DANE ELDRIDGE: Change to NRL origin rules simply confirms what Queensland have been doing all along

Origin’s eligibility laws have expanded to include pretty much everyone- and not just to align with Queensland’s existing policy.

For those who missed the ARLC’s announcement on Monday, players of Kiwi and English heritage will now join their counterparts from tier two nations as eligible for the NRL’s domestic showpiece.

Not only is this the square-up Origin’s been anticipating since the Maroons first annexed the Asia Pacific, it will spread the benefits of the interstate classic far beyond to where it’s needed most, ie mostly back to NZ for all the players it has indirectly swindled.

Of course, it won’t be an unmitigated circus with players still obligated to meet basic criteria proving they 1. Resided in NSW or Queensland before their 13th birthday, and 2. Are inexhaustibly repulsed by Paul Gallen or XXXX.

But while this still rules out most Pommies and Victorians, there’s no doubting new star names like Addin Fonua-Blake, AJ Brimson and Victor Radley are sure to raise Origin’s appeal even higher than it already is.

While seemingly seismic in theory, these radical changes merely formalise an eligibility landscape that had grown staggering pliable and overrun with sovereign terrorism.

Queensland began the rot by roguishly bending its borders to PNG and Fiji to naturalise stalwarts like Adrian Lam and Lote Tuqiri, all before gerrymandering Kempsey and Greg Inglis just like they did Tweed Heads when they pettily repudiated eastern daylight savings time.

To be fair, NSW has played its fair share of dirty pool too by luring Kiwi James Tamou and living large in recent years off Samoa’s Mt Druitt Masif of Jarome Luai, Stephen Crichton, Brian To’o and Spencer Leniu.

But with all bets now off, Origin can finally showcase what it’s always done best: schmoozing the next Polynesian talent to list Logan or Campbelltown on his application as his favourite home town.

But why only now is this rule being introduced?

Ask us paranoid New South Welshmen and we’d claim it’s solely so Queensland can keep Kalyn Ponga- and we’d probably be right.

But according to Peter V’Landys, the real reason is not only to jack up the PSI in the Origin pressure cooker by embellishing it with Ivy League talent, but also to reflect the diverse demographics of modern Australia.

Australia’s hotpot multicultural society means Islander kids are growing up in Western Sydney and Ipswich as genuinely passionate Origin fans.

Its a generation who care as much about their heritage as their state, meaning they are hybridly wired to unleash a Sipi Tau with as much ferocity at Cam Munster or Liam Martin as they would a rival Pasifika nation.

Now we find ourselves in the modern day where if PNG skipper Lam moonlit again for the Maroons it would barely cause enough blowback to knock Alfie Langer off his stool at the Caxton Hotel.

And if capturing this market for Origin also provides the double bonus of better footy, it’s a no-brainer according to V’Landys.

“If a player is eligible to play State of Origin, it makes no sense to exclude them simply because they’ve represented New Zealand or England at Test level. State of Origin is about where you’re from and what state you’re eligible for — not which country you represent internationally,” he said.

“If you’re eligible, you should be able to play for your state.”

It’s progressive considering there was a time when dual citizenship in Origin was as unconstitutional as the parliamentary eligibility crisis of 2017 when Barnaby Joyce could govern Australia despite having a heritage as hotly disputed across the Tasman as the pavlova.

But despite Origin criteria as simplistic as it was narrow - you needed to be born either side of the Tweed and be prepared to play for Australia and belt your club teammate if needed - affairs gradually loosened.

Now we find ourselves in the modern day where if PNG skipper Lam moonlit again for the Maroons it would barely cause enough blowback to knock Alfie Langer off his stool at the Caxton Hotel.

Hence this move to ratify this new meaning of being “Built for Origin”.

And while many traditionalists believe this will further erode what makes Origin so special, nobody can define what that is anyway so we might as well take the W and get Fonua-Blake in for the Blues.

Of course, securing the services of the silky prop is a colossal benefit- but it’s not enough to crown NSW the sole winners of this rule change.

That honour goes to our friends across the ditch in New Zealand; and it’s been a long time coming.

Much like the Origin pool was corrupted by smarmy Maroons and their mystical jersey, the Kiwis have seen their stocks hot-spotted by tier two nations with players opting instead to represent other Pacific Island nations for reasons like family ties and cultural responsibility, not to mention the lure of the game’s grandest stage and its even grander match payments.

Had these rules been applied in previous years the Kiwis could’ve offered roles to names like Luai, Kalyn Ponga and Josh Papal’li amongst others, chiefly because they could also grant them amnesty to bruise each other silly in another country’s petty provincial war in prime time.

And with a generational playmaker like Redcliffe’s Isaiya Katoa a potential now suddenly in the mix, New Zealand’s got extended depth and good headaches.