League: Origin win makes Maroons great again

Stone the Adelaide Crows, rugby league was in town. NSW versus Queensland. A couple of battleground states.

The Maroon’s Cameron Munster celebrates his 65th-minute try to seal the deal against NSW a Adelaide Oval on Wednesday night. Picture: AAP

Stone the Adelaide Crows, rugby league was in town. NSW versus Queensland. A couple of battleground states.

State of Origin debuted at Australia’s most picturesque ground long after the NRL and AFL seasons had come and gone, a strange time and place for one of the jewels in our sporting crown to begin the 39th chapter of a series rivalry up there with Democrats and ­Republicans, to cite a timely ­example, for seething animosity.

The Sydney/Brisbane-centric Origin had previously gone off-Broadway to Melbourne, Perth and even Long Beach, California, but this was its first visit to the City of Churches. When it was announced, a few Queensland MPs wore maroon armbands to parliament. But NSW coach Brad Fittler said: “Hopefully it’s planting the seed for a future team, one day, in Adelaide.”

League was venturing west of “The Barassi Line”, the imaginary marker that divides Australia according to where the AFL and NRL are most popular. Supercoach Wayne Bennett was trying to make Queensland great again.

Adelaide and its charming 149-year-old ground need not be honoured to host Origin. It was the Origin players, the cream of the NRL, some of the most outstanding athletes in the nation, who should have been humbled by the opportunity to experience one of the finest arenas in the country.

Damien Cook of NSW draws blood against Queensland in game one of State of Origin at Adelaide Oval on Wednesday night. Picture: Brett Costello

League wasn’t making history as much as it was tiptoeing into it. Blood on the pitch? There had already been plenty. Athletic brilliance and mind-blowing atmosphere? Adelaide Oval had seen it all before. For how long? Long enough. In 1887, Australian rules was first played here, without the behind posts. In 1931, Don Bradman scored 299 not out here, against South Africa. In 1932, Bill Woodfull and Bert Oldfield were struck sickening blows during the infamous Bodyline Test.

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In 1982, David Hookes scored a 34-ball century here for South Australia. In 1999, Muttiah Muralitharan was called for chucking here. More recently, hometown AFL showdowns between the Crows and Port Adelaide have packed the joint and kept the city rocking. Giants of Australian sport have played here. Rock stars have performed here, true rock stars like Mick Jagger, David Bowie and Eddie Betts.

Both teams arrived in Adelaide on the day of the game. They were due to fly out late on Wednesday night. They barely had enough time for a stroll along the River Torrens. No opportunity for a dip at Glenelg Beach. The 100-year-old heritage-listed scoreboard and 130-year-old Moreton Bay figs at the oval would be the extent of their sightseeing.

It was the oddest of Origins for any number of reasons, not the least because we’re casting an eye towards summer and cricket at this time of year. Like many of us restricted to domestic travel, league was visiting somewhere new … uncertain if or when it would want to go back.