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Sport Nation
Should Origin players play a NRL match in the same round?
Nicholas Quinlan • June 20th, 2025 5:04 pm
Corey Parker thinks that there should be consideration for players who play in Origin to not be required to play the same week with their club side.
Following Game II of the State of Origin series in Perth, all 34 players have travelled back and returned to their club sides as they suit up for their Round 16 duties.
Out of the players who played in Game II, only four players (Valentine Holmes, Kurt Mann, Max King and Stephen Crichton) will have the bye meaning that the remaining 30 players could play their second match for the week.
Penrith have already said that their five Origin representatives are out for this match against the Warriors alongside Kurt Capewell.
This means that 24 players will have backed up their Origin match with a game in the NRL.
This has led Parker to wonder whether the NRL schedule is too packed, failing to allow players to properly recover from their representative duties.
“When I was playing, it was a badge of honour, you wanted to do it,” Parker said on SENQ Breakfast.
“There wasn’t 27 rounds in the competition, so the games were less, there wasn’t pre-season comps.
“So, overall, I think the amount of games played was less. Now, I don’t know how much less but I think it was a considerable amount of games less.
“So, in the game for example, the Roosters who are taking on the Cowboys, both teams... it’s a must win for those teams because the Roosters are sitting in 8th spot, Cowboys sitting in 10th. It’s a really important game.
“Out of those two teams, nine players that played over there in Perth have to back up, they don’t have to, but they are obliged to back up.
“You can say that there’s a few more extra days, but it is still the mental drain, the physical drain of backing up.
“So, nine players in that game. For the Storm, they’ve got five players. The Penrith Panthers who take on the Warriors over in Auckland have five players (in Origin). Now the Panthers and yes, I understand, they are sitting in and around that 8th (spot).
“Let’s say, all the players backed up and you have strains, hamstrings, injuries to say five of the real key players for either side.
“Well then, there is a massive concern for the game.”
While the number of rounds has fluctuated between 25 to 27 with the only exception being the 2020 season, each team has played 24 matches since 2002 after being reduced from 26.
But the concern around injuries during this period as shown by the Warriors' Mitch Barrett shows the concern of backing up from Origin.
