In the year 2525...
Close your eyes. Forget everything you know about the NRL and State of Origin. Now open them again and consider the Brisbane Broncos, who have won six in a row, being denied the use of their six best players and losing 28-10 to a Warriors outfit that lost four of their previous five.
We know it's ridiculous but the really insane thing is that we have an answer, and we're employing it next year! One weekend Origin, with New Zealand playing England and other internationals, will eventually become three. The Kiwis and the English will get a full mid-season Test series. The ratings for the other games on the rep weekend underlined how much more attractive these Tests are – even to a parochial Australian audience – than depleted clubs schlepping around. But we're still sucking on that money teat, evolving at a glacial pace… bloody frustrating.