state of origin aftermath

[El Presidente]

For our overseas brethren.....The good guys....Queensland....beat the bad guys...New South Wales 30-0 in Wednesdays Rugby League State of Origin match.

In the three game series it is one each. The decider in NSW in 3 weeks.

[Trevor2118]

» For our overseas brethren.....The good guys....Queensland....beat the bad guys...New South Wales 30-0 in Wednesdays Rugby League State of Origin match. In the three game series it is one each. The decider in NSW in 3 weeks.

Actually it was closer than the 30 to 0 score indicates.....

NSW appears hell bent on keeping the same team....so they obviously did such a good job....

At least the Queenslanders did not get to see any of our match winning strategies.....

O crap...who am I kidding.....:-D

[Trevor2118]

Sorry, double post.....too many buttons on this keyboard:-)

[Ken Gargett]

loved the joke in the weekend australian this morning.

what is the difference between nsw and a toothpick?

two points.

[ARRV]

» loved the joke in the weekend australian this morning.

»

»

»

» what is the difference between nsw and a toothpick?

» two points.

OK, truth time

State of Origin is THE most rigged series in any code of rugby.

In order to guarantee any interest in the series it was rigged so NSW would win the first game (noting that NSW has a significantly worse team than Qld and thus a great risk of a whitewash) - the ref allowed NSW to drift from marker and generally muck around the play the ball area. It helped that qld thought that by merely turning up they would win.

So to guarantee any interest in the deciding game Qld had to win the next one - otherwise the paltry crowd that watched the first game in Sydney would be even lower. So Qld had to win - how do we guarantee that? Change the way the game is refereed. Complete 180 by the ref and Qld actually turn up and NSW get flogged.

Helps that the NSW selectors couldn't even pick their own noses - put a lock at 5/8 and generally pick the smallest possible pack to play in years - I mean Fitzgibbon in the front row - WTF?

So we have a decider - unfortunately I care less about this series year by year - no personalities and no biff.

In the good old days you had people you could really hate (or love to hate) King Wally, big Mal etc etc. now just bland people playing a bland game. And the olympic stadium is THE worst rugby ground in the world. no competition - infintely worse than watching a game on tv - no atmoshpere and ridiculous prices for food and seating.

Anyway the series promoters have achieved what they set out to do and pressured the ref to do.

PS - Steve Price is the best player around i reckon - worth 12 points to Qld whenever he plays for them.

[Ken Gargett]

»

» State of Origin is THE most rigged series in any code of rugby.

i just don't buy this. there is such intensity in these games and so much pressure from fans to win. bellamy cleverly pressured the ref pe the first game to get the sort of style he wants, plus qld play badly at olympic plus our selectors are even bigger idiots than yours plus the injury to lockyer plus the bizarre fact that qld plays badly when it is favourite plus your blokes played extremely well in that first game, moving up on us very quickly while in turn, we waited for your blokes to get to us - all added up to us going down.

2nd game, we play well at home, we were underdogs, they finally made some sensible picks, even if it was because they were forced to through injury and suspension and our players absolutely fired plus yours were a bit over confident, plus we put pressure on the ref during the week to watch what he had let go - result, a terrific win, but i just don't swallow the rigged bit. i've long thought that the nsw-dominant arl have pushed to do what they can to benefit nsw (suspensions, ref appointments etc) but realistically, there is a fair whack of state bias in that. we have both had 'helpful' refs - we had the grasshopper, you had biased bill harrigon.

players have too much to play for in these games -i just don't see the rigging.

[ARRV]

» »

» » State of Origin is THE most rigged series in any code of rugby.

»

» i just don't buy this. there is such intensity in these games and so much

» pressure from fans to win. bellamy cleverly pressured the ref pe the first

» game to get the sort of style he wants, plus qld play badly at olympic plus

» our selectors are even bigger idiots than yours plus the injury to lockyer

» plus the bizarre fact that qld plays badly when it is favourite plus your

» blokes played extremely well in that first game, moving up on us very

» quickly while in turn, we waited for your blokes to get to us - all added

» up to us going down.

» 2nd game, we play well at home, we were underdogs, they finally made some

» sensible picks, even if it was because they were forced to through injury

» and suspension and our players absolutely fired plus yours were a bit over

» confident, plus we put pressure on the ref during the week to watch what he

» had let go - result, a terrific win, but i just don't swallow the rigged

» bit. i've long thought that the nsw-dominant arl have pushed to do what

» they can to benefit nsw (suspensions, ref appointments etc) but

» realistically, there is a fair whack of state bias in that. we have both

» had 'helpful' refs - we had the grasshopper, you had biased bill

» harrigon.

» players have too much to play for in these games -i just don't see the

» rigging.

It just seems a little too convenient for the ref to be so obviously pressured, and permitted to be pressured by the powers that be [alliteration!], to change the entire style of game played in each city - to the obvious benefit of the home team.

The benefit to Channel 9 (and the game in promoting itself in the rest of Australia) in having a "decider" is immense.

If it was horse racing the stewards would be going beserk.

[First Lady]

»

» It just seems a little too convenient for the ref to be so obviously

» pressured, and permitted to be pressured by the powers that be

» [alliteration!], to change the entire style of game played in each city -

» to the obvious benefit of the home team.

»

» The benefit to Channel 9 (and the game in promoting itself in the rest of

» Australia) in having a "decider" is immense.

»

» If it was horse racing the stewards would be going beserk.

I am with you on this one honey........ If it was a clean slat no one would bother to watch... Ken you are believer :-D

Lisa

[Ken Gargett]

i'll accept refs have an influence but i don't swallow that it is some big brother plan to make certain we always end up with a decider. even with archer's lax ruck rulings in the first, we played like crap. we were soundly out-thought and out-played. and they could simply never afford any hint of something like that sneaking out - and those sort of things do get out eventually. it would kill league stone dead. do infinitely more damage than occasionally having a dead game. those games still sell out in qld and do well in nsw and the players still give all.

we had the grasshopper who made too many blatantly appalling rulings but that didn't come from above. he may have realised that on qld's turn to pick refs, he had more chance if he was seen to go that way but that is a different thing. also a certain nsw ref had to be on the take on some occasions - only time i have walked away from a game in such disgust and given up watching (and bugger me, if qld didn't stage an amazing comeback and win - had a call from a mate to watch the last ten minutes - so where does tha leave us). but again, that is a different thing.

the one-day cricket had years of accusations that it was being rigged by officials. (granted it was being rigged on occasions, but not by officials - it simply is much tougher to do than you might think).

what response do you think any official suggesting to king wally or blocker that they manipulate the game to go to a decider?

[Ken Gargett]

it can't go without some remarks from somebody. can't let those hated cockroachs get away with it. so, the classics are always the best.