It’s Thursday, 16 August 1883. Around 200 people are gathering at the East Melbourne Cricket Ground for the first-ever inter-colonial match between the colony of Victoria and the colony of New South Wales in association football.
The Victorians stood proudly in light blue. Their opponents, the New South Welshman, prepared to make history in dark blue.
Football was different back then. In this groundbreaking match the Victorian noses would have been out of joint with the absence of classic Victorian rules like ‘drop-kicking’, although a player “may butt the ball in an inelegant way with his head”.
Victoria had the majority of the possession in the opening stanza but it was New South Wales who took the lead with Kerr breaking the deadlock with a strong header. Skipper Eaves added another before Victoria’s Riddell and Teare pegged back their opponents in a tough match filled with wild tackles and burning aggression. It ended 2-2.
The two sides again couldn’t be separated two days later at the South Melbourne Cricket Ground, drawing 0-0. In the next five years the two colonies would meet each other nine times, with Victoria taking out four wins.
Thanks to the work of Peter Kunz in his brilliant book Chronicles of Soccer in Australia we know that in 1890 Queensland joined the party, stealing the show with a 3-1 win over New South Wales in Botany. They were donned in “red and black shirts and socks with blue shorts”. They completed a clean sweep of their two-game series with a 1-0 win in Ashfield.
Then, 14 years later, the New South Wales team were the first Australian representative team to play overseas when they were invited to play New Zealand in 1904.
Inter-state matches slowed down at the turn of the century as the newly federated nation looked to improve the quality of all their state and local leagues. Seven states had established governing bodies.
So what does this mean? Does it really mean that football can be credited with the creation of State of Origin? In some ways, yes. For many people it’ll be the first time they’ve realised it is part of the DNA of Australian football.
In comparison to its modern-day behemoth in what is now known as rugby league, the earliest records of New South Wales and Queensland facing off is in 1907-08. Football beat them by a good 24 years to the punch. The NRL’s State of Origin tournament, beginning in 1980, is now a must-watch fixture, heralded as one of the biggest sporting events in the Australian sporting calendar. It digs into deep-seated rivalries between Australian states.
Now 137 years have passed since Victoria snatched a draw in August 1883. But can State of Origin make a comeback in an Australian football climate that is crying out for both eye-catching spectacles and an appreciation of its history?
You can have your say in the matter through this independent research survey. Be honest, be open, love it, hate it, let’s hear what you think.
Monorchid
Roar Rookie
Thanks for such an informative reply jbinnie.
j binnie
Guest
Monorchid - Thank you for your thoughts on this matter.I smiled when I read your bit about playing for a lower division Hollandia in 1963. Actually Hollandia were still what would have to be termed an "Association Team" at that time, as football was totally embroiled in yet another 'argument" between groups wishing to stay with the Association ,the then national body,and joining the Federalists, a group wanting to change football's top management structure. The Feds won. You see, nothing much has changed in all those years. You mention "funding". The NSL, started in 1977 under sponsorship from PhIlips, the Dutch multi national electrical company, but the concept had been proved as a going concern when a Brisbane football team invited three teams to come from Sydney, Hakoah, St George and an Australian Socceroo team on an AM plane,brought to Perry Park,played a game,were given tea, and then taken back to a PM plane back to Sydney. In quick succession after these games, both Azzurri and Hollandia did the same exercise playing Apia and Australia at their home grounds at Spencer Park and Richlands. All these games took place in 1973/74 and to the best of my knowledge received no financial help from the then QSF. relying mostly on gate money to cover costs. A read at NSL in Wiki will tell you the idea was originated in 1975 by Sydney Soccer men Frank Lowy and Alex Pongrass, the respective chairmen of ---- yes Hakoah and St George, the two teams that had participated on those games at Perry Park some 2-3 years previously. Same old story is it not?. Cheers again jb.
RbbAnonymous
Roar Rookie
No
Monorchid
Roar Rookie
I'm really a rugby nut, jbinnie, who wandered in here out of curiosity. I lived through the Rugby League SOO period that you've described very well indeed. And you're also spot on to point out that the RL SOO only involves NSW and Queensland. So it's a simple schedule. Football can truly say it is a national game in Oz which would make a SOO a much more complicated schedule these days even without COVID. Then there's the issue that the best RL players are on display for their SOO. But many of Australia's international footballers are overseas. Also the match you attended between Hellenic and Azurri was at a time when support for the nationalistic teams was absolutely fantastic. I even played a couple of games for a lower grade Hollandia myself. A football SOO could be possible, but it doesn't seem to be a likely proposition, even without considering funding for it..
Buddy
Roar Rookie
You echoed my underlying thoughts!
The Ball Bobbled
Roar Rookie
Ease up. You will upset Lionheart.
Nick Symonds
Guest
"East vs West" - Or North, East, South and West North - QLD, NT East - NSW, ACT South - VIC, TAS West - WA, SA POPULATIONS North - 5 million East - 8 million South - 7 million West - 4 million - On the topic of expansion and a NSD, if you want to allocate each region a number of teams on a one team per million basis then QLD and NT can handle 4 more teams, NSW and ACT 3 more, VIC and TAS 4 more and WA and SA get 1 more each. Gold Coast Sunshine Coast North Queensland Darwin Canberra Wollongong Sutherland South Melbourne Dandenong Tasmania Geelong West Adelaide Fremantle Split the teams into 2 leagues of 12 playing each other twice over for 22 matches. Then put them all into a 24 team league cup with 4 groups of 6, with 3 teams from the first division and 3 teams from the second in each group. Each group will then play a double round robin with each team playing 10 more matches for a total of 32. Then the top 2 from each group go into the finals. 35 rounds all up. Each team in the second division is guaranteed 6 matches against teams from the first division each year to drive interest.
Maximus Insight
Guest
Call it the Barassi Line Cup
Skoose
Roar Rookie
Yes a brilliant idea and make sure ACT, NT and Tassie are involved. Let’s face the Socceroos hardly ever play games and never outside of NSW and Vic. Also makes sure it’s on SBS or ABC. If only FFA could us their imagination and look at growing the game.
Griffo
Roar Guru
Perhaps this could be where the 'A-League All Stars' would come into it...maybe two teams in an exhibition game for charity of who's left while the FIFA tourneys are on... Rather than State of Origin would you have an 'East vs West' team (WA/SA/Vic/TAS/NT vs ACT/NSW/QLD/NZ)?
Admiral Ackbar
Guest
It'll be interesting to see what happens in years to come with the A-League moving to a winter season. If there's a mid season break like other Asian nations have (Japan, South Korea etc) there'll be no football in June-July with the European season being over, something's got to fill the void.
Nick Symonds
Guest
There's also a north-south split in the east with the gap in quality, no team from South East Asia has ever won the Asian Cup apart from Australia. In the ACL there have only been two winners from South East Asia, both from Thailand in 1994 and 2003. ASIAN CUP WINNERS Japan 4 Saudi Arabia 3 Iran 3 South Korea 2 Israel, Kuwait, Iraq, Qatar and Australia - 1 each ACL TITLES PER NATION South Korea 11 Japan 7 Saudi Arabia 5 Iran, China and Israel - 3 each Qatar and Thailand - 2 each UAE and Australia - 1 each
Nick Symonds
Guest
"QLD already have more than enough trophies" - They probably deserve some sort a trophpy for that, like the The Montgomery Burns Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Excellence. I propose, The Golden Cane Toad Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Accumulating Numerous Sporting Trophies For Queensland.
At work
Roar Rookie
I also love the ACL, and I think it’s a great reward in finishing top of the league. Although I’d argue about incorporating west asia before the final, I much prefer playing the east asian teams. I don’t know or care about the middle eastern teams, with the current method we can start to get an appreciation of the J League, K League and CSL teams and even over time get some rivalries going.
At work
Roar Rookie
Glad you included a survey, as going off these comments who knows what you'll make of it. ANyway here's my opinion, I don't think it's a good idea for the professional men because football is already a national sport, and so there are too many states that would need to compete. It really only works in rugny league because there are two states. Plus the A League already has most states covered with a professional team. I think each states NPL champions playoff to decide national champions acts as a sort of state of origin, maybe that should be promoted more.
Lionheart
Roar Rookie
I miss the point, sorry. Isn't the article about a soccer SOO?
Lionheart
Roar Rookie
we have that in the A League, building as we go and apologies to punter for my little dig there.
Ad-O
Guest
And how does that differ from the Classico, the Old Firm or the North London Derby? You only need 2 teams that hate each other's guts for a compelling rivalry.
Punter
Roar Rookie
I'm with LH here. Every year, some of the players in my football team ask if we can finish football training early, so they can get home for the SOO. I always say 'no worries, who's playing this year?', they give me a funny look as if to say, 'same as every other year since Adam was a boy'.
Maximus Insight
Guest
"So what does this mean? Does it really mean that football can be credited with the creation of State of Origin? In some ways, yes." Also, just thought I'd check this and, no. To the extent the first inter-colonial match is synonymous with "inventing State of Origin", Victoria played South Australia at the East Melbourne Cricket Ground on July 1, 1879 in Australian rules football