As Glenn Dyer pointed out yesterday, the deciding
State of Origin game on Wednesday night
attracted a very respectable 242,000 viewers in Melbourne – even though it was a 9:30pm
replay.

The dust had barely settled on this year’s
series when debate opened up about where the third match will be played next
year. And Melbourne
is in serious contention.

When the NRL announced its new free-to-air agreement with
Channel Nine last week, one of the “highlights” was a provision
that the NRL grand final will be shown
“live” in Melbourne from 2007 onwards.

If that is the best the NRL can do to promote rugby
league in Melbourne
it will have to try a lot harder.

The full story is on the site here.