State of Origin 2021: NRL want to steal AFL post-COVID crowd record at MCG

Collingwood and Essendon set a post-COVID crowd precedent on Anzac Day at the MCG. Can this year’s opening State of Origin at the same venue eclipse it?

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - APRIL 22: Christian Welch of the Storm looks on in the warm up before a Melbourne Storm NRL training session at Gosch's Paddock on April 22, 2021 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)

Victorians have been issued a rallying call to set a new post-COVID outbreak world record in June’s NRL State of Origin blockbuster at the MCG.

A crowd of 87,000 packed the MCG when Origin was last played in Melbourne in 2018 and rugby league bigwigs are confident of another huge turn-up on June 9 for game one of the series.

Crowds have been down across the board since the easing of COVID-19 restrictions this year, but the race is on to be the first to attract a crowd of over 80,000 at the MCG for the first time since the ICC Women’s T20 final in March last year.

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The NRL will look for the first State of Origin game at the MCG to once again break the post-COVID world record for crowd size. Picture: Alex Coppel.

“We’ve got the challenge set for rugby league because we had 78,000 plus at the Anzac Day game between Collingwood and Essendon last week,” Victorian sports and major events Minister Martin Pakula said.

“We’ve got a crowd of up to 85,000 allowed for Origin on June 9 and the challenge is set for Origin – beat that Anzac Day crowd and I think you’ve got every chance of doing that because Melburnians have shown in the past how much they love State of Origin.”

“I think we had 87,000 plus here in 2018, so Victorians come out to sporting events and this year will be no different.

“Origin is an incredible event … and I think it’ll be a massive event at the G on June 9.”

Australian Rugby League commissioner and former Queensland premier Peter Beattie needled AFL fans by declaring Origin as the biggest sporting event in the country.

“There will be three million eyeballs watching this game,” Beattie said.

“There’s no other game that goes on television that’s got more people watching it than this one.

“Your (Victorian) government is very smart, they’ve invested and supported the biggest sporting event in Australia.

“I know Victorians love AFL and it’s a great game.

“Not quite as good as rugby league but it’s a great game and Victorians are passionate about their sport.

“I say to every Victorian to get a ticket as you’ll never see a greater rivalry than between Queensland and New South Wales.

“We know the limit is 85,000 at the moment and with good reason, and we will certainly match that.”

WHY QUICK TURNAROUND IS A BONUS FOR STORM

Storm forward Christian Welch says, with a grin, it’s a myth that players hate short turnarounds between games.

At least it is at Storm, and with good reason.

“Short turnarounds are actually really good for us players because ‘Bellzer’ (coach Craig Bellamy) can’t get his hands on us too much, so it’s all about recovering and getting up for the game,” Welch said.

Christian Welch is expecting a tough match against the Sharks.

“So, for the boys, I don’t think there are any concerns about a five-day turnaround (this week), and especially being at home, it’s going to be great to be in Melbourne for the week and then get back out on AAMI.”

The 5-2 Storm will on Friday night face an injury-hit Cronulla side coming off a loss to bottom-placed Canterbury.

Melbourne has faced a brutal start to the season against all the top teams, but the Queensland State of Origin forward said there would be no complacency in facing the struggling Sharks.

“The NRL is such a tight competition that if you go out there with a sense of arrogance and entitlement expecting to win games, you’re going to get a pretty rude awakening,” he said.

“We’ll have our work cut out for us and they have plenty of star players. We might see one of our own in Will Chambers suiting up for them.

“That would be really exciting to see if he could get a game for them this week.

There’s plenty of points in the Storm but can they restrict the tries they are letting in?

“I know he’s just come back to rugby league but they’ve got a really tough team and there is a bit of a modern rivalry between Melbourne and Cronulla over the years, so I’m sure they’re going to bring it on Friday night.”

Storm’s much-vaunted defence was a bit leaky against the Warriors and Welch admitted it was a concern.

“It’s a bit frustrating, to be honest,” he said.

“I think they scored 20 points and the Bulldogs put 18 on us, so we certainly want to improve our defence and really tighten that up.

“I think we just put a bit of pressure on ourselves with some errors and really brought them into that end of the field, so if we tidy that area up a bit and complete a bit better we’ll hopefully keep them from scoring a bit more.”