I LOVE SOO!!!

[Ralphie]

Short memory Ralphie, those people south over the border sunk 10's of millions into trying to establish an AFL SOO but it failed miserably because the small minded fans were unable to grasp any concept beyond their own belly button.

That's true and hasn't that really really held them back! Look at their abysmal growth since then......and to think, they aspire to be the number 1 football code in the country........dopes!

 

[lsz]

So you are comparing a national game with an East coast dominated game?

 

[Ralphie]

So you are comparing a national game with an East coast dominated game?

I'm comparing two Football Codes in Australia.

Are you suggesting that the AFL growth came from having a National Competition, with teams in most capital cities (Excluding ACT, Tas & NT)? Wow, how short sighted are they? They would have been much better to persevere with something like the SOO concept, now that would have given them real long term sustainable growth. They really are dopes down there aren't they!

 

[lsz]

Short of expanded the comp into cities that are not viable (ala SA & Perth) what options are available to the NRL?

---

As an aside

http://mumbrella.com.au/state-origin-smashes-rivals-nine-tv-ratings-229634

 

[Ralphie]

Short of expanded the comp into cities that are not viable (ala SA & Perth) what options are available to the NRL?

I think we have gone off the point. You said that it was my kind of thinking that was holding the game back. I have pointed out that other codes don't have the SOO concept disrupting their season and they haven't been held back. I simply don't accept your argument, but I do respect you opinion.

As an aside, the Adelaide RAMS and the Western Reds were both viable and were progressing well. They were sacrificed as part of the Super League settlement. In fact Perth have put forward a very strong proposal to re-enter the competition, but the NRL is more focused on the SOO cash cow rather than developing & growing the game.

 

[Alan]

Short memory Ralphie, those people south over the border sunk 10's of millions into trying to establish an AFL SOO but it failed miserably because the small minded fans were unable to grasp any concept beyond their own belly button.

That's true and hasn't that really really held them back! Look at their abysmal growth since then......and to think, they aspire to be the number 1 football code in the country........dopes!

I think you missed the point. They want what we have, yet you turn their failure to gain it into some sort of victory. By what limited set of criteria are they the number I football code in Australia, and even if they are who cares?

You have well documented the fact that you don't like internationals, city/country, trials, 9's, SOO and mid week comps. Good on you.

I just don't understand your need to harp on it. Just let those that enjoy it, get on with it.

---

So you are comparing a national game with an East coast dominated game?

No, I only replied because Ralphie incorrectly stated that AFL didn't want a SOO.

I am not interested in comparing codes because good luck to rugby, AFL and soccer, but I don't give a tinkers what they do.

And are you comparing a national AFL to an international RL played in about 15 countries, and then am I comparing RL to soccer played in about 200 countries.

Where do the comparisons stop, and what relevance do they have to the argument.

 

[lsz]

Sorry Alan I was talking to Ralphie....I should have quoted him!

My point is State of O is the one of the games show piece events (granted this is along side the grand final) and short of expansion, which the NRL is clearly not in favor of, is key to the growth of the game

 

[COMMANDER]

Funny when NSW is a chance in a series the thread count goes over 200 and the interest is massive.

Maybe Origin is not as dead as some people here make out.

 

[mozgrame]

Funny when NSW is a chance in a series the thread count goes over 200 and the interest is massive.

Maybe Origin is not as dead as some people here make out.

Got it in one CC

 

[Ralphie]

Short memory Ralphie, those people south over the border sunk 10's of millions into trying to establish an AFL SOO but it failed miserably because the small minded fans were unable to grasp any concept beyond their own belly button.

That's true and hasn't that really really held them back! Look at their abysmal growth since then......and to think, they aspire to be the number 1 football code in the country........dopes!

I think you missed the point. They want what we have, yet you turn their failure to gain it into some sort of victory. By what limited set of criteria are they the number I football code in Australia, and even if they are who cares?

You have well documented the fact that you don't like internationals, city/country, trials, 9's, SOO and mid week comps. Good on you.

I just don't understand your need to harp on it. Just let those that enjoy it, get on with it.

---

So you are comparing a national game with an East coast dominated game?

No, I only replied because Ralphie incorrectly stated that AFL didn't want a SOO.

I am not interested in comparing codes because good luck to rugby, AFL and soccer, but I don't give a tinkers what they do.

And are you comparing a national AFL to an international RL played in about 15 countries, and then am I comparing RL to soccer played in about 200 countries.

Where do the comparisons stop, and what relevance do they have to the argument.

---

In red above, I did not say that at all. I said that they had grown their game more than any other code without SOO. The whole premise of this discussion came from the comment that "thinking like mine was holding the game back." That is patently not the case.

In fact I would argue the opposite. SOO is solely between NSW & Qld and is not doing anything to grow the game in Victoria or NZ let alone SA & WA. The Qld market is saturated and NSW not far behind. The other States is where the future growth of the game is. The last time I looked the game was called the NATIONAL Rugby League not the East Coast Rugby League.

 

[mozgrame]

Look out Cam......the knives are being sharpened.

Cam is Queensland’s weakest link

http://www.theroar.com.au/2014/05/29/cam-smith-queenslands-weakest-link/

 

[Alan]

Ralphie your points only have some vague validity if the purpose of Soo is too "grow the Game". It's not. SOO is simply a happy accident that has become the biggest football event in Aust..enjoyed by many.

Vic markets and what does it do for NZ are irrelevant nonsense and have nothing to do with why SOO is played.

Your puerile comments about NATIONAL RL, and growing the game, and comparisons to AFL are simply an attempt to justify your irrational dislike for any game other than a Premiership game.

 

[HappilyManly]

Reynolds will challenge the Grade 2, good on him. Scott contributed to the flip and he only got a Grade 1.

Tate is such a drama queen with his 'feared for me life' comments :dodgy:

 

[Ralphie]

Ralphie your points only have some vague validity if the purpose of Soo is too "grow the Game". It's not. SOO is simply a happy accident that has become the biggest football event in Aust..enjoyed by many.

Vic markets and what does it do for NZ are irrelevant nonsense and have nothing to do with why SOO is played.

Your puerile comments about NATIONAL RL, and growing the game, and comparisons to AFL are simply an attempt to justify your irrational dislike for any game other than a Premiership game.

Thanks for making it person Alan. This discussion started as a result of the below comment in red. I have simply argued that SOO has nothing to do with growing Rugby League for all the reasons I subsequently outlined. I respect your opinion, but I disagree with it.

RE: I LOVE SOO!!!
(Today 02:16 AM)Ralphie Wrote:
(Yesterday 23:29 PM)lsz Wrote:
Where are the nuffies who say there should be no state of o?

Best game of footy for years

Here I am. Didn't watch, won't watch it and the injuries to Choc & DCE just harden my utter hatred of the concept.

There's nothing you or anyone else can say to change my views. It may well have been a great game, but there's something seriously wrong with your logic if you're prepared to sacrifice two of our best players to injury just so you can watch a great game that won't do anything to win us a Premiership. Confused

And it is this way of thinking that means the code will never grow.

 

[Alan]

Ralphie happy to disagree, and apologise for any slight.

As your total interest is premierships I will point out one consideration you may have over looked. Both Hodkinson and Reynolds will return to the doggies much improved, tougher and more confident players.

If they win the title this year or the next a great deal will be attributable to their halves and the experience they gained at the highest level. Both are different footballers today than they were yesterday.

Much in the same way all our great manly players have grown from rep footy. Although injured DCE will be a better player for the experience, and ultimately that is to Manlys benefit.

 

[mozgrame]

I think SOO does quite a bit to help the game in all States. Pretty sure they said during the game last night that it was being televised live in Fiji too. I may be wrong about that?? 426 000 viewers in Melbourne is nothing to sneeze at. I think it sells the product well.

Check this out.....

http://www.theguardian.com/media/australia-culture-blog/2014/may/29/state-of-origin-opening-match-smashes-tv-ratings

The first match in the State of Origin rugby league series became the highest-rating TV program of 2014 after 2.596 million viewers watched NSW defeat Queensland on Wednesday night.

The national audience – which includes the metro and regional audiences – climbed to more than four million viewers.

This put the rugby league opener ahead of the finale of Seven’s reality hit show, My Kitchen Rules – Winner Announced, which had an average audience of 2.590 million in the five metro markets.

Sport and homegrown reality shows usually jostle for the most-watched program each year, pushing scripted drama and news programs well down the list.

The audience for the Blues v Maroons game peaked at 2.91 million in the metros alone, making it the highest-rating opening match in Origin history.

The broadcast broke more records in Sydney, where it averaged 1.23 million, the biggest ever audience for an Origin match in that city.

In the home city of the Maroons, Brisbane, another 747,000 fans watched and Melbourne had 426,000 viewers.

The lengthy coverage – spread over three programs on Nine – gave the network a massive 44% network share of free-to-air prime time viewing, almost double that of the dominant Seven network which managed to attract only 23.25% of the audience.

In comparison, the audience for Chris Lilley’s satire Jonah from Tonga on ABC1 was just 240,000. ABC News was Aunty’s top show with 843,000 viewers.

Ten’s top-rating show was MasterChef Australia which averaged a healthy 779,000 against the competition and popular drama Offspring had 766,000.

Ten’s share was 16.2%, well ahead of the ABC which shrunk to 12%. SBS was on 4%.

With State of Origin topping the list, the rest of the top 10 programs for 2014 is made up of reality shows The Block and The Voice and one telemovie, INXS: Never Tear Us Apart.

 

[Ralphie]

Ralphie happy to disagree, and apologise for any slight.

As your total interest is premierships I will point out one consideration you may have over looked. Both Hodkinson and Reynolds will return to the doggies much improved, tougher and more confident players.

If they win the title this year or the next a great deal will be attributable to their halves and the experience they gained at the highest level. Both are different footballers today than they were yesterday.

Much in the same way all our great manly players have grown from rep footy. Although injured DCE will be a better player for the experience, and ultimately that is to Manlys benefit.

All good Alan, no offence taken. I take your point, and there is something to it, but we won the Comp in 2011 with Foz & DCE without SOO & Test experience. On my scorecard on the risk/reward chart the risk is too high for me. That's just my opinion which is no more or less valid than anyone else's.

 

[HoldenV8]

The worst thing that happened to Qld Origin hopes in 2014 isn't the injury to Cronk as they have HB covered with either DCE or even JT. No, the worst thing was ****zel Piss getting arrested 2 weeks before Origin and being ruled out of the game.

Piss plays, Qld win last night (not definite, but more than likely).

Why do you think in the days leading up to the announcement of the NSW team for Game 1 there were a number of articles in the papers which included interviews with Qld players (such as JT) saying Piss should be picked. He has been their best player for the past 5 years and they know it.

As for DCE's game last night.....he would have had minimal training with the Qld team at halfback which is why it took until the second half for him to get in the swing of things. His training runs would have been dummy half work or at lock. At no stage in their wildest dreams (nightmares?) would they have figured on losing Cronk so early, but that is the beauty of having a player like DCE on the bench. Now that he is gone from the series DCE will be in there in his normal position (barring injury) and will go better in games 2 and 3.

 

[RiverEagle]

I think SOO does quite a bit to help the game in all States. Pretty sure they said during the game last night that it was being televised live in Fiji too. I may be wrong about that?? 426 000 viewers in Melbourne is nothing to sneeze at. I think it sells the product well.

Check this out.....

http://www.theguardian.com/media/australia-culture-blog/2014/may/29/state-of-origin-opening-match-smashes-tv-ratings

The first match in the State of Origin rugby league series became the highest-rating TV program of 2014 after 2.596 million viewers watched NSW defeat Queensland on Wednesday night.

The national audience – which includes the metro and regional audiences – climbed to more than four million viewers.

This put the rugby league opener ahead of the finale of Seven’s reality hit show, My Kitchen Rules – Winner Announced, which had an average audience of 2.590 million in the five metro markets.

Sport and homegrown reality shows usually jostle for the most-watched program each year, pushing scripted drama and news programs well down the list.

The audience for the Blues v Maroons game peaked at 2.91 million in the metros alone, making it the highest-rating opening match in Origin history.

The broadcast broke more records in Sydney, where it averaged 1.23 million, the biggest ever audience for an Origin match in that city.

In the home city of the Maroons, Brisbane, another 747,000 fans watched and Melbourne had 426,000 viewers.

The lengthy coverage – spread over three programs on Nine – gave the network a massive 44% network share of free-to-air prime time viewing, almost double that of the dominant Seven network which managed to attract only 23.25% of the audience.

In comparison, the audience for Chris Lilley’s satire Jonah from Tonga on ABC1 was just 240,000. ABC News was Aunty’s top show with 843,000 viewers.

Ten’s top-rating show was MasterChef Australia which averaged a healthy 779,000 against the competition and popular drama Offspring had 766,000.

Ten’s share was 16.2%, well ahead of the ABC which shrunk to 12%. SBS was on 4%.

With State of Origin topping the list, the rest of the top 10 programs for 2014 is made up of reality shows The Block and The Voice and one telemovie, INXS: Never Tear Us Apart.

Injuries aside, last night was the single best advertisement for our game this year; easily!

They were even talking about it - with awe - on the AFL Footy Show last night. And that takes some doing with cross-code rivalries and jealousies.

I can see the logic in peoples' dislike for rep footy, even Origin. I just can't accept it.

If you love rugby league , last night was just about as good as it gets.

And it was great!

Bring on game 2 in Sydney.

 

[HappilyManly]

Reynolds downgraded to #1 - back for SOO 2