Review: Channel 9 Jump In State of Origin App

By Mike Wheeler

By Mike Wheeler

New South Wales is out to stop the rot in the State of Origin stakes as the possibility of eight straight series loses looms large. Its 2013 State of Origin campaign got off to a great start with a win over Queensland, but with nothing a given, and two games to go, they still have a bit of work to do. And if you’re a State of Origin aficionado like me, a great way to complement the series is by downloading Channel 9’s State of Origin Jump In app which will bring a whole new dimension to the broadcast.

The good news is that the app is free to download, the bad is that it only available for iOS, although the developers at Channel 9 are looking to launch an Android version for the 2014 series. To say this app offers up a smorgasbord of information is like saying Greg Inglis knows how to find the try line. It’s hard to know where to start, but we’ll give it a go.

First thing to catch our eye is the ability to replay the highlights of the game as you go. It takes editors about 4-8 minutes to cut and post action, which is not quite real time, but close enough. This means you can then see replays at your discretion, not at that of the director’s. You can also observe the action in slow motion, select one of 16 different angles of a particular incident, as well as get post match interviews and thoughts of players and coaches.

It is also a statistician’s nirvana with all the numbers on not only match stats, but individual players, too. Who made the most tackles? Who made the most hit ups? Which team made the most errors? What about line breaks? This information helps give you an overall impression of the game almost immediately.

And if you’re uber passionate about the game and want to vent, the app can accept your Twitter account name and you can start tweeting your thoughts and banter with other supporters about the action as it happens.

One interesting aspect is its “Best of Origin” feature where you can watch videos of some of the great moments in the game. However, most of those videos seem to be highlights of the brawls that have occurred over the years. With the controversy over New South Wales captain Paul Gallen’s one-two to Queensland’s Nate Myles’ melon still in the air, maybe less controversial choices of clips would have been prudent, although exponents of “Bring Back the Biff” will love it.

As an added bonus, the app is currently running a competition to win four tickets plus flights and accommodation for what could be the decider in Sydney on July 17.

Overall, we are pretty impressed with the app, not only because of the information it provides, but the ease of use and navigation – something that some interactive apps are lacking. If Channel 9 can get the Android version out next year as promised, it might kick-start more people into using the Jump In feature.

Pros: Free; huge amount of information; well thought out; easy to navigate
Cons: iOS only; Android coming in 2014

4.7 Shacks Out of 5

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