State of Origin III: All you need to know about the game of the year
Diehard NSW fans might beg to differ, but rugby league was the winner on Wednesday night.
Queensland’s courageous 26-24 triumph over the Blues in Origin II at Perth’s Optus Stadium, which followed NSW’s 18-6 victory in game one, sets up a series decider that is likely to be several times bigger than Christmas.
It was a classic Queensland ambush, one of many those dirty, rotten Cane Toads have sprung over the past 45 years, a tradition dating back to the inaugural Origin encounter in 1980.
Time and again, the Maroons have proved they are never more dangerous than when given no chance. Write them off at your peril, because they thrive whenever they are cast in the role of underdogs.
So it was in Perth on Wednesday when NSW, so dominant in game one, opened the scoring with a Brian To’o try in the seventh minute.
Perhaps, subconsciously, the Blues relaxed at that moment and assumed they were following the same script from three weeks earlier at Suncorp Stadium.
Instead, Queensland hit them with a procession of sucker punches to grab a remarkable 26-6 lead at half-time.
The Blues, to their credit, replied with four second-half tries to take the game down to the wire. If not for wayward goalkicking, NSW could well have emerged victorious and secured their second consecutive title.
But they didn’t, and so instead of a dead rubber in game three, we’re all set for a winner-takes-all blockbuster.
Queensland celebrate a first-half try.Credit: Getty Images
WHERE WILL ORIGIN III BE PLAYED?
NSW will have home-ground advantage for the series decider, to be played at Sydney’s Accor Stadium on Wednesday, July 9.
It cops a bum rap, at times, the Olympic stadium. Deservedly so when it’s hosting a 6pm Friday NRL fixture – also known as the graveyard shift – and 90 per cent of the stadium’s 83,500 seats are unoccupied.
But when it’s packed to the rafters, as it is for any Origin series decider, it is a special place, where magic frequently happens – Sydney’s very own theatre of dreams.
If you’re a genuine rugby league fan and you’re not in the crowd on July 9, you’ll be jealous of those who are.
WHY WAS GAME II PLAYED IN PERTH?
Origin matches have regularly been played in states other than NSW and Queensland, dating back to the early 1990s.
Taking Origin on the road each year is commercially lucrative, because state governments will pay handsomely for hosting rights, and it also provides an opportunity to showcase the greatest game of all in AFL strongholds.
This was especially timely in the Western Australian capital, after the recent announcement that the Perth Bears will be admitted into the NRL competition in 2027.
Optus Stadium has now hosted three Origins and attracted crowds of 59,721, 59,358 and 57,203. That suggests there is healthy interest in the 13-man code across the Nullarbor.
The challenge for the Bears will be to tap into that supporter base and convince them to attend games on a regular basis.
WILL TEAMS CHANGE FOR THE DECIDER?
It’s hard to imagine Queensland coach Billy Slater changing a single thing.
Billy Slater’s team changes worked a treat.Credit: Getty Images
He wielded the axe after game one, basically “retiring” veteran skipper Daly Cherry-Evans as a representative player, and his new-look squad produced the desired result. So barring injuries, Slater will almost certainly pick and stick.
NSW coach Laurie Daley, in contrast, faces some tough decisions. Although the Blues came close to snatching a famous comeback win, they were dreadful in the first half, and some of their stars of Origin I experienced a harsh reality check.
Daley is unlikely to make wholesale changes. He probably doesn’t have a heap of alternatives, to be brutally honest.
In-form forwards Keaon Koloamatangi and Terrell May might come into the mix, although the former is nursing a fractured eye socket.
Nathan Cleary struggled in Perth.Credit: Getty Images
Daley’s troops were good enough to win game one convincingly, and they nearly produced a second-half miracle in Perth.
An Origin-series decider is no time to be blooding rookies. To borrow a grand old rugby league cliche, dance with the one who brung ya.
IS NATHAN CLEARY INJURED?
The game’s best player was not firing on all cylinders in Perth, and it emerged on Thursday morning he had been carrying a groin injury that very nearly ruled him out of the match.
The NSW halfback ran out with a compression bandage around his upper right thigh, having strained his adductor during Tuesday’s captain’s run, and was clearly operating under duress.
He handed the goalkicking duties to Zac Lomax, and while he shared the general-play kicking with Jarome Luai and Latrell Mitchell, he did most of it and gained more ground with the boot (349 metres) than any other player.
NSW will be hoping home-ground advantage gives them an edge in the Origin decider.Credit: Getty Images
Blues doctor Nathan Gibbs said Cleary had avoided aggravating the injury during Wednesday night’s match, and should not be in doubt for Penrith’s clash against Canterbury next week.
Providing he comes through that match, Cleary will be straight in as NSW’s No.7 for game III.
HOW CAN I GET TICKETS FOR ORIGIN III?
There are still tickets available, but they are not cheap, starting at $194 for adults, $184 for juniors (aged four to 15) or $549 for families.
Nonetheless, even in a cost-of-living crisis, the game is almost certain to be a sell-out.
Ticketek.com.au or nrl.com are the best bet for anyone who wants to attend what shapes as one of the great Origin encounters.
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