When will the Origin Draw become
obsolete?

NOT HAPPY JAN! When will the Origin Draw become obsolete?

I have a question. How can an Origin Series Decider, be decided by a draw?

The drawn result actually, to me, is worse than a loss. The team that earned the trophy last year gets to retain it for another year. I don't believe that is a fair result, considering that Origin games are up there in importance with the annual Grand Final game in September. And we never hear of a tied Grand Final result.

I don't doubt that Queensland should have won last night, but to see it reflected in the result would have made it real. Not having a particularly clever Rugby League mind, I am still at a loss as why Darren Lockyers try was disallowed. I also have no doubt that if Queensland had a goal kicker of Johns calibre, they would have had six extra points on the board.

So what is the solution to this problem? How do make the game fair to players and supporters of both states. Queenslanders would currently be happy with the retention rule, as a draw is a win for them, (dejevu to 1999 also). If New South Wales had have been lucky to retain the shield based on a drawn series, would I be writing this?

How do soccer solve their low scoring nil all drawn games. Both teams have a 5 penalty shots, and the team with the most successful wins. If they both shoot all 5 successfully, they continue to shoot until one team misses. Converting that into Rugby league terms would mean shots at goal, which would have allowed NSW to win, with Queensland absence of a skilful goal kicker.

Another option is what is called a count back, where points in previous games assist in deciding whom a winner is. In the 2002 Origin Series, if we did a count back in tries, it would look like this:

Origin I: NSW 32 (5 tries) - Qld 4 (1 try)

Origin II: Qld 26 (5 tries) - NSW 18 (3 tries)

Origin III: NSW 18 (3 tries) - Qld 18 (4 tries)

Total: NSW 68 (11 tries) defeat Qld 48 (10 tries)

We currently use all points scored in the NRL season to decide positioning on the ladder, and who makes the Top 8 teams to eventually play out the Finals.

The option I most prefer would to introduce extra time. What option would be the preferred though? Do the two teams play until one team scores? All that would encourage is each team to set themselves up for the Golden Point to win the series. I would like to see a set time limit of say ten minutes in extra time, and teams would be more inclined to play their hearts out and score a try which may even be converted to clinch the decider confidently.

I was upset last night when the Queensland supporters I was with were claiming they won. The 2002 State of Origin Series was DRAWN, but Queensland retained the Shield. The sooner this rule disappears; a fairer Origin Decider will take place. For Wayne Bennet to say prior to the game that he would be is happy with a draw shows the unfairness of this rule.