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Resolved ... players like James Tamou won't get a choice in future. Source: Sam Ruttyn / News Limited
State of Origin will be better off under new eligibility rules announced by the ARLC, according to the youngest player ever to represent Queensland, Ben Ikin.
Ikin is fiercely passionate about his home state and believes the new rules will ensure the intense tribalism that makes Origin so special is preserved for the future.
Origin eligibility has been a hot topic for years and the issue reared its ugly head again in 2012 when James Tamou was cherrypicked from New Zealand to play for the Blues.
An even more famous case is Greg Inglis - the superstar centre who has become a legend of the Maroons despite growing up and starting his football career in Bowraville, on the NSW mid-north coast.
Neither of these controversies would have exploded under the new rules, which require a player to have lived in the state he plays Origin for before he turns 13.
"At least we now know that as long as you've spent some amount of time in your home state prior to the age of 13, you're eligible to play for your state, which is fantastic," Ikin told foxsports.com.au in an exclusive interview on Wednesday.
"It links the eligibility more closely to the naming of the contest, being State of Origin, because I mean there's opportunities for those who have moved around later on in life, to end up playing for the state where they started playing rugby league or spent a big part of their life playing rugby league.
"I just think the decision has been made and now everybody knows where they stand - that's the best part about it."
While the new rules have clarified the position of players who have played football in both NSW and Queensland, it has muddied the waters for those who moved to Australia after their 13th birthday, as well as a new breed of footballer - the likes of Melbourne Storm youngster Mahe Fonua, who has resided in Victoria his entire life.
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Speaking on Fox Sports News' The Long Lunch, rugby league reporter Russell Fairfax protested against the fact that the new rules excluded Fonua from a pay cheque because he is now ineligible to play in the game's showpiece.
"Look, I don't think they've gone far enough," Fairfax suggested.
"What about Mahe Fonua? He's the first Melbourne born and bred player to play in the NRL. Can't he play Origin?
"If he resides in Melbourne all his life, he's eligible to play for Australia - which is one of the other rules - but now here's a guy who can't play State of Origin football.
"They haven't gone far enough."
While Ikin had some sympathy for Fairfax's view, he said the new rules were the best short-term fix available.
In the longer term, Ikin says players like Fonua need to be aligned to either NSW or Queensland from the moment they strap on a football boot and made a suggestion for how this could happen.
"I think what they've done is take some clear steps to fix things up in the short term and you'll find that the next round of decisions made around State of Origin eligibility will take a longer term view," Ikin said.
"This may create some controversy, but I think we need to allocate zones for Queensland and NSW, because lets be honest, the way the game's growing it's going to grow outside of Queensland and NSW over the next 20, 30, 50 years.
"So you could very well have, lets say 15 per cent of the games top 30 playes not eligible for Origin.
"My question is that what happens if the next Billy Slater, Cameron Smith and Cooper Cronk are born and raised in Victoria? You've also got the Polynesian influence in the game and New Zealand influence.
"And at the moment, the best solution in my mind when I've sat down and tried to think it through, is you link zones to NSW and Queensland.
"Now that may mean PNG, north island, south island of New Zealand, WA, Victoria are all allocated a state - either NSW or Queensland - which they are aligned to.
"It means they can still be passionate about their homeland but they know from the start of their rugby league career that they can play Origin and they know who they are eligible to play for.
"It may not include New Zealand or the Pacific Islands, it may just include the other states in Australia, but the upshot is that you'll have all these West Australians supporting Queensland in a market that we want to grow the game, because there's a pathway to the jewel of the crown.
"But it means that both sides are still rooted in Queensland and NSW, and that's the most vital thing."
What do you think of Ikin's idea to include other states and countries in State of Origin through a zoning framework? Leave a comment below to have your say!
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