The AFL Hall of Fame Tribute Match takes place this weekend at Melbourne Cricket Ground, part of Australian football’s whole 150th anniversary celebration. A team of AFL players from Victoria will square off on a team of AFL players from … well, pretty much everywhere else in Australia and the world, really, and ultimately, this game asks us a very important question: is a half-assed State of Origin game better than no State of Origin at all?
Because this match is really nothing but a massive compromise. The AFL clearly wants nothing to do with State of Origin anymore, because it sees itself as a continent-wide competition now, which makes State of Origin redundant. The players, however, clearly want the series to make a comeback. Some are even shrugging off minor injury concerns to play in this Hall of Fame match. When was the last time you heard of an NFL player shrugging off an injury to play in the Pro Bowl?
Clearly, State of Origin still means something to these guys, and it certainly has a rich tradition in Australian sport. The NRL still holds its State of Origin series. So why has the AFL abandoned it?
Simply put, fans stopped caring in the 1990s. The VFL became the AFL and went national, and attendance for State of Origin games declined to the point where it wasn’t worth holding the series anymore. Will this match change that? Or is this just a one-off compromise that the AFL will use to satisfy the players and historians, then shove back in the closet?
The AFL Hall of Fame Tribute Match will air in America on Setanta Sports at 3:00 PM on Saturday afternoon. If you’re curious about Aussie Rules, this would be a good game to watch. Judging from the rosters, there’s going to be a shitload of talent on that oval.
11 responses so far ↓
1 AFL Football - Victoria vs The Dreamteam Match Preview - The Dream Team vs Victoria | AFL Football Blog // May 8, 2008 at 7:07 pm
[...] I don’t think the Victorian side can blow the Dream Team out of the water but I think the Dream Team have the potential to do so with their forward set up. If the Victorian midfield can get on top then the Big V forwards are quite capable of kicking the winning score. Victoria for me by 1 point, What better game to showcase the game of Australian Rules Football, I was reading today that it will be even broadcast in America on Setanta Sports . [...]
2 Ronald Dale // May 8, 2008 at 11:18 pm
I dont think it’s right that the AFL does not want SOO. As far as the admin is concerned they would rather have SOO with Vic, SA, WA, Qld, NSW and Tas (even NT) if possible. Think of the revenue, the showcase of the game etc. The dollars to be earned from this on top of the current rights agreements are potentially huge.
The players are for the large part very keen to take part and also increase their status, marketability etc (not to mention the extra cash the players association would like to squeeze out of this) as well as just the genuine pride they have to play for their state.
All except for the most rabid fans with selfish club interests also want to see the game at its best in these clashes.
It is the clubs (some more than others) and the coaches (again some more than others) that killed SOO in the first place and squashed the AFL’s attempts to bring it back.
3 Ronald Dale // May 8, 2008 at 11:23 pm
Additionally the arguement that SOO is redundant due to continent wide competiition could not be more wrong. The best talent from all areas of the continent do not get to regularly play in their own state with the locals cheering them on as they are drafted to play at all ends of the country. Am a bit disappointed Dave that you chose to blame the AFL for this when they have stepped up and given us the next best option when they failed to recieve the support from the clubs.
4 Sean // May 9, 2008 at 12:02 am
Um the fans NEVER stopped caring.
They are the ones who wanted the series to continue. It only died when the AFL took control and started deliberately meddling with it. Before the “Dream Team”, there was the “Allies”. The AFL figured that the lesser states didn’t deserve their own teams, so it forced states that are over 2000 kilometres away in the same jumper. That took all the passion out of the concept. They were under pressure from the club coaches who didn’t want to lose their big name players. As a Queenslander, I for one would love to see State of Origin return. I thought it was great and highly ironic when New South Wales defeated Victoria !
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhMJOzSPda0
So much has changed since then, and I would love to see the Dream Team belt Victoria just to show the suits at AFL House in Melbourne how far the game has come on the other side of the Murray.
It would be great for Australian football to show rugby league, even with 6 states compared to just two, that our game can also produce a great State of Origin series.
But as far as this match goes – meh – just an exhibition game unfortunately.
5 Ronald Dale // May 9, 2008 at 12:30 am
Sean would blame Andrew Demetriou and the AFL if the neighbours cat got pregnant.
6 Frank // May 9, 2008 at 2:39 am
Ronald, your nose is starting to turn brown.
At the end of the day, the AFL are the ones with the power to bring it back. It’s obvious that the players are more than keen, so how do you figure that the AFL is not responsible for it’s absence?
I don’t think you understood the continent-wide argument either, what he meant was we now have AFL players who were born overseas (eg. Ireland), so what are we supposed to do with them in SOO? If the AFL actually use this excuse though, it is weak because the NRL has overseas-born players and they still manage to have SOO games.
Your argument that it is the clubs and coaches who stop it from happening is laughable. It has nothing to do with the clubs, the players are free to play in it if they wish and they all obviously really do want to participate. If the clubs were stopping it from happening then we would hear about it from the players association. I have never seen anything to suggest any coaches have negative feelings towards SOO. That only leaves the AFL to blame.
7 Dave // May 9, 2008 at 8:08 am
I always pictured Demetriou as more of a dog person.
8 Sean // May 11, 2008 at 7:40 pm
For anyone interested, a highlights package is on YouTube.
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=RD_5J0ca4UM
9 AFL Football - Victoria vs The Dream Team Wrap Up | AFL Football Blog // May 11, 2008 at 8:23 pm
[...] The Victoria vs Dream Team Match certainly did not disappoint. A game that had star studded line ups, even with the host of players that withdrew was not only a great demonstration of Australian Rules Football but a thoroughly entertaining game. I wonder if Dave caught it on Setanta Sports? [...]
10 Ronald Dale // May 12, 2008 at 7:11 am
I think you better go back to when it ended and have a look at what the Eagles did. Fair enough they had the most to lose at that stage with the large number of players they potentially put at risk (not just to play for WA). The AFL extensively questioned both clubs and players last year and in the end it was the negative responses from a number of clubs that prevented the full return to SOO.
11 Tristan // May 15, 2008 at 11:33 pm
I think one of the issues is its hard to do SOO as the only game people want to see is their state vs Victoria. The remaining games don’t have much of a draw. A tri-series between SA, VIC, and WA would be good, but would require 3 games per year (2 for each team) not just 1.
Maybe the AFL instead needs to have a proper All-Star game. East (VIC, TAS, NSW, ACT, possibly QLD) vs West (SA, WA, NT, possibly QLD). That may not be popular with the public however.