British Royal family couple shock guests of Billy Slater’s wife at Origin

British Royal couple Zara and Mike Tindall were special guests of Billy Slater’s wife Nicole at the State of Origin series decider in Sydney on Wednesday night.

Zara, daughter of Princess Anne, was spotted with husband Mike in the front row of Accor Stadium decked out in their Queensland merchandise.

Zara, who won a silver medal for Great Britain in equestrian at the 2012 London Olympics, has a relationship with Nicole Slater through their mutual love of horses.

Tindall won 75 Test rugby caps for England and was a member of the 2003 World Cup winning team at the former Olympic stadium. The couple is in town for the British and Irish Lions Tour against the Wallabies.

Earlier this year the British Royal couple attended the Magic Millions Carnival on the Gold Coast – a festival of thoroughbred yearling auctions, racing and events held each January. Zara is a long-standing ambassador for the event, having held the position since 2012.

Mike showcased his singing talents at the event, taking to the stage in a black velvet suit alongside Nicole Slater, an equine artist. The pair performed a rendition of Shallow from the 2018 film A Star Is Born.

Zara and Mike Tindall take in the action at Accor Stadium.

Sydney decider nets NRL cash boost

Plenty of jokes have been made about the NRL’s delight at the result in game two in Perth forcing a decider in Sydney. Turns out that Queensland’s victory was worth a significant sum for head office. We’ve been informed that the difference between a dead rubber and a decider at Accor Stadium is around $3 million to $4 million in ticket sales alone.

We’ve also been told that despite Accor holding close to 30,000 more fans than Suncorp, the NRL makes more money out of matches in Queensland because of the share agreement in place with Venues NSW.

Blues’ media crackdown

It was interesting to note the change to some of the media access restrictions around the Blues in game three compared to the previous two games.

In the lead-up to games one and two, plenty of content was generated by non-traditional media outlets looking to shine a lighter side on the players. Triple M Breakfast hosts Aaron Woods and Beau Ryan trekked out to the media day before game one, generally being pests and running amok. It was all a bit of fun.

We’re not sure if it was a result of complaints from traditional media companies, or if the Blues wanted to avoid exposing their players to awkward situations, but they were told that they were not welcome to attend the game three media day.

Stars out in force at Accor

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese headed up the long list of politicians in attendance on Wednesday night. There was no shortage of star power at the game with AFL legend Buddy Franklin, Olympic gold medallists Jess and Noemie Fox, UFC champion Alexander Volkanovski and boxer Jai Opetaia all spotted. Also in attendance was former AFL chief executive turned Tabcorp boss, Gillon McLachlan.

Englishman’s flying visit

We bumped into arguably the most dedicated fan at Accor Stadium on Wednesday night. Forgive us for not getting his name, but one Englishman from Bradford said he travelled to Australia on the day of the game to watch Wednesday night’s Origin decider. He was booked on a flight back to England on Thursday. Incredible.

Suite nothings for Solly

After leading a public campaign to convince Venues NSW to let South Sydney out of its existing contract with Accor Stadium to play home matches at Allianz Stadium, Rabbitohs CEO Blake Solly was surprisingly invited into their corporate suite on Wednesday night.

We’re reliably informed Solly hasn’t given up the fight on behalf of the Bunnies. This isn’t the last we’ve heard of it.

Brandon Smith limps off with a knee injury after a Matthew Lodge tackle.Credit: Getty Images

Rabbits to put Cheese on ice

Speaking of South Sydney, we’re hearing they are leaning towards resting Brandon Smith for the rest of the year. Smith suffered a knee injury in his return from an ACL last week and is expected to be sidelined for four to six weeks.

Given his recent run with knee injuries, South Sydney are erring on the side of caution and are contemplating putting Smith on ice for the remainder of their 2025 campaign. The fact their chances of finals football are slim helps that decision.

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