They are coming in from the western suburbs on trains and buses that actually run on time, and then walking up from Central Station along floodlit pathways and bridges that take you through Surry Hills and towards Anzac Parade.

They are also coming in from the east on light rail that ensures you are no longer sitting in your cars in barely moving traffic as you travel a handful of kilometres to watch a footy match. As the fans approach the precinct, they gaze upon a modern-day sporting cathedral. A piece of art.

It is the most advanced rectangular stadium in the world. It has a transparent roof. It has lightning-fast wi-fi. You order organic food and low-carb beer that is actually good for you from your iPhone 23, and it is brought directly to your seat.

Most importantly, every single position in the 65,000-seat stadium provides a perfect view of the sporting contest about to unfold. In the olden days, they used to gush about Suncorp Stadium. Now they talk about Fairfax Arena like it's the Sistine Chapel.

Tonight, it's the main event: State of Origin. NSW versus Queensland. Trent Barrett's Blues up against Cam Smith's Canetoads.

Sure, a ticket cost you $2000, and that's just for one of the cheap seats. You couldn't afford to bring the kids or the missus. But at least you are here, instead of paying $280 on Main Event to watch.

And you're also gagging to watch the game. There is no club footy this weekend. Or the next fortnight for that matter. Just Origin.

The NRL competition looks vastly different to what it did 10 years ago, when you had hair and abdominal muscles and before the weight of the world crushed your spirit.

Many of the game's stakeholders were crying out for stand-alone weekends for Origin matches. The tribe has spoken …

This is a different scene to what we'll experience on Wednesday night when a less-than-full ANZ Stadium hosts the Origin opener.

Yet these are some of the visions being tossed around League Central right now as the game's most powerful figures set down a blueprint for the game's future.

Like all of these issues, nothing is set in stone.

NRL boss Dave Smith is pushing the Baird government for a new stadium to replace Allianz Stadium, making it the heartbeat of the game, while newer stadia in Parramatta and possibly Penrith service the west. There will be no ANZ Stadium.

It is unclear what the NRL's position is on the idea of standalone Origins, but it is certainly part of the brief of Shane Richardson in his capacity as the head of strategy.

And it will certainly be a major part of negotiations when Smith sits down with broadcasters in the next year to nut out a new television deal for 2018 onwards.

There's plenty of talk about Seven and Ten wanting to sink the Channel Nine ship, but chief executive David Gyngell knows better than anyone what works and what doesn't.

He says let the status quo remain. That Origin continues to finish each year among the most watched programs on the box is evidence enough of its success.

"Standalones don't work," Gyngell told Fairfax Media on Monday. "Wednesday night makes the numbers bigger. It ain't broke."

Then he adds this caveat about ratings for this Wednesday night's opening match of the series: "Numbers will be down this Wednesday because so many casual fans came in to see if NSW could break the run of Queensland."

Ratings and crowds are considered the barometer for the health of the game, but many are arguing the case for stand alone Origins based on one match - the appalling spectacle that was the match between the Cowboys and Tigers on Friday night. I've watched more entertaining test patterns.

Yet critics evidently didn't watch the Sunday afternoon match between the Bulldogs and Raiders, which was as entertaining as any other we've witnessed this season as Josh Reynolds wobbled over a final-minute field goal to get his side home.

Some of us can't remember what happened last week, let alone what happened in 2001, but those who can recall the last time standalone Origins were held.

They were played on Sunday nights, with a round in between each game, and they were a ratings disaster. The lowest in Origin history.

More than that, fans kicked and screamed about having nothing to watch all weekend as they waited for Origin to start.

Typical of the game, we could go around and around and around before tying ourselves into several knots coming up with solutions to this issue.

The players have already said their bodies can't handle three consecutive weekends of Origin footy. The Rugby League Players Association won't even budge at two weeks in between.

Surely, there are greater issues in the NRL that need addressing.

Origin is the best thing rugby league has going for it, so it's difficult to argue with Gyngell ... Why change it?