The big problem with mid-year break for Origin

Peter Psaltis is a Nine NRL commentator and the host of 4BC's Wide World of Sports radio show in Brisbane. Tune in from 6pm, Monday to Thursday!

There's been a lot of debate about where to place Origin in 2021. I think it should go back to its traditional slot mid-season next year when things return to some sort of normality. But we need to be careful how the game looks at Origin into the future.

There has been a lot of talk about stopping the NRL season for a month to play State of Origin over consecutive weeks in a similar format to what we are experiencing this year. This sounds good in theory but it does have its drawbacks.

The NRL all of a sudden would become out of sight out of mind. The comp would lose momentum, I don't think there's too much doubt about that.

The only way I feel it could work is if the weekends are full of other representative matches, like internationals featuring Tonga, England, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Fiji and other Pacific nations. Maybe you could throw in some televised under age rep games. The annual Queensland vs. New South Wales Residents game would also go into the mix.

One option could be to expand women's Origin to be played over a three-match series. If these games aren't played then I don't think three games over a month will be enough to satisfy rugby league fans who are hungry for the product, even if those games are State of Origin.

The clubs would of course love the break and they wouldn't miss any Origin players for games. The issue of resting players would just about disappear.

But isn't it the case that the amount of representative players you have is an indication of the success of your team? I didn't hear too many complaints coming out of Tim Sheens or Wayne Bennett in the 90s when they each had up to 12 players involved in Origin while they were coaching the Raiders and Broncos respectively.

As one example Brisbane had 12 players featured in the 1998 Origin series and still won the premiership. These days the spread of Origin players is more even across the board so with player management it shouldn't be a huge issue. Trent Robinson and Craig Bellamy seem to cope OK.

Origin is something the game should be very proud of. It is the envy of many sports. But the game has to be careful in how it is treated moving forward.

After the year we have had with COVID-19 I'm thankful we have a series this year, it's something for us all to enjoy. Let's just make sure we get Origin right in 2021 and beyond.

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