If we’re not going to have State of Origin then it’s good to have some form of representative footy, because it can be a good learning experience, especially for younger players. The more seriously players take these opportunities then the greater the benefits for them, because the preparation, pressure and intensity can resemble that of a big match, whatever form the game takes.
The concept might not be perfect, but regardless of what the series may or may not mean to people, the benefit and meaning for those players representing their country would go a lot deeper than whether their team wins the series or not, because of what they are able to learn from other players and different coaches, and just from the overall experience.
You have to hand it to Kevin Sheedy; he doesn’t believe in doing anything half-heartedly and it was inspirational to see what he did with a curious mix of players in such a short space of time. There may not have been a lot of hype or expectation surrounding the series, but watching the match last week, it was hard not to get caught up in it. The efforts of the Australian players were brilliant and their commitment and enthusiasm made you want to watch. You could see that the game meant something to them, because it showed in the way they played and in their excitement after the win.
It’s not every day that some of those players will get that sort of opportunity, which is probably worth a few AFL games of experience. The experience and confidence boost gained by someone like Chris Newman will benefit his footy club in the long run. Same for any player who is prepared to take these games as seriously as he seems to be taking them, and have it help them become a better player.
From that point of view, it wouldn’t matter to me how these representative games are packaged, as long as the benefits for the players remained the same.
