League: Exodus is hit and myth say Aussies

Australia seems to have poured cold water on Selwyn Pearson's call for up to three Kiwi players to be able to play State of Origin.

Pearson, the New Zealand Rugby League chairman, sent a letter to his Australian counterpart last week calling for State of Origin eligibility rules to be relaxed saying there was an "epidemic" number of Kiwis choosing Origin over test duty.

Broncos fullback Karmichael Hunt has been in the spotlight since he rejected the Kiwis, preferring to pin his hopes on Queensland and, ultimately, Australia.

Australian Rugby League chief executive Geoff Carr dismissed Pearson's claims, saying the avalanche of players choosing Origin over test league was a "myth".

"Selwyn has based a lot of his claims on anecdotal evidence but statistically there's no evidence to back it up," Carr said.

"There's hardly an avalanche of New Zealanders playing Origin."

Carr suggested the contrary, considering Sonny Bill Williams, Benji Marshall and Tony Puletua had declared allegiance to New Zealand, while Brent Webb and the Cayless brothers, Jason and Nathan, had worn the black jersey despite being born in Australia.

Carr said one of the ARL's objectives was to improve the level of international league and they'd conducted a study of players at the elite junior level in Australia eligible for other countries. Out of 650 players in the elite 16s and 18s competitions, 124 were eligible for NZ, while 66 could play for Samoa and 44 for Tonga.

"We have told the NZRL through [Kiwis coach] Daniel Anderson that we'll provide names so they can monitor them," Carr added. "If players choose Australia because they've spent a lot of their life there, that's their call."

- HERALD ON SUNDAY