Dermott Brereton: AFL legend risks the wrath of footy fans by pinpointing why State of Origin is better than Aussie Rules
- Dermott Brereton explains why he loves rugby league
- Says he would have liked to play rival code
- Brereton won five premierships with Hawthorn
In a move guaranteed to upset AFL diehards, Hawthorn legend Dermott Brereton has blasted rugby league as he described the game as more brutal than Aussie Rules footy.
The State of Origin series heads to Melbourne on Wednesday evening, with an expected crowd of 90,000 at the MCG.
Brereton, a five-time premiership winner who played 211 AFL games, this week joined NRL legends Laurie Daley and Mal Meninga to recreate the 1994 matchday program cover that showed the Origin captains hanging out of a tram operated by the AFL star.
“I think it’s the most brutal sport in the world because it’s so consistent and because of the sheer brutality,” Brereton said.
“If I was that competitive animal, I would love to play it and probably would have loved to play it.
Dermott Brereton (pictured) has praised State of Origin footy as he explained why it is so popular in Melbourne despite the city being the heart of Aussie Rules
Brereton says State of Origin is the most brutal sporting match in the world – and incidents such as Joseph Sua’ali’i’s illegal knockout against Reece Walsh (pictured) back him up.
‘Rugby League is an incredibly physical, unforgiving sport and it is extremely fair where you have to somehow get past the boys on the other side. That’s what I like about the sport.
“AFL is dangerous because contact can come from anywhere, but the dangerous contact is rare, where rugby league is just grueling. The tough approach they are taking on the opposition is extreme.
‘The Rugby League has direct contact. It gives people the opportunity to come along and see from the first whistle that someone meets the other and it is immediately a competition.
“To turn someone against you and have them stand in front of you, facing you, and charge into the front of their shirt, that’s cruel.
‘AFL starts the ball in dispute, it’s tapped to someone, it may or may not be touched, it kicks it to someone else who may or may not get tackled depending on the tension of the game.
“If you watch rugby league there is physical action from the start.
‘That’s a very brutal and honest way to start your sport. That’s one thing they have over us. There is a great honesty in the way it is shaped, shaped and played.
“State of Origin is the best rugby league football you will see in the world. We love our sport in Melbourne, it’s just great.
“And in State of Origin you get the chance to be part of a team in the best sporting event of its kind in the world.”
With the exception of the COVID-affected 2021 season, State of Origin has been played in Victoria every three years since 2006.
Brereton says rugby league has had a physical element from the start that may not always be present in Aussie Rules
Brereton (pictured center with NRL legends Laurie Daley, left, and Mal Meninga, right) believes rugby league is a ruthless and fiercely fair sport – and says he would have loved to have played the game
Brereton says Victorians understand how amazing the Origin spectacle is.
‘People in Melbourne love to see a great match and if you tell us: we recognize it, we understand and see the evidence that this is, in terms of rugby league, the best football in the world, then we will looking at it,” he said.
NSW must win game two in Melbourne to keep the series alive – with the Blues lifting the Interstate Trophy for the last time in 2021.