Opinion: State of Origin is a post-season no-go

But although the result was a favourable one for us Cane Toads, it was less so for host broadcasters Channel Nine.

Look, I'll be the first to concede that complaining about big time sport being scheduled for November, a period usually about as busy as an ice cream truck in Antarctica, feels a bit odd.

But you only have to peruse the vibe on social media to get a reflection that interest in this series is at an all time low before the poor TV figures came out.

They were 25 per cent down and granted, the battle between red and blue on other channels, the US election, wouldn't have helped.

But when you have rusted on rugby league fans tweeting "anyone just not up for Origin as much as usual?" etc, then you know the scheduling is an issue.

ARLC chairman Peter V'landys said if the series "rated the roof off" they would consider keeping it as a post season event, but now it's been a ratings dud is surely will return to its rightful mid-season home.

There's no perfect time to hold the game's showpiece event. During the season the best teams are disadvantaged by losing their best players, which in turn affects the quality of NRL games for a couple of months.

The huge drawbacks in holding it now is the unavailability of a number of players due to post-season surgeries they need to undertake to get ready for pre-season with their clubs, who ultimately pay their bills.

Then there's the general post-grand final "football fatigue" where fans are generally over it and ready to consume their next sporting fix, whether that be cricket, the spring racing carnival or soccer.

Throw in the fact many players hadn't played for a month before playing in one of the biggest games of their lives, and the series opener was a low quality affair not befitting an event of that magnitude.

I'm as big a league fan as there is, but I was only half watching the first half of Wednesday's game in between sips of a beer at the pub.

Sure, the enemy were up 10-0 at halftime and looked set to justify their raging hot favouritism, which probably contributed to the malaise.

But even when Queensland won, it didn't evoke the usual sense of joy and euphoria it otherwise would in a traditional year.

It's hard to pinpoint exactly why that's the case. Whether it's just too abnormal for my brain to process watching Origin the day after doing my dough on the Melbourne Cup, or whether I'm simply happy to move on from football for a few months.

Either way, it's abundantly clear that playing the series mid-season is the lesser of two evils, and the option the vast majority of league fans prefer.

Is it time for Freddy Fittler to unleash Zac Lomax?

In my opinion the Blues missed a trick by picking two centres who don't play there for their clubs in Jack Wighton and Clint Gutherson.

The Maroons picked a rookie in Kurt Capewell at centre, who is generally more accustomed to playing second row.

Had the Blues fielded an established three-quarter like Temora's Lomax against the Panthers utility, there's every chance he could have exploited his lack of familiarity with the spot and found the points the Blues needed to win.

Maroons fans love to poke fun at the Blues for failing to 'pick and stick' after a loss, but at the same time they would love nothing more than if they stuck with the same centres.

Wighton won a Dally M medal this year at five eighth and should play there, not centre where the Blues struggled to get him any clean ball at all, with the Raiders star confined to hard carries out of the red zone.

He can, and should, be used a lot better than that.

However, thank to the depleted Queensland's pluckiness, at least the series has some interest heading into game two.

READ MORE