Qld has a small pool to choose from. Are Queenslanders superhuman? Maybe,

though probably not. Imagine you ran the game, wouldn't you favour Qld when a 50-50 kid comes up through the ranks to

ensure an even playing field given NSW's numerical advantage? If I was running the game, I would. I think it's obvious.

This is a game that employs a salary cap to keep an even playing field at club level. I'm not naive to not notice unofficial eveners

when it comes to the Storm or Qld. That said, well played to both because they manage the resources they inherit and are given brilliantly.

With regard to us losing the home game to Melbourne, are you saying that the NSWRL cashes in? If that's the case - where the NSWRL makes extra revenue and the QLDRL doesn't - then we are shooting ourselves in the foot football wise. If it's simply a grab for cash (which makes sense) then I take back the argument that it's designed to boost Qld's chances.

At the end of the day, don't take offense to anything I have said. I could very well be wrong, I could very well be stupid (though I wouldn't know if I am stupid because I'd be too stupid to realise it lol) I'm just being honest with what I'm saying and if it's fired you up a little, if it's made you hate the Blues a little bit more.... then mission accomplished.

i was referring to the argument as stupid - certainly not yourself. never thought that and apols if that was what you inferred.

and no offence re someone arguing their point of view (even if the argument itself is one i find offensive). this is all part of what makes our forum so much fun. but does not mean i won't get stuck in when it is necessary to repel the uncouth barbarians from the gates.

what breaks? qld deciding it wants to keep as many origins as it can while nsw is happy to sell some for the dosh is not giving qld a break. it is a commercial decision by nsw. nothing to do with advantages to qld. if that is a by-product, good luck to us.

i don't agree with that argument about going with whoever gives you the first chance. keary is again the perfect example. he was desperate to be eligible for qld, not nsw. yet realistically, he has little chance of playing for qld for years if ever, barring a lot of injuries. he is surely behind the pecking order when it comes to the halves in qld. cronk, JT, dce, hunt, milford, ash taylor (possibly), morgan, the young nikorima. i'm sure there are others. in nsw he is being talked about as a starter next year. he has perennial failure pearce in his way and bugger all else.

i think your argument is also utterly offensive to a great many blues (although i am unlikely to lose sleep over that). you would never have known it the other night but most of them are immensely proud of playing origin for nsw. don't ever tell me daley, johns, harragon, radonikis, ricky stewart and many many others ever saw this as some sort of qld benefit event. i once asked thommo who he supported in origin - nsw or qld. i thought he was going to knock my block off (qld, in case you were wondering). i suspect you'd get the same response if you asked any of those blokes if they saw playing for the blues as anything less than what qlders do.

before origin, a period which went for about 100 years, we won about 5-10% of games. yet we still fronted up. suddenly origin starts and they are going to give advantages to us? why? they didn't for 100 years. why now? it makes no sense. that said, origin did give us a massive advantage in one respect - we could actually use our own players, instead of having them giving us a thrashing every year.

the scouting argument? no one scouts for origin. you are or you are not (yes, it is blurry, but that is the theory). the storm is irrelevant to origin but they pick up talent because they got seriously good people involved. remember that they were/are a commercial operation run by news corp. the ultimate capitalists. they put extremely good people in - we know this because they pinched most of them from the broncos (again, news corp). the nrl has not taken a single player from the broncos or anyone else and given them to the storm. that is delusional. as for the salary cap, when the storm breached it, they were hit with massive penalties. it forced them to give up a future immortal in greg inglis. hardly giving them an advantage. in fact, surely that is the complete opposite to what you are suggesting?

where does this "favouring qld with the 50/50 decisions" as far as where kids go come from? it is a fairy tale. we have a problem with scouts from storm, bulldogs, canberra, manly especially who come and grab good young talent. why wouldn't they?

what are the "unofficial eveners"? i honestly do follow what you mean. they might come as a huge surprise to us.

as for the finances behind the playing of the games, i do not know the full details but my understanding is that the games to melbourne are sold to them. much as how cities bid for all manner of sporting events these days. how much of that the NRL gets and how much goes to the NSW coffers, i do not know but i understand they are very well compensated for it.

but i also understand that the NRL (or it might be the ARL) has now brought in an even split. in future, both states will give up games evenly. it will happen each third year i think. hence, no team gets an advantage. which i would argue is an overall disadvantage to us as, while you might have got dosh, having a home game meant more to us. we would have loved to see it continue.

i actually believe that in 100 years or so, nsw will have won more origins than us. the numbers will simply inevitably even things up and then take you ahead. i don't think it will quite reflect the %s of players in each state who are eligible - partly because in this first 35 years, we had wally lewis and then this current bunch. that has won us more games than we'd expect with all other things being equal. i also believe, and i know some players do as well, that qld understands origin far better than nsw. that is changing, despite last wednesday. but it will reflect the %s much more closely ahead in the future (rather glad i won't be here to see it),

[soutso]

i was referring to the argument as stupid - certainly not yourself. never thought that and apols if that was what you inferred.

and no offence re someone arguing their point of view (even if the argument itself is one i find offensive). this is all part of what makes our forum so much fun. but does not mean i won't get stuck in when it is necessary to repel the uncouth barbarians from the gates.

what breaks? qld deciding it wants to keep as many origins as it can while nsw is happy to sell some for the dosh is not giving qld a break. it is a commercial decision by nsw. nothing to do with advantages to qld. if that is a by-product, good luck to us.

i don't agree with that argument about going with whoever gives you the first chance. keary is again the perfect example. he was desperate to be eligible for qld, not nsw. yet realistically, he has little chance of playing for qld for years if ever, barring a lot of injuries. he is surely behind the pecking order when it comes to the halves in qld. cronk, JT, dce, hunt, milford, ash taylor (possibly), morgan, the young nikorima. i'm sure there are others. in nsw he is being talked about as a starter next year. he has perennial failure pearce in his way and bugger all else.

i think your argument is also utterly offensive to a great many blues (although i am unlikely to lose sleep over that). you would never have known it the other night but most of them are immensely proud of playing origin for nsw. don't ever tell me daley, johns, harragon, radonikis, ricky stewart and many many others ever saw this as some sort of qld benefit event. i once asked thommo who he supported in origin - nsw or qld. i thought he was going to knock my block off (qld, in case you were wondering). i suspect you'd get the same response if you asked any of those blokes if they saw playing for the blues as anything less than what qlders do.

before origin, a period which went for about 100 years, we won about 5-10% of games. yet we still fronted up. suddenly origin starts and they are going to give advantages to us? why? they didn't for 100 years. why now? it makes no sense. that said, origin did give us a massive advantage in one respect - we could actually use our own players, instead of having them giving us a thrashing every year.

the scouting argument? no one scouts for origin. you are or you are not (yes, it is blurry, but that is the theory). the storm is irrelevant to origin but they pick up talent because they got seriously good people involved. remember that they were/are a commercial operation run by news corp. the ultimate capitalists. they put extremely good people in - we know this because they pinched most of them from the broncos (again, news corp). the nrl has not taken a single player from the broncos or anyone else and given them to the storm. that is delusional. as for the salary cap, when the storm breached it, they were hit with massive penalties. it forced them to give up a future immortal in greg inglis. hardly giving them an advantage. in fact, surely that is the complete opposite to what you are suggesting?

where does this "favouring qld with the 50/50 decisions" as far as where kids go come from? it is a fairy tale. we have a problem with scouts from storm, bulldogs, canberra, manly especially who come and grab good young talent. why wouldn't they?

what are the "unofficial eveners"? i honestly do follow what you mean. they might come as a huge surprise to us.

as for the finances behind the playing of the games, i do not know the full details but my understanding is that the games to melbourne are sold to them. much as how cities bid for all manner of sporting events these days. how much of that the NRL gets and how much goes to the NSW coffers, i do not know but i understand they are very well compensated for it.

but i also understand that the NRL (or it might be the ARL) has now brought in an even split. in future, both states will give up games evenly. it will happen each third year i think. hence, no team gets an advantage. which i would argue is an overall disadvantage to us as, while you might have got dosh, having a home game meant more to us. we would have loved to see it continue.

i actually believe that in 100 years or so, nsw will have won more origins than us. the numbers will simply inevitably even things up and then take you ahead. i don't think it will quite reflect the %s of players in each state who are eligible - partly because in this first 35 years, we had wally lewis and then this current bunch. that has won us more games than we'd expect with all other things being equal. i also believe, and i know some players do as well, that qld understands origin far better than nsw. that is changing, despite last wednesday. but it will reflect the %s much more closely ahead in the future (rather glad i won't be here to see it),

Hi Ken,

No offense taken thus no need for an apology (though I respect you all the more for making it in the event that I was offended)

I do try to be funny and amusing though my humour seems to only work on myself. I really think I am a funny guy!!

I guess we will agree to disagree on some points and that's cool but I am intrigued by your final comments regarding Wally lewis and the current crop of special players. You've got me thinking here my friend. Perhaps in the future Qld will be handed players LOL

I do think in the long run both states may get a pick of the odd Kiwi or Pom. There was a lot of talk about Sonny Bill Williams and the Burgess Brothers. It would certainly add interest but I'd only go for it if the SOO was no longer competitive. You might say 9 series in 10 years reflects a lack of competition but not every series was 3-0 and Qld certainly didnt rack up regular 40 and 50 type of scores.... thank God...

I've enjoyed your Origin threads and look forward to crossing swords next year when the perennial favourites, NSW with their new halves combo, will destroy your lot!

[Ken Gargett]

Hi Ken,

No offense taken thus no need for an apology (though I respect you all the more for making it in the event that I was offended)

I do try to be funny and amusing though my humour seems to only work on myself. I really think I am a funny guy!!

I guess we will agree to disagree on some points and that's cool but I am intrigued by your final comments regarding Wally lewis and the current crop of special players. You've got me thinking here my friend. Perhaps in the future Qld will be handed players LOL

I do think in the long run both states may get a pick of the odd Kiwi or Pom. There was a lot of talk about Sonny Bill Williams and the Burgess Brothers. It would certainly add interest but I'd only go for it if the SOO was no longer competitive. You might say 9 series in 10 years reflects a lack of competition but not every series was 3-0 and Qld certainly didnt rack up regular 40 and 50 type of scores.... thank God...

I've enjoyed your Origin threads and look forward to crossing swords next year when the perennial favourites, NSW with their new halves combo, will destroy your lot!

interesting you say that re introduced players. had a long chat with rebecca wilson - sports journo - last year about just this. at the time, she was convinced that introduced offshore players would be involved within five years (she was a qlder - i say was, as she expressed support for the waratahs which means immediate expulsion). i cannot believe it. nothing would kill origin quicker. do officials really not get the name? origin! (yes, i know we have debates about the eligibility). that would be the death knell. they include as much as one offshore player and all they have is an exhibition game. who'd care? and suddenly you'd have players with minor injuries who are not available (under pressure from clubs and just to take a break and because they would no longer care).

i also agree re much closer than many think. yes, we tend to lift when it is on the line but i think in the last 6 or 7 years alone, there have been 5 deciders. also, i can only think of two games where we really blew your lot away, including wednesday.

doesn't get much closer (i read where pearce has played in 5 deciders and lolst the lost and he has been around on and off, since 08?). also read where pearce decided to sledge JT as a has-been and too old. we have just discovered the dumbest bloke in australia. apparently it really pissed JT off and he was keen to prove otherwise. i remember seeing JT really giving it to pearce at a scrum near the end of the game and i had no idea what it was about. now i know. wow!