Sydney set to give Origin III the cold shoulder

SYDNEY is about to abandon Origin III, with a dead rubber and the state’s chilliest night of the year the worst combo for the game’s showpiece.

Frosty farewell: Temperatures, and the crowd, are expected to plummet for Origin’s dead rubber, despite Blues captain Paul Gallen’s last stand. Picture: Gregg Porteous

SYDNEY could be set to give State of Origin III the cold shoulder, with a dead rubber and Sydney’s chilliest night of the year likely to combine for the smallest crowd for an Origin match in Sydney since 2010.

The NRL estimates tonight’s game will attract between 60,000 and 65,0000 hardy fans — well short of ANZ Stadium’s 82,000 capacity — but in keeping with a “dead rubber” games in Sydney.

As the east coast’s monster freeze tightens it grip, temperatures at ANZ Stadium are tipped to fall to just 9C — and even lower to a chilly 4C when wind chill is taken into account — by the time the Cockroaches and the Cane Toads kick off at 8pm tonight.

But an NRL spokesman said forecasts were for about 60,000 fans to see if NSW can salvage some pride and avoid a Queensland series cleansweep.

There may be beanies and scarfs out in full force, but the NRL is expecting a warm farewell for Blues captain Paul Gallen in his last game for NSW.

Gallen will be honoured before kick-off, and his family will join him on the field after the match.

There has been no shortage of discount ticket and packages on offer for the match in the past week, and tickets were still readily available via Ticketek today, but the NRL said the crowd figures held up well compared to similar series.

Origin I at ANZ this year was a near-sellout with 80,251 fans turning out, and 52,293 fans packed out Brisbane Suncorp Stadium for Origin II when Queensland sealed the series with its second win.

While a 60,000 crowd figures is considerably down on ANZ Origin crowds of recent years — 80,122 for Game 1 in 2015, 83421 in Game 2 in 2014) — neither of those games were “dead rubbers”.

In fact numbers haven’t been below 80,000 since 2010 — the last time a dead rubber was played in Sydney, when 61,259 watched the Blues tumble to three successive losses.

NSW coach Laurie Daley believes the true believers will be there, writing in The Daily Telegraph “we are expecting 65,000 fans at ANZ Stadium. That comes after 80,000 in game one. And that’s not to mention the wonderful television ratings.

“Fans show their true colours when times are tough. It’s bloody easy being a loyal fan when you are winning every year,” Daley continued.

“But for NSW supporters to keep turning up when we aren’t winning, I cannot speak highly enough of them. That shows their real character.”

Last stand: Paul Gallen leads the Blues on to ANZ Stadium for Game I this year. Picture: Cameron Spencer/Getty

Originally published as Sydney set to give Origin III the cold shoulder