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Thoughts on a state of origin series played through international breaks ?

Would you like to see a SOO series ?

  • Yes

    Votes: 5 22.7%

  • No

    Votes: 17 77.3%
  • Total voters
    22
0x3mp1r3

0x3mp1r3

Youth Prospect
Joined
Feb 21, 2025
Replies
31
Wild idea, don’t really know if there is appetite for it. But I was thinking it would be cool if we had some kind of state of origin type tournament that runs every year played through international breaks.

Would give more football to watch during international breaks when there are no A-league matches. Would also give players who aren’t quite socceroo material exposure to representative football.

I’m thinking a 5-game series. 8 states (NSW, ACT, VIC, TAS, QLD, NT, WA, SA)

Stage 1 - 2x groups of 4 (3 matches per state)
Stage 2 - Semi Final (A1 v B2 / B1 v A2)
Stage 3 - Final

Would also give some more media airtime to our game.
 
You need grievance for state of origin to work. In qld and nsw it has been about different philosophy of pokie laws (now extinct so its become a bit of theatre, but it needed that momentum)

The main grievance in australian footbal is between old soccer and new football, so u would need to lean into that rather than geography imo.

Maybe eligibility determined on whether you were developed in an a league academy or a grassroots club
 
Kudos on thinking outside the box....but unfortunately, IMO the concept only works for cricket and Rugby... even AFL abandoned it bc the popularity had waned..
 
grazorblade said:
You need grievance for state of origin to work. In qld and nsw it has been about different philosophy of pokie laws (now extinct so its become a bit of theatre, but it needed that momentum)

The main grievance in australian footbal is between old soccer and new football, so u would need to lean into that rather than geography imo.

Maybe eligibility determined on whether you were developed in an a league academy or a grassroots club
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I agree, and eligibility based on geography wouldn't really work because certain states like NSW and Queensland will have more players compared to others, which would be the case for both men's and women's State of Origin assuming state eligibility is based on junior club member federations.
 
Sutherlandbear said:
No,no and fuckin no. Leave the gimmicks to other sports.
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I wasn’t really portraying it as a gimmick per say. Was more to increase representative football exposure to those just underneath national team level.
 
0x3mp1r3 said:
I wasn’t really portraying it as a gimmick per say. Was more to increase representative football exposure to those just underneath national team level.
Click to expand...




England use to have North vs South
  • Started: Late 19th century (first match in 1894).
  • Format: Players from northern clubs vs players from southern clubs.
  • Purpose: Selection trial for the England national team.
  • Example: The FA ran these matches up until the 1950s. They were treated as serious representative fixtures and often drew big crowds.
Germany had Regional Select Sides
  • Before the Bundesliga (1963), football was organized in regional leagues (Oberliga West, Süd, Nord, etc.).
  • The DFB occasionally staged West vs South or North vs South games as trials for the national team.
  • These were basically “state of origin” because players were tied to their local Oberliga regions
Brazil had Brasileiro de Seleções Estaduais
  • Brazil actually ran a full national championship between state representative teams.
  • Started in 1922, continued on and off until the 1960s.
  • São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro state teams dominated.
  • These sides were often stronger than the national team at the time, since the best Brazilian players were concentrated in those states.
These nations no longer run these fixtures, but they were used as trials for national teams.
 
I feel the Australia cup is enough of a geographical mix. I don't know enough about the competition but maybe even a few more preliminary rounds in a local sense can give some the chance at going a bit further afield.
 
State v state at youth levels I get. But not at senior level. What should ideally happen is they extend the A League season to something like 8 months plus a 1 month finals series.
 
grazorblade said:
You need grievance for state of origin to work. In qld and nsw it has been about different philosophy of pokie laws (now extinct so its become a bit of theatre, but it needed that momentum)

The main grievance in australian footbal is between old soccer and new football, so u would need to lean into that rather than geography imo.

Maybe eligibility determined on whether you were developed in an a league academy or a grassroots club
Click to expand...

It wasn't about pokies.

It was about Queenslanders playing in the NSWRL being picked for NSW and then flogging Queensland every year in the NSW vs Qld game hence the introduction of state of ORIGIN.
 
GDEATHE said:
Since we just brought back AussieAshes time to bring back NSW v Victoria Inter-colonial series
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A NSW v Victoria inter-colonial State of Origin series won't work because NSW will have too many players compared to Victoria. Assuming eligibility is based on junior club member federation and Northern NSW is combined into NSW, there would be 13 players to 2 just from the most recent Socceroos squad alone, and 17 players to 3 from the initial Matildas squad for June/July for a women's series.
 
League Cup

Hosting rights based on luck of the draw.

Playoff round) 24 teams - ALM and bottom 12 of the Australian Championship at the time of the draw in playoffs to give 12 teams

Main draw 12 winners plus the 4 Australian championship teams that haven't played

RD 16

QF

SF

League Cup Final
 
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I've always thought that one of the reasons why State of Origin is such a popular concept within Australia is that Rugby League doesn't have a particularly big international competition dynamic.

There's Australia, New Zealand, England and more recently the emerging Pacific Island nations. Plus one or two others who are much less competitive than the bigger fish.....

Not slagging RL off, it's that the Origin series gives it something else in terms of representative competition. Hence it has become so much part of the game.
 
Football us life said:
I've always thought that one of the reasons why State of Origin is such a popular concept within Australia is that Rugby League doesn't have a particularly big international competition dynamic.

There's Australia, New Zealand, England and more recently the emerging Pacific Island nations. Plus one or two others who are much less competitive than the bigger fish.....

Not slagging RL off, it's that the Origin series gives it something else in terms of representative competition. Hence it has become so much part of the game.
Click to expand...
It was basically bought in because the QRL were sick of losing series against the NSWRL. There was probably stronger international Rugby League back then with Australia, England, France and New Zealand strong sides.
 
rebelliousfeminist974 said:
A NSW v Victoria inter-colonial State of Origin series won't work because NSW will have too many players compared to Victoria. Assuming eligibility is based on junior club member federation and Northern NSW is combined into NSW, there would be 13 players to 2 just from the most recent Socceroos squad alone, and 17 players to 3 from the initial Matildas squad for June/July for a women's series.
Click to expand...

Makes no difference to Queensland in league where they have far less players. 'It's all about the PASSION'.
 
I like the outside the box thinking, but I don't think this benefits A-league players. You also have the eligibility criteria? If a player for QLD is playing for Glory, that's some serious mileage and the club then would raise concerns because an injury in this series could affect their club.

I like the idea at a youth level.
 
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