The NRL’s experiment with taking State of Origin matches to neutral venues will continue in 2019, as Game 2 between the Queensland Maroons and New South Wales Blues heads to Optus Stadium in Perth.
The new stadium, which was only opened in late 2017, with the first official events in early 2018, seats up to 60,000 people and has been used mainly for AFL and cricket.
The NRL were one of the first sporting events on the ground when they played a double-header there in Round 1 of the 2018 season, as the South Sydney Rabbitohs were defeated by the New Zealand Warriors, and the Melbourne Storm beat the Canterbury Bulldogs.
While the NRL have often had State of Origin matches in Melbourne, they are broadening their horizons this year, heading to Perth, which is marked as a potential future expansion area.
Perth once had a team in the national competition through the Western Reds, however, they folded just years after they arrived, and no licence has since been granted to a Perth-based club.
Taking Origin games to neutral venues has always been seen as a way to expand the game and get more fans interested from around the country, rather than in the two big rugby league states of New South Wales and Queensland.
Sunday’s contest will be the first Origin game (outside of a one-off trip to the USA in 1987), which will be played off the east coast of Australia, and ticket sales, according to reports, have been healthy, with the game almost sold out.
The other advantage outside of expansion for the NRL is financial, with state governments bidding on the right to a game.
Interestingly, the NRL’s expansion of State of Origin is set to continue in 2020, with the Adelaide Oval in South Australia set to host a game for the first time, after successful trips there in recent years by the Sydney Roosters in the NRL.
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