Cameron Smith has thrown his support behind a radical shake-up of the State of Origin and NRL schedule.
Smith said he would support a mid-season pause of the NRL competition, within which State of Origin and other representative games could be played.
Calls from clubland to shift Origin to the end of the season due to the impact of injuries and fatigue have been rumbling for years.
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The most notable Origin-related injuries this series was a torn pec to NSW superstar Tom Trbojevic and a shoulder injury to Dolphins lock Tom Gilbert. Both were ruled out for the season.
“These players are fatigued … emotionally, mentally, physically fatigued, so I do understand the call for a change in the scheduling,” he said on SEN’s The Captain’s Run on Wednesday.
“I’ve heard people say let’s just play the competition out and play Origin at the end of the year. But the risk you have at the end of the year I believe is how many players will be available?
“You run the risk of guys playing throughout the year, maybe they’re playing with a busted shoulder, an issue with their knee or ankle, or some part of their body that by the time you get to the end of the season, your club has you booked in for some sort of surgery, or rest, or maybe both to get you ready.
“Others have suggested let’s halt the competition. I’d say if there was any change to the scheduling, that would be the one easiest to do – the mid-season representative period.”
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Smith suggested Origin could headline the representative period, which could also feature a series of matches involving the Polynesian nations and Indigenous and Maori teams.
He said for players not involved in either of these competitions, the NRL could set up a condensed Super League-style Challenge Cup, which could see fully-fledged NRL clubs come up against lower-grade clubs on the big stage.
He said he would support any concept that would allow all NRL players to continue playing throughout that period to sustain match fitness, even if it meant them returning to NSW or Queensland Cup sides.
Smith said he wasn’t convinced of Wayne Bennett’s idea to play a regular Origin fixture in New Zealand.
“The argument there, about taking games to New Zealand would be we already take one game to a neutral venue, Adelaide, Melbourne, Perth, why not take it elsewhere?” Smith said.
“I don’t know whether or not that’s the right thing to do – it’s a game between two Australian states so should it leave the country? I’m not too sure.”
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