State of Origin Game I: Fans flood Twitter after Veronicas performance

The Veronicas turned heads on a swivel in Townsville tonight with their performance setting Twitter alight moments before kick-off at Origin I.

Death, taxes, and punters tweeting about pre-game entertainment.

The Veronicas took the honour of opening up proceedings in Townsville for Origin I, performing a medley of their biggest hits to a sold-out crowd. The 2000s-era duo have enjoyed a comeback in recent years after dominating the charts as one of Australia's leading bubblegum-pop exports. 

Their short performance attracted a massive surge of tweets -- arguably more than the game itself before kick-off -- as the 36-year-old twins kicked into gear with No.2 ARIA hits 4Ever and Untouched.

Some were perplexed as to why popstars were opening up a sweaty footy match, but a significant amount welcomed the spectacle, commenting on the fact the pair were in fact older than every single player about to take the field. 

Popular bookmaker Sportsbet, which has turned taking the mickey out of pregame entertainment into an art form, was up to its usual tricks, tweeting a picture of the pair performing with Gladys Berejiklian photoshopped in.

The NSW Premier was caught in the middle of her own Twitter storm this afternoon, becoming meme fodder after posting a picture of herself in NSW kit holding a can of coke.

Fair play to the Origliasso twins, with an album to promote and gigs scarce post-Covid, booking a 5-minute slot warming up Origin in Townsville is a goose egg for Aussie musicians, even with the expected social media baggage that follows.

Lisa Origliasso and Jessica Origliasso of The Veronicas perform before game one of the 2021 State of Origin series. Picture: Mark Kolbe/Getty Images

"How good's the National Anthem"#Origin pic.twitter.com/mALQkNm3PP

— Sportsbet.com.au (@sportsbetcomau) June 9, 2021

They said they were worried about milking in Origin.

Not sure anyone will milk it more than The Veronicas just did 😂#stateoforigin #StateOfOrigin2021 #NSW #QLD

— James Dodd (@JamesDoddFOX) June 9, 2021

The Veronicas almost double handedly ruined my night with that ‘singing’. But they stopped. So it’s all good. Game time! #stateoforigin pic.twitter.com/ob9AIbMbgo

— 🌟👽💥🪐⚡️✨PcP✨⚡️🪐💥👽🌟 (@01_PcP_01) June 9, 2021

Apparently some sort of Rugby match is supposed to follow The Veronicas concert.

— Joey Lynch (@joeylynchy) June 9, 2021

am i the only one shocked that the veronicas are 36? Gee i feel old #stateoforigin

— domsullivan18 (@domsullivan18) June 9, 2021

Guess Karmichael Hunt isn’t the only one making a comeback from the mid-late 2000s this week, The Veronicas just stepped out of their time machine and onto the stage #stateoforigin #qlder

— James (@regularmexicola) June 9, 2021

If you say you don’t like The Veronicas you are lying. Legends #Origin

— Thomas Hudson (@tommyhud9) June 9, 2021

The Veronicas getting more gigs is the best thing about Bris getting the Olympics #Origin

— Chris Chard (@Vic_Arious) June 9, 2021

NSW has pulled off a stunning 50-6 demolition of Queensland in Townsville to kick off the hotly-anticipated 2021 Origin series.

The series opener kicked off from 8.10pm (AEST) from Queensland Country Bank Stadium and it was the Blues that dominated early to take a 20-6 lead at half time.

NSW put Queensland to the sword in a first half demolition job — and it continued early in the second half. Latrell Mitchell plunged the first nail in the Maroons’ coffin in the 45th minute when he dived on a loose ball and forced his way over.

It gave the Blues a 26-6 lead with Queensland hanging on for dear life.

The Blues delivered the knockout punch with 20 minutes still to play when Jarome Luai cut a hole in the Maroons’ defence before the ball ended up in Tom Trbojevic’s hands. He dived over for his second try, which put NSW ahead 32-6 in the 60th minute.

The Manly superstar made it three tries next to his name nine minutes later, sliding over under the posts for his first Origin hat-trick. Queensland were dead and buried, faltering in their defence as NSW notched up eight tries to their one by the final 10 minutes.

TOWNSVILLE, AUSTRALIA - JUNE 09: Daniel Saifiti of the Blues celebrates with team mates after scoring a try during game one of the 2021 State of Origin series between the New South Wales Blues and the Queensland Maroons at Queensland Country Bank Stadium on June 09, 2021 in Townsville, Australia. (Photo by Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images)

Cleary slotted his seventh conversion of the night (not including a penalty goal early in the first half) to bring up the visitors' half-century, with the score 50-6 in the closing stanza.

Rugby league great Peter Sterling lamented Queensland's monumental loss, their first under new coach Paul Green.

I have no doubt we will see a different game at Suncorp in game number two," he said from the commentary box. "But there's a lot of ground to make up. Very keen to hear Paul Green's reaction coming out of this game. An inauspicious start for him but things will get better but they've got to get better very quickly."