The respective coaches may disagree, but Bulldogs players have leapt to the defence of the existing State of Origin format which will drain seven representative stars from their clash against the high-flying Sharks on Saturday night.
No fixture will feel the Origin ordeal more keenly than the clash between thew two Sydney rivals, who will field depleted sides for their first clash at Southern Cross Group Stadium since 2011.
A standalone Origin weekend is set to be introduced next year to complement two Wednesday fixtures, which decimate the club competition during the showpiece interstate series.
But Bulldogs halfback Moses Mbye and prop Aiden Tolman are advocates of the current format - even if they have lost Brett Morris, Josh Jackson and David Klemmer for the crunch clash against the Sharks.
"I think it's been a part of the game for so long now you get used to it," Mbye said.
"Obviously every year there's going to be some sort of uproar from a majority of coaches missing players. I think that's factored into the game these days. I don't know how they're going to change it.
"I think it's working fine now and everyone seems to be on a similar playing level.
"Every year you see one or two blokes come into the side around this Origin period who jump out of the ground and make a real name for themselves. It's a real period for the club to utilise their young stars.
"I got my opportunity that way playing in the Origin period and I'm sure a lot of young players will get their chance that way as well."
Mbye burst onto the scene in the same year then Bulldogs teammates Josh Reynolds and Trent Hodkinson combined at the scrumbase in NSW's 2014 series win.
The Bulldogs will hand an NRL debut to Francis Tualau while fellow interchange forwards Asipeli Fine and Craig Garvey will play their first and second matches of the NRL season respectively.
Canterbury's front-row rotation will stay relatively in check with James Graham leading the charge alongside Tolman, who argued the player purge is unavoidable.
"The Origin is a huge part of our game - the pinnacle - and it's got to be there somewhere," Tolman said. "In season is really the only time you can play it with representative duties at the end of the year."
The Sharks are without NSW quartet James Maloney, Andrew Fifita, Wade Graham and Jack Bird, and will lean heavily on Paul Gallen - who has hung up his Origin boots - and Chad Townsend to steer them through the Origin slog.
"If we can fit [a standalone game] in that would be great," Sharks coach Shane Flanagan said.
"I can't complain about this Origin period because I want Origin players at our club and we've had a recruitment process - particularly early on - to get Origin players. On the back of that of that you're doing really well."
A week after he claimed his form would still warrant Origin selection if he had made himself available, Gallen will have a target on his back as the Sharks try to keep pace with ladder leaders Melbourne.
"He's in really good form - as [are] all their forwards - but he's their leader and the one we have to stop," Tolman said. "He's still carting the ball up like he always does, he's got an offload and breaks tackles and has that workrate in the middle.
"If we can do a job on him it will go a long way to winning the game."
