The world’s greatest rugby league series – State Of Origin – has been designated as the 5th and newest flagship Sydney Spectacular.

This means the flagship Sydney Spectaculars are as follows:

• Sydney New Year’s Eve (31 December/1 January)
• Australia Day In Sydney (26 January)
• Vivid Sydney (Late May to Mid-June)
• State Of Origin (Late May to Mid-July)
• Airshows Dowunder – Shellharbour (November bi-annually)

(You may have noticed a name & date change for Wings Over Illawarra – more on this another time!)

The best of 3 series between the New South Wales (NSW) (nicknamed Blues/Cockroaches & Queensland (QLD) (nicknamed Maroons/Cane Toads), held annually with a match each in May, June & July, sees most of the world’s best rugby league players attempt to score tries, worth 4 points (and convert them into a goal – 2 points) & field goals, worth 1 point, by passing the ball to each other & when the opponent has the ball, tackling the opponent, in order to be the team with the most points after 2 40-minute halves, one half each way. The team with the most points wins the match. If a team wins the most out of the 3 matches, they win the State Of Origin Shield.

Historically, out of 41 editions, QLD has won 22 (53.66%), NSW 17 (41.46%) and 2 draws (4.88%). Draws are no longer possible due to extra-time & golden point rules.

Team lists are released 9 days prior to Game 1. Here is the 2023 Game 1 Team List:

GAME 1 TEAM LISTS

QLD

• Fullback – Reece Walsh
• Winger – Selwyn Cobbo
• Centre – Valentine Holmes
• Centre – Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow
• Winger – Murray Taulagi
• Five-Eighth – Cameron Munster
• Halfback – Daly Cherry-Evans (captain)
• Prop – Thomas Flegler
• Hooker – Ben Hunt
• Prop – Lindsay Collins
• 2nd Row – David Fifita
• 2nd Row – Tom Gilbert
• Lock – Patrick Carrigan
• Interchange – Harry Grant
• Interchange – Tino Fa’asuamaleaui
• Interchange – Reuben Cotter
• Interchange – Jai Arrow
• Replacement – Tom Dearden
• Reserve – Christian Welch

NSW

• Fullback – James Tedesco (captain)
• Winger – Brian To’o
• Centre – Latrell Mitchell* Stephen Crichton
• Centre – Tom Trbojevic
• Winger – Josh Addo-Carr
• Five-Eighth – Jarome Luai
• Halfback – Nathan Cleary
• Prop – Tevita Pangai Junior
• Hooker – Apisai Koroisau
• Prop – Payne Haas
• 2nd Row – Tyson Frizell
• 2nd Row – Hudson Young
• Lock – Isaah Yeo
• Interchange – Junior Paulo
• Interchange – Cameron Murray
• Interchange – Liam Martin
• Interchange – Nicholas Hynes
• Replacement – Stephen Crichton Matt Burton
• Reserve – Stefano Utoikamanu

*Calf strain sustained during training over the weekend. This is a significant blow for NSW.

Match Officials

• Referee: Ashley Klein
• Touch Judge: Drew Oultram
• Touch Judge: Phil Henderson
• Senior Review Official: Grant Atkins

For the 2023 series, Game 1 will be held in Adelaide at Adelaide Oval on Wednesday, Game 2 in Brisbane at The Cauldron (Lang Park) on Wednesday, 21 June and Game 3 in Sydney at Stadium Australia on Wednesday, 12 July. For international readers, the games are traditionally held on a Wednesday night. This year, kick-off is at 8:05pm AEST. Buy your tickets today! Tickets start at $49 for adults and $145 for families. Apart from the match, tickets include live performances & interactive experiences. Corporate hospitality packages are also available.

We’re looking forward to getting down to Adelaide – the boys have good memories here from 2020. There’s nothing like the intensity of an Origin battle, no matter where we’re playing – and the fans have a big part in that. I hope we’ll see plenty of Maroon around the stadium this year.

Johnathan Thurston, QLD Assistant Coach

Game 1 pre-match entertainment will be a Welcome To Country, a light show & a performance from 6-time Australian Recording Industry Award-winning rock band, The Living End, best known for hits including Prisoner of Society and White Noise, while half-time entertainment for all games will be Little Origin matches – a dream chance for Year 5 and Year 6 students to take to the field representing their schools in front of their home audience!

Holy smokes this is an awesome thing, we’re pumped to be playing State of Origin! Turn up your TV folks because footy and rock’n’roll music is a mighty pairing. We can’t wait!

Chris Cheney, ‘The Living End’ lead singer & guitarist

Ampol State of Origin 2023 – Game 1 is supported by the South Australian (SA) Government through the South Australian Tourism Commission:

When these two teams went into battle at Adelaide Oval in 2020, it was an absolute cracker of a game, with the Maroons just sneaking home in front of more than 25,000 fans, so we are very excited for the rematch.

Adelaide Oval and South Australia always puts on a great show & it will be terrific to welcome interstate fans to our city & have thousands of people exploring our restaurants, pubs and laneway bars & filling hotel rooms.

South Australian Premier, Peter Malinauskas

Hosting State of Origin Game One in May will be a true highlight amongst the world-class events we’ve brought to South Australia this year. With fans travelling in their tens of thousands from within and outside the state, the game will be worth an estimated $15 million our hotels, restaurants and cafes. We can’t wait to welcome Blues and Maroons fans back to Adelaide.

South Australian Minister For Tourism, Zoe Bettison MP

The 2023 series was launched in late-March in Adelaide’s Victoria Square with over 40 local students from East Torrens Primary School as well as the above-mentioned names (except the SA Premier) but the dates & venues are actually announced in early November the year prior while tickets went on sale in mid-February. Any rule changes are announced in mid-January, which for 2023, there were none but in mid-March, the Australian Rugby League Commission (ARLC) announced that following a diagnosed concussion, whether in training or match, a mandatory 11-day stand-down period for that player will be implemented.

There is no greater priority for us than player safety. It’s front and centre of everything we do.

Our current head injury protocols are exceptionally strong. Following a review of the data and the expert advice we have received, the Commission have enhanced these protocols even further by providing a mandatory 11 day stand down period following a diagnosed concussion.

ARLC Chairman, Peter V’landys AM

Also, in mid-December 2022, South Korean automobile manufacturer, Kia, was announced as a sponsor of State Of Origin until and including 2025 while in late-February 2023, Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) was announced as a sponsor of State Of Origin until and including 2027. In early March 2023, Chemist Warehouse was announced as a sponsor of State Of Origin until late 2025 and in mid-March 2023, Hisense Australia was announced as a major sponsor of State Of Origin until 2025.

On 23rd May, they announced a ‘One Pass At A Time’ partnership initiative with the Gotcha4Life Foundation that will raise awareness & funds to host mental fitness workshops in Australian grassroots rugby league clubs. You can do this by purchasing a Virtual One Pass for $20, $40 or $80 at onepass.gotcha4life.org & sharing your story on social media using #virtualonepass, or by donating at any 2023 Ampol State of Origin game. 

We all go through difficult times in our lives. No matter how tough you are, negative thoughts can take over. It’s not a weakness to reach out but rather a strength.

The Gotcha4Life program provides the pathways to remove this stigma. As a game we want to provide our reach and support to assist them in their fight to normalise mental health issues.

The One Pass At A Time initiative is more than just a fundraising campaign, it’s about fostering conversation, connection and making a meaningful impact on people’s lives. We encourage everyone involved in our great game to support it.

Peter V’landys AM, Chairman of the Australian Rugby League Commission

Providing access to simple and practical tools and resources to have deeper conversations to get through challenging times can help change a life, just as one pass can change a footy game.

The team at Gotcha4Life deliver programs in schools, sports clubs and the community, which provide tools to have more meaningful conversations, so we all feel comfortable to speak up and know what questions to ask beyond the banter.

Gus Worland, Gotcha4Life Foundation Founder

I’ve been an Ambassador for Gotcha4Life for a few years now and in that time Gus and the team have created a positive space for players to open up. It’s really important to make those conversations part of everyday life, especially for professional athletes where there’s still a lot of stigma around being open with your emotions.

New South Wales Captain, James Tedesco

During Origin games, we do everything we can to beat the other team, but the overarching message is that it’s just a game and there’s a bigger fight at hand, which is mental fitness.

There’s still a stigma surrounding vulnerability, and showing emotion is a sign of weakness. This partnership is working to change that and hopefully destroy these stigmas in the process. Physical fitness is still a huge part of my preparation for games, but my mental fitness has become just as important because I know that without a clear head, without having balance in my life, I can’t go out and perform to the best of my ability.

Daly Cherry-Evans, QLD Captain & Gotcha4Life Ambassador

The Rationale

Why this event you ask?

Since the Sydney Harbour Bridge was first lit up for Vivid Sydney in 2013, the Bridge has been lit up blue to encourage NSW & to celebrate their victories, notably in 2014 when they finally won after an 8-year losing streak:

But in more recent years, something new had started,,,

‘The Bet’

Before and during recent State Of Origin series, the Premiers of NSW & QLD decided to wager the illuminating colours of their respective iconic bridges – the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Brisbane’s Story Bridge – if they lost that year’s State Of Origin series. So, if NSW lost, the Sydney Harbour Bridge would be lit maroon and if QLD lost, the Story Bridge would be lit up blue.

This ‘bet’ was wagered numerous times over recent years but none of the Premiers followed through on the bet when their state lost…until 2022, when NSW Premier, Dominic Perrottet, lit up the Sydney Harbour Bridge maroon for 35 minutes, 2 days after the final match.

Therefore, a standard had been set – the illumination of the opponent’s colours on your state’s respective bridge has to be a minimum of 35 minutes.

Note: The Premiers, so far, have not made ‘The Bet’ for 2023.

History

State Of Origin began in 1982 after 2 years of trials where the final match of an existing interstate rugby league best-of-3 ‘state of residence’ series between NSW & QLD was run under ‘state of origin’ rules. These ‘state of residence’ rules were used since rugby league was 1st played in these states but the matches tended to be one-sided due to NSW being the home of Australian rugby league despite just over half of the players starting their rugby league journeys in QLD. After the 1st ‘state of origin’ trial in 1980, everyone saw a completely different game – fiery, gladiatorial and no longer one-sided. When it became a full series in 1982, it transformed the game in Australia. The annual NSW rugby league season (now called NRL or National Rugby League) was no longer the main rugby league competition in Australia, it was State Of Origin. In fact, it is now the world’s greatest rugby league competition.

State Of Origin has grown year on year with daily attendance now at an average of 64,000 people and a daily Australian television broadcast average audience of 2.6 million people – the 2nd most watched show on Australian television annually!

Apart from the capital cities of NSW & QLD (Sydney & Brisbane), State Of Origin matches have also been held in Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide & in 1987, the United States Of America at Long Beach, California, the concluding match in a rare 4-match series.

To acknowledge the fact it is the world’s greatest rugby league series, it’s sporting pride of place in Sydney, it’s association with other Sydney Harbour events, particularly Vivid Sydney, and the ‘The Bet’, we have decided to designate State Of Origin as a flagship Sydney Spectacular.

What if I cannot attend the event?

The Australian broadcast rights are held by the Nine Network and internationally, it is broadcast to various countries (check your local guides to see if a broadcast is held in your country). The lighting of the Sydney Harbour or Story Bridges in the opposing state’s colours if the Bridge’s state loses is not broadcast (at least not yet).

Sydney Spectaculars will be providing coverage of the 2023 series. While we will provide a link to 9Now, the official Australian internet streamer of State Of Origin, on our ‘Watch LIVE’ page for Game 1 of the 2023 series, a direct embed will not possible for any future match unless a change in broadcast rights or contract conditions allows 3rd party embeds of the match broadcasts. In future editions or games, we may provide a list of international broadcasters on the ‘Watch LIVE’ page.

Also, remember it is a best of 3 series so if you miss the 1st or 2nd game, you can still attend the 2nd or final game!

There is also Women’s State Of Origin, which is not considered a ‘flagship’ Sydney Spectacular. Sponsored as well by KFC & Chemist Warehouse, this game started as a single annual match in 2019 – with both teams winning half the games – and will expand to 2 matches this year with Game 1 on Thursday at Western Sydney Stadium & Game 2 on Thursday 22 June at North Queensland Stadium in Townsville. Both games start at 7:45pm AEST. Rules, half-time entertainment & corporate hospitality information in this article applies for this series too. Tickets went on sale in late April at $20 for adults and $40 for families, while juniors under 15 can enter free with a paying adult. The team lists are announced 8 days prior to a game and Game 1’s team list can be found here.

State Of Origin, it’s time for kick off!