NRL 'tame' stars must stop being 'boring' and follow George Kambosos Jr blueprint

‘They are putting us to SLEEP!’: Paul Kent blasts NRL’s ‘tame’ stars for ‘boring’ build up that is KILLING State of Origin – telling players to follow George Kambosos Jr’s blueprint to sell the sport… before offering the ULTIMATE insult

  • Paul Kent has blasted State of Origin stars for their ‘boring’ pre-match build up 
  • Queensland and NSW go head-to-head in Game I at Accor Stadium tomorrow 
  • However, NRL360 pundit Kent believes there is a ‘tameness’ to the rivalry
  • He has urged Origin stars to follow the blueprint laid out by George Kambosos Jr 

State of Origin is now ‘boring’ and players must take responsibility to attract interest into the NRL’s biggest yearly series, Paul Kent has claimed in an astonishing rant.

New South Wales and Queensland do battle at Accor Stadium on Wednesday night in the first of a three-game series, with the best players that each state has to offer going head to head.

Origin has been responsible for some of the wildest scenes ever witnessed in rugby league, with the likes of the 1995 MCG brawl, Cattledog and Lewis v Geyer making this rivalry as bitter as any in the sporting world.

Paul Kent has blasted Origin stars for their 'boring' build up to this year's three-game series

Paul Kent has blasted Origin stars for their ‘boring’ build up to this year’s three-game series

However, News Corp journalist Kent believes that in a world of extensive media coverage and positive PR, the sting has been taken out of this clash and he urged the players to follow the blueprint set out by George Kambosos Jr to inject bad blood back into the contest. 

‘I want to talk about the fight on Sunday,’ he began on NRL360. ‘George Kambosos has not fought in Australia since 2016, yet off the back of what he did to build up this fight he got 40,000 people into Marvel Stadium and he got a PPV audience which earned him a $10m purse.

‘We need to get the tameness out of Origin. The players are now so disciplined, so desperate not to cause any motivation to the opposition that we get the most boring lead ups. 

Nathan Cleary will lead the Blues this year

Melbourne Storm five-eighth Cameron Munster will star for the Maroons

New South Wales (L) and Queensland (R) go head-to-head in the NRL’s biggest rivalry

However, Kent says that the players are 'putting us to sleep' with their lack of needle

However, Kent says that the players are ‘putting us to sleep’ with their lack of needle

‘I spoke to [NRL chief] Andrew Abdo about it today and I said ‘you’ve got a problem coming up here with this slow decline in Origin interest’ and he acknowledged that and he said ‘it is time for the game to get out there and start selling itself again’.

‘It [Origin] was built on the back of these wildcats from Queensland coming in with a pure hatred for New South Wales where whatever they said about NSW they didn’t give a rat’s arse whether the Blues cared about it or not and they went after NSW and they set up the whole Origin mystique on the back of that. 

‘Now, you get the impression that if they ran into each other in a restaurant, they would all walk over and say G’day to each other and sit down and share a meal. It has got to change, it has got to get back to the wild days were something actually interesting comes out.’

Origin stars have been locked in a dispute with the NRL over their match fee for representing their state. Players are pocketing $15,000 per game, but want that figure to return to the $30,000 they took home pre-pandemic.

He says that NRL stars should follow the blueprint of George Kambosos Jr, who attracted 40,000 fans to Marvel Stadium for his lightweight title fight over the weekend

He says that NRL stars should follow the blueprint of George Kambosos Jr, who attracted 40,000 fans to Marvel Stadium for his lightweight title fight over the weekend

However, Kent insists that today’s players need to do more to ‘sell’ the game and take home a bigger salary, 

‘The last quote anyone can remember is when Paul Gallen was paid $20,000 by the NRL to liven it up so he came out and called them two heads, which just set Queensland alight. 

‘The game has got to start educating these players that they are killing the goose that laid the golden egg. They are just putting us all to sleep through it all.

‘They need to understand their part in this, they are on $15,000 a game, they are arguing now that they should go back up to $30,000 a game, yet what are they doing to actually sell the game?

‘George Kambosos lit a fuse before his fight and he turned it into a 40,000 strong crowd in a country that six months ago didn’t know who he was. They have got to take it upon themselves to start getting back into the fight, these guys.’ 

KENTY’S ORIGIN RANT IN FULL 

I want to talk about the fight on Sunday. George Kambosos has not fought in Australia since 2016, yet off the back of what he did to build up this fight he got 40,000 people into Marvel Stadium and he got a PPV audience which earned him a $10m purse.

We need to get the tameness out of Origin. The players are now so disciplined, so desperate not to cause any motivation to the opposition that we get the most boring lead ups. 

What’s happening is there’s a gradual decline in television ratings, there is a gradual decline in interest, certainly the numbers online show that less people are reading Origin stories and I spoke to Andrew Abdo about it today and I said ‘you’ve got a problem coming up here with this slow decline in Origin interest’ and he acknowledged that and he said ‘it is time for the game to get out there and start selling itself again’. 

If we remember they tried to bring in a similar documentary to the Drive to Survive, which has done wonders for the Formula One around the world. Rugby league has got to stop assuming that people are always going to be there and that Origin is always going to be this game. 

It was built on the back of these wildcats from Queensland coming in with a pure hatred for New South Wales where whatever they said about NSW they didn’t give a rat’s arse whether the Blues cared about it or not and they went after NSW and they set up the whole Origin mystique on the back of that. 

Now, you get the impression that if they ran into each other in a restaurant, they would all walk over and say g’day to each other and sit down and share a meal. It has got to change, it has got to get back to the wild days were something actually interesting comes out. Rather than talk about processes and playing good footy and going through and getting to their sets, it has got to change. The players have got to take some responsibility. 

The last quote anyone can remember is when Paul Gallen was paid $20,000 by the NRL to liven it up so he came out and called them two heads, which just set Queensland alight. The game has got to start educating these players that they are killing the goose that laid the golden egg. 

They are just putting us all to sleep through it all. The preparation and the coverage has never been more intense than it is now and the players, in response, are pulling back, They need to understand their part in this, they are on $15,000 a game, they are arguing now that they should go back up to $30,000 a game, yet what are they doing to actually sell the game? 

George Kambosos lit a fuse before his fight and he turned it into a 40,000 strong crowd in a country that six months ago didn’t know who he was. They have got to take it upon themselves to start getting back into the fight, these guys. 

 

source: dailymail.co.uk