If I were a generous man, I would want to share the inestimable beauty of Origin footy with as many people as possible. I would clap and cheer as the games were taken out of Queensland and NSW exported to such exotic, far-flung locations as Perth and Los Angeles. But I’m not a generous man and, instead, I am truly baffled as games in the series continue to be played much further away from me than I would like.
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Next year, Adelaide will get its first-ever taste of Origin, with Game 1 to be played at Adelaide Oval in 2020. ARL chairman Peter Beattie and premier of South Australia Steven Marshall today announced that the match would take place in the city, with Beattie citing the success of the Melbourne and Perth games. “State of Origin has been an enormous success in Melbourne and Perth in recent years, and we have no doubt that the opening game of the series next year at Adelaide Oval will be an incredible spectacle,” Beattie said. “Origin is a wonderful showpiece for the game and this will allow us to share it with an important new market, bringing new fans closer to the game.”
Contrary to what anyone might have predicted, the game in Perth did indeed drew an enormous crowd, with 59,721 people crowding into Optus Stadium, which (at the time) was a record high attendance.
Game 1 will take place on Wednesday, June 3, with Game 2 in Sydney on June 21, and the final back where it belongs in beautiful Brisbane on July 8
