‘It will die’: Debate rages over potential Origin ban for Kangaroos defects as players ask for $200k

There are calls for Kangaroos defectors to be banned from State of Origin amid reports players are pushing for the series payment to double to $200,000.

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Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow became the latest player on Tuesday to declare he’s weighing up a defection to Samoa at the of the year.

Fellow Kangaroos and Origin stars Payne Haas and Tino Fa’asuamaleaui are also considering switching to Samoa.

The NRL 360 panel put together a potential Samoa team for the 2025 Pacific Championships and it was stacked with NRL talent.

Under the current rules, Queensland and New South Welshman become ineligible for Origin if they defect to tier nations England and New Zealand.

Samoa and Tonga are tier two which allows Australians to represent both their state and their heritage.

But after the recent declarations of potential defects, the debate exploded between Paul Crawley and Dan Ginnane on NRL 360 on Tuesday.

Crawley: They’re all entitled to make their own choice but from an Australia perspective, we can’t continue to believe that Tonga and Samoa are tier two nations when they’re going to field the teams that they’ve got and it’s got nothing to do with their pathways because they’ll never have the pathways in their country that will match up against Australia. That’s not tier two side and this is a decision the NRL are going to have to be tough on because Origin is the big fish in this too. It’s the cash cow, it’s the history of our game.

Ginnane: Money is always going to win and they’ll protect Origin before they worry about the sanctity of Test football.

Crawley: How do you protect Origin under the current rules?

Ginnane: I think you separate them.

Crawley: No Dan, you’re wrong, you’re wrong mate because the problem at the moment is the history of Origin and the players that are coming through… if these people, and they’re entitled to do it, and they continue to play for Samoa.

Ginnane: What’s wrong with that?

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Crawley: Well the rules have to change to once you have made your declaration to one of these countries which should be tier one then from that moment on you shouldn’t be playing Origin.

Ginnane: This is where I disagree with you. Tabua-Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, born in Cairns, raised in Cairns, played for the Cairns Kangaroos, he’s a Queensland and I’m happy for him to play for Samoa.

Crawley: Gorden Tallis usually sits in that seat and you listen to Gorden talk about this with passion, he says it all the time.

Ginnane: Obviously, I don’t have the credibility of Gorden Tallis but Brian To’o, born in Sydney, raised in St Marys, he’s a New South Welshman.

Crawley: They all are Dan.

Ginnane: And that’s my point. They are New South Welshman and Queenslanders, what’s the problem?

Crawley: The problem is long term, Origin will die if you don’t protect it, it will. Because it will no longer be that mate against mate mentality, it won’t. And all the money in the world won’t save it.

Ginnane: What’s that got to do with picking between Australia and Samoa? There are players who, if we’re being honest, want to get the money to play Origin but also want to play for Samoa or Tonga. What’s the problem?

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