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The State of Origin series is set to resume on Sunday night in Perth, and we here at The Roar can hear you asking the question. “Sunday, is that a typo?”
But no, we can confirm it’s not a mistake.
In fact, we will say it again for good measure. State of Origin, Game 2, in 2019, is being played on a Sunday evening to cap off an NRL-free weekend.
» VIEW THE FULL STATE OF ORIGIN DRAW HERE
While State of Origin matches are typically contested on a Wednesday evening between two abbreviated NRL rounds, this concept was changed for the first time in over a decade last year.
Even though Origin 1 and Origin 3 (in Brisbane and Sydney, respectively, this year), are still played on Wednesday, the NRL’s new concept involved giving every NRL club a week off, and playing an NRL representative round.
It means the NRL season itself is shortened to 25 rounds, with teams now only having one official bye, instead of two.
Origin 2 itself will kick-off at 7:50pm (AEST) on Sunday, June 23, with the teams preparing for the entire week in Perth.
Outside of Origin, there will be the women’s State of Origin match, which was inaugurated last year and proved to be a great success at North Sydney Oval.
The other big matches of the weekend are a trio of international rugby league Tests. New Zealand will play Tonga in Auckland, before a double-header hits Leichhardt Oval in Sydney, as Fiji play Lebanon and Samoa take on Papua New Guinea.
The idea behind breaking the competition and reducing a bye, is so teams don’t have to play another game through the Origin window, which has been seen as a major detriment to the NRL competition over the years.
While there are no plans at this stage to play all three games on standalone weekends, fans have been talking about a three-week representative break for years, and the next TV deal (in 2022) may prove to be the first dealing point in making it happen.
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