Quote: Dunbar "Seeing as though you have named me, I will address a couple of your points
Firstly, I think you significantly overestimate the awareness of State of Origin outside of Rugby League fans. We know all about it and we all look forward to the series every year but my question is why would a non-Rugby League fan have an awareness of an interstate competition on the other side of the world?'"
It's not politically correct but the answer to that question is simple - It's the violence. Rugby league fans like to underestimate it in this push to attract families to the game but you can't dispute that plenty of red blooded males would sit down to watch a sports game if you could guarantee a brawl and ferocious big hits.
Lots of sports fans who know about Origin have time for it for that reason. Are people who don't know about State of Origin as a series going to bat an eyelid? Probably not. But it would be foolish to underestimate the positive opinions on origin from non-league fans who're aware of it - and I'd argue there's a surprising number who are. You can search the internet and find testimonies all over the place from non-league people who love origin and buy into it as a concept.
I'm actually surprised at the number of people who are saying otherwise, genuinely. I'm not in a league hotbed and I know so many people who're aware of origin and are happy to watch it. Might not say much about my friends, ha.
Quote: Dunbar "I am not petrified that Origin would take attention away from Internationals but I am concerned that it is not the right focus. Let’s take the recent World Cup match in Bristol as an example. It was a huge success with a crowd that far outstripped what most expected. This was primarily down to great work from people raising awareness of the event. As Rugby League fans, we know that the USA vs. Cook Islands would not be the best standard RL but I believe it would have been far easier to sell that game to the Bristol and South West public than NSW vs. Queensland would have been. Despite the fact we know that the SOO would be a wonderful game, the promotion was about the occasion and not the quality of the game'"
I disagree. I think that's shortsighted of you. If the Australians did go for this and if it did work then it would be further proof that origin as a concept is big enough to warrant standalone weekends. If origin is ever moved to standalone weekends - and it should be - then that opens up a world of possibilities for the international game, as tests can be scheduled to run alongside the series.
Quote: Dunbar "I am not in any way against the concept of a SOO game at Wembley and if it went ahead I would want it to be a huge success and, as I have said before, I would be there. But fundamentally, it is not the correct way to raise the profile of our sport. Despite the quality of the game, showcasing an Australian inter-state match as the pinnacle of our sport is actually quite a negative message'"
Then sell it as the pinnacle of Australian sport. There's no point splitting hairs over whether it is or isn't the pinnacle of the sport.
If we're talking about negative messages, you know, isn't implying that international league is so fragile that a one-off origin game would send out the wrong message and harm the games standing just that - a negative message to send out?
I don't see the conflict, personally, in saying that origin is the greatest domestic rugby series in the world - one of the best in all of sport, in fact - and is right up there with internationals as far as intensity and skill is concerned.
To say 'Oh we shouldn't really have origin here because it sends the wrong message and undermines the international game and sends out a negative message' hardly paints a positive picture of the sport.
Quote: Dunbar "Anyway, this is my opinion and you may disagree. But, I would appreciate it if you didn’t categorises my passion for growing our game in the right way as whinging. Thanks'"
My apologies.
