Any of you guys know about State Of Origin Rugby League?

kenyan_cheena · 05-25-2005, 07:30 PM

Over here in Australia, the biggest rivalry in sports takes place three times a year during May, June and July. It's State Of Origin Rugby League, played between the states of New South Wales and Queensland.

This year is the 25th year of Origin, and during the past 24 years, 72 games have been played. Queensland have won 35, New South Wales have won 35 and 2 games have been drawn.

The teams are made up the very best players from our National Rugby League, who represent the state that they first played senior level rugby league in. So, basically, it's a 3 game All-Star series. But unlike the All-Star games in the NBA, MLB and NFL, State Of Origin is taken very seriously. In fact, it really is the highest quality rugby league possible. The very first game back in 1980 was thought of as a bit of a gimmick, but when Arthur Beetson and Mick Cronin, teammates on the Parramatta Eels club team in Sydney, started exchanging haymakers five minutes into the game, it was an obvious sign that the game wasn't just an "exhibition".

Last night, the first game of the 2005 Origin series was played at Lang park in Queensland, which is known as "The Cauldron" because of the passion of the Queensland fans, and many have already said that it was one of the best origin games ever.

Queensland went into half-time leading 13-0, and extended that lead to 19-0 ten minutes into the second half. But then, New South Wales stage a furious comeback, scoring four tries (a try is like a touchdown) during the next 20 minutes to take the lead, 20-19. With two minutes left in the game, Queensland kicked a field goal to tie the scores at 20-20, sending the game into sudden death extra time, where Queensland scored an intercept try to win the game 24-20.

If any of you are interested in knowing more about Rugby League, just visit www.nrl.com.au.

kenyan_cheena · 05-26-2005, 09:57 PM

Anybody?

Anybody?

statfreak · 05-27-2005, 12:24 AM

I don't know anything about Rugby League or much about Rugby in general. It has always looked like something that I wanted to try to play though. We have a rugby league (maybe it's Aussie rules football, difference?!?) here, but I haven't had a chance to get to a match yet.

edrooney · 05-27-2005, 10:12 AM

My main problem with rugby league is that it's very rare that an underdog can upset a favourite. While that's true for a lot of sports, it seems that in RL, the better team almost always comes out on top. Just, perhaps, but I like a decent chance of an upset.

Oh, that and the fact that Aussies call RL "footy", which really winds me up.

It is quite an exhilirating sport to watch when there are two evenly-matched equally proficient teams against each other (which no doubt the State of Origin games are). Pretty good game to play, as well.

Sometimes, it's almost like they took God's own game (rugby 'union') and took all the fun parts out. But then I guess football (soccer) fans could equally claim that about rugby union. They'd be wrong, though.

kenyan_cheena · 05-27-2005, 07:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by edrooney

My main problem with rugby league is that it's very rare that an underdog can upset a favourite. While that's true for a lot of sports, it seems that in RL, the better team almost always comes out on top. Just, perhaps, but I like a decent chance of an upset.

I don't agree with this point. This season in the Australian NRL, my team, the Wests Tigers, who have not been to the playoffs since 1991, defeated last year's grand finalists, the Bulldogs and Roosters, in successive weeks. The way the competition standings are at the moment is nothing like anyone thought it would be at the beginning of the season. There have been PLENTY of upsets. Maybe you're talking about the English Super League, but over here in Australia, the competition is fiercely even.

kenyan_cheena · 05-24-2006, 07:52 PM

Okay, folks. Last night the first game of this year's State of origin series was played and it was another thriller.

New South Wales exploded out of the blocks, scoring three tries in the first 21 minutes to be leading 14-0. They took that lead into half-time (although it should have been more, as they more or less dominated the first half) and the game became something of an armwrestle in the second half.

NSW was still leading 16-6 with ten minutes to play. It was then that they let the Queenslanders back into the game. They scored a try to make the score 16-10 and then got another one with four minutes to play. Johnathan Thurston, last season's MVP, was successful with a sideline conversion to tie the scores at 16 before NSW halfback Brett Finch, who had only been called into the team on Tuesday morning, kicked a 40 metre field goal with two minutes to play to make it 17-16.

That's how it stayed. The series will move to Queensland in three weeks, when Lang Park will host game two.

CONN CHRIS · 05-24-2006, 08:15 PM

I know absolutely nothing about RL. But based on your post Dan, it would appear that each of the first three tries were worth approximately 4.66667 points.

Either you Aussies are odder than I had thought or I need a primer in RL scoring.

Christopher

kenyan_cheena · 05-24-2006, 08:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CONN CHRIS

I know absolutely nothing about RL. But based on your post Dan, it would appear that each of the first three tries were worth approximately 4.66667 points.

Either you Aussies are odder than I had thought or I need a primer in RL scoring.

Christopher

A try is worth 4 points and a conversion (like a PAT in the NFL) is worth 2 points. NSW scored three tries, but only one of them was converted. Unlike in the NFL, a conversion is taken from a point on the field that is inline with where the ball was grounded. So if the try was scored near the sideline, the conversion is taken fron the sideline. The kicker can choose how far back he moves the ball. A sideline conversion would usually be taken from about 20 metres back, like in the picture below:

http://images.google.com.au/images?q...2_kbartrim.jpg

LFC1892 · 05-25-2006, 07:57 AM

We may very well be the only OOTP'ers to watch the game KC. We(NSW) got out to a great start, but it turned when Grothe laid into Hodges(which I appreciated,lol). Am not Finchs biggest fan(am Sea Eagles supporter!!!) but he played well and the field goal was well hit. How do you think we'll go at Suncorp?

kenyan_cheena · 05-25-2006, 07:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GUTIERREZ

We may very well be the only OOTP'ers to watch the game KC. We(NSW) got out to a great start, but it turned when Grothe laid into Hodges(which I appreciated,lol). Am not Finchs biggest fan(am Sea Eagles supporter!!!) but he played well and the field goal was well hit. How do you think we'll go at Suncorp?

Yeah, the fact that Finch was the "hero" kinda annoyed me as a couple of my co-workers (who are Roosters fans) were crowing about it all day Thursday. I'm a Tigers fan (have been for 26 years) and I was happy to see Hodgson have a pretty good game (besides that mistake near the end).

There's no reason why we can't win the next game, but I think Meninga will get a much better performance out of Queensland. I'm sure it will be another nail-biter.

Sea Eagles look pretty good this year. They've lost some close games (Cowboys, Dragons, Tigers) and could easily be in the top four with a little more luck.

Cooleyvol · 05-25-2006, 07:21 PM

I still don't understand what happened. Oh well...................can't wait for June's game! match! contest! er.....whichever.

The Funk · 05-25-2006, 11:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by edrooney

My main problem with rugby league is that it's very rare that an underdog can upset a favourite. While that's true for a lot of sports, it seems that in RL, the better team almost always comes out on top. Just, perhaps, but I like a decent chance of an upset.

Oh, that and the fact that Aussies call RL "footy", which really winds me up.

It is quite an exhilirating sport to watch when there are two evenly-matched equally proficient teams against each other (which no doubt the State of Origin games are). Pretty good game to play, as well.

Sometimes, it's almost like they took God's own game (rugby 'union') and took all the fun parts out. But then I guess football (soccer) fans could equally claim that about rugby union. They'd be wrong, though.

I'd agree with most of that. Rugby Union is the best sport in the world.

League's not bad mind.

kenyan_cheena · 05-26-2006, 01:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Funk

I'd agree with most of that. Rugby Union is the best sport in the world.

League's not bad mind.

I lost all interest in rugby union after seeing the most bone-headed play ever in the last world cup final. The scores were tied with less than a minute to go. Australia has the ball, and instead of just trying to run down the clock to get to extra time, what happens? Matt Rogers kicks it over the sideline and England gets the ball just before the halfway line. Twenty seconds later, field goal to England. Game over.

But what confused me was that the commentators thought that Rogers kicking the ball was the right thing to do. Hello??? The score was tied. The only way the other team was going to win was if you gave them the ball back. Otherwise, it would have gone to extra time.

Rugby union is just too stop-start for my liking. The referees are far too involved, and why do the teams kick so many bloody penalty goals. Also, why is a penalty goal worth 3 points, but a conversion worth only 2?

IMO, Rugby League is the greatest sport in the world, and always will be.

kenyan_cheena · 07-06-2006, 01:49 AM

http://www.nrl.com.au/News/Latest/Ne...5/Default.aspx

kenyan_cheena · 07-06-2006, 08:17 PM

Hmm. Looks like there's very little interest here in State of Origin rugby league. Maybe the attached youtube video will grab your attention:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZFmr...%20OF%20ORIGIN

kenyan_cheena · 07-06-2006, 08:24 PM

Or this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lf0fs...OF%20ORIGIN%20

aewin · 07-06-2006, 11:12 PM

There would probably be more interest in a real sport such as Australian Rules Football:

www.afl.com.au

C'arn the Pies!

kenyan_cheena · 07-06-2006, 11:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aewin

There would probably be more interest in a real sport such as Australian Rules Football:

www.afl.com.au

C'arn the Pies!

Yeah, a real sport. I don't know of any other sport where you score points for missing a shot at goal. Yeah, that's a great sport.
AFL is for people with short attention spans. People who need to see big scorelines because they get bored easily if they have to watch a sport where scoring is a challenge.

If you wanna promote that "sport", make your own thread, man. Don't try to hijack this one.

piperclap · 07-06-2006, 11:58 PM

Can someone outline the difference between Union, League and AFL?

I was on a club team here for about a week until I blew out my knee, so I never even made it into a game, so my knowledge is still very basic (i knew my job was to hit guys.)

LFC1892 · 07-07-2006, 12:18 AM

Hey Kenyan, why isnt there a mention of your beloved Tiger Brett Hodgson was the one who threw the pass,lol? Just kidding man. We were lucky to get the Hodgson-Menzies-Grothe try, so maybe it was justice. Just not looking forward to the bragging from those fools up north for the next 12 months.

05-25-2005, 07:30 PM	#1
kenyan_cheena Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Sydney, NSW, Australia Posts: 9,037	Any of you guys know about State Of Origin Rugby League? Over here in Australia, the biggest rivalry in sports takes place three times a year during May, June and July. It's State Of Origin Rugby League, played between the states of New South Wales and Queensland. This year is the 25th year of Origin, and during the past 24 years, 72 games have been played. Queensland have won 35, New South Wales have won 35 and 2 games have been drawn. The teams are made up the very best players from our National Rugby League, who represent the state that they first played senior level rugby league in. So, basically, it's a 3 game All-Star series. But unlike the All-Star games in the NBA, MLB and NFL, State Of Origin is taken very seriously. In fact, it really is the highest quality rugby league possible. The very first game back in 1980 was thought of as a bit of a gimmick, but when Arthur Beetson and Mick Cronin, teammates on the Parramatta Eels club team in Sydney, started exchanging haymakers five minutes into the game, it was an obvious sign that the game wasn't just an "exhibition". Last night, the first game of the 2005 Origin series was played at Lang park in Queensland, which is known as "The Cauldron" because of the passion of the Queensland fans, and many have already said that it was one of the best origin games ever. Queensland went into half-time leading 13-0, and extended that lead to 19-0 ten minutes into the second half. But then, New South Wales stage a furious comeback, scoring four tries (a try is like a touchdown) during the next 20 minutes to take the lead, 20-19. With two minutes left in the game, Queensland kicked a field goal to tie the scores at 20-20, sending the game into sudden death extra time, where Queensland scored an intercept try to win the game 24-20. If any of you are interested in knowing more about Rugby League, just visit www.nrl.com.au.

05-27-2005, 12:24 AM	#3
statfreak Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Milwaukee, WI Posts: 2,434	I don't know anything about Rugby League or much about Rugby in general. It has always looked like something that I wanted to try to play though. We have a rugby league (maybe it's Aussie rules football, difference?!?) here, but I haven't had a chance to get to a match yet. __________________ Roll out the barrel!

05-27-2005, 10:12 AM	#4
edrooney All Star Reserve Join Date: May 2004 Location: Bristol, UK Posts: 688 Infractions: 0/1 (1)	My main problem with rugby league is that it's very rare that an underdog can upset a favourite. While that's true for a lot of sports, it seems that in RL, the better team almost always comes out on top. Just, perhaps, but I like a decent chance of an upset. Oh, that and the fact that Aussies call RL "footy", which really winds me up. It is quite an exhilirating sport to watch when there are two evenly-matched equally proficient teams against each other (which no doubt the State of Origin games are). Pretty good game to play, as well. Sometimes, it's almost like they took God's own game (rugby 'union') and took all the fun parts out. But then I guess football (soccer) fans could equally claim that about rugby union. They'd be wrong, though. __________________ I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore.

05-24-2006, 08:15 PM	#7
CONN CHRIS Global Moderator Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 29,057	I know absolutely nothing about RL. But based on your post Dan, it would appear that each of the first three tries were worth approximately 4.66667 points. Either you Aussies are odder than I had thought or I need a primer in RL scoring. Christopher __________________ Check Out My Cards!

07-06-2006, 01:49 AM	#14
kenyan_cheena Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Sydney, NSW, Australia Posts: 9,037	Incredible ending to series http://www.nrl.com.au/News/Latest/Ne...5/Default.aspx

05-26-2005, 09:57 PM	#2
kenyan_cheena Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Sydney, NSW, Australia Posts: 9,037	Anybody? Anybody?

05-24-2006, 07:52 PM	#6
kenyan_cheena Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Sydney, NSW, Australia Posts: 9,037	Okay, folks. Last night the first game of this year's State of origin series was played and it was another thriller. New South Wales exploded out of the blocks, scoring three tries in the first 21 minutes to be leading 14-0. They took that lead into half-time (although it should have been more, as they more or less dominated the first half) and the game became something of an armwrestle in the second half. NSW was still leading 16-6 with ten minutes to play. It was then that they let the Queenslanders back into the game. They scored a try to make the score 16-10 and then got another one with four minutes to play. Johnathan Thurston, last season's MVP, was successful with a sideline conversion to tie the scores at 16 before NSW halfback Brett Finch, who had only been called into the team on Tuesday morning, kicked a 40 metre field goal with two minutes to play to make it 17-16. That's how it stayed. The series will move to Queensland in three weeks, when Lang Park will host game two.

05-25-2006, 07:57 AM	#9
LFC1892 All Star Reserve Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Global Posts: 963	We may very well be the only OOTP'ers to watch the game KC. We(NSW) got out to a great start, but it turned when Grothe laid into Hodges(which I appreciated,lol). Am not Finchs biggest fan(am Sea Eagles supporter!!!) but he played well and the field goal was well hit. How do you think we'll go at Suncorp?

05-25-2006, 07:21 PM	#11
Cooleyvol Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Union City, TN Posts: 6,383	I still don't understand what happened. Oh well...................can't wait for June's game! match! contest! er.....whichever.

07-06-2006, 08:17 PM	#15
kenyan_cheena Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Sydney, NSW, Australia Posts: 9,037	Hmm. Looks like there's very little interest here in State of Origin rugby league. Maybe the attached youtube video will grab your attention: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZFmr...%20OF%20ORIGIN

07-06-2006, 08:24 PM	#16
kenyan_cheena Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Sydney, NSW, Australia Posts: 9,037	Or this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lf0fs...OF%20ORIGIN%20

07-06-2006, 11:12 PM	#17
aewin Major Leagues Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 447	Afl There would probably be more interest in a real sport such as Australian Rules Football: www.afl.com.au C'arn the Pies!

07-06-2006, 11:58 PM	#19
piperclap All Star Reserve Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 671	Can someone outline the difference between Union, League and AFL? I was on a club team here for about a week until I blew out my knee, so I never even made it into a game, so my knowledge is still very basic (i knew my job was to hit guys.)

07-07-2006, 12:18 AM	#20
LFC1892 All Star Reserve Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Global Posts: 963	Hey Kenyan, why isnt there a mention of your beloved Tiger Brett Hodgson was the one who threw the pass,lol? Just kidding man. We were lucky to get the Hodgson-Menzies-Grothe try, so maybe it was justice. Just not looking forward to the bragging from those fools up north for the next 12 months.