NSW coach Brad Fittler has endorsed a change to the current international eligibility system, which would allow for Kiwi or English-born players to play State of Origin.
The rules currently allow for anyone who fits the criteria of living in either state before the age of 13 to play, and also represent an international team – as long as it’s not England or New Zealand.
But in the wake of Victor Radley’s decision to represent England, Fittler said that anyone from either of the other ‘Tier 1’ nations should also be able to play Origin, provided they meet the age criteria.
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Fittler said that the teenage residency aspect of the current system was “fantastic”.
“If you spend your high school here, it means you’ve been nurtured by NSW or Queensland, and you get to play Origin,” Fittler said on Wide World of Sports’ Freddy and the Eighth.
“State of Origin doesn’t have to change – you just need to get rid of the tiering system in international football.
“You picture October, with hardly any sport on. You have a Pacific nations contest, Australia, the islands, New Zealand, England might come over, or France, every second year.
“Could you imagine that competition? That would be awesome, it’d be brilliant. Take it around to different towns, the country, it’d be unreal.”
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Andrew Johns was in favour of the change as well, saying the sport needed to adapt to acknowledge the diverse background of the majority of its player base.
“Pacific Islands now, is about 50 per cent of the NRL,” Johns said.
“The next generation will be up between 50 and 60, probably up towards 60 per cent – so a lot of those players will want to play [for] Tonga, Samoa, Fiji…they should be allowed.”
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