State of Origin I was missing something.
The excitement was there once Queensland turned up, albeit 40 minutes late, but it felt a lot like another quick club game. And while that’s fine for those of us watching for the on-field product, it can’t be ignored that it was one of the lowest-rated games ever.
That can be attributed to a number of factors, including the US election happening the same day and post-season fatigue, although ARLC chairman Peter V’landys would rather you focus on the former.
But the location surely had something to do with it too.
Taking the games interstate has in the past not been much of a problem excitement-wise. Perth fans have shown they’re keen enough on league to keep attracting crowds (59,000 last year), while the Storm’s fanbase and Melburnians’ propensity to turn up to just about anything in a stadium (87,000 in 2018 and 91,000 in 2015) have meant those contests always had the right feel for an Origin match.
But for Game I, the neutral territory of South Australia, the massive expanses of Adelaide Oval and the 50 per cent limit on fans meant the atmosphere felt a little off.
On TV, the crowd could barely be seen during the run of play and were rarely cut to by broadcasters. At the ground, despite some pre-game boos for the Blues and a brief “Queenslander” chant, it was impossible to miss that the stadium wasn’t full of hometown fans with decades of animosity bubbling away in their hearts.
For State of Origin II, the series returns to its natural state, with an extra partisan twist.
Could we see the most one-sided Origin crowd ever?
The Olympic stadium in Sydney isn’t a great ground for rugby league.
It’s the wrong shape in a couple of ways: The elliptical nature of the ground leaves front-row seats too far from the action, and the desire to make its capacity as large as possible means fans in the top tier are just about in another postcode.
But, like everything else in 2020, the conversation can’t be had without mentioning coronavirus.
The restrictions on crowds in Sydney means, like the NRL grand final, the ground will only be half full (or half empty depending on how you’re feeling in the 11th month of this diabolical year), but it should also be more one sided than ever.
Due to the border row (which we won’t delve into too deeply here), getting from Queensland to Sydney and back isn’t as simple as it once was, and planning a trip down for Origin a couple of months in advance would have been risky on both a financial and health front.
So even if all 40,000 fans in the stands aren’t wearing synthetic blue curly wigs, rest assured that an even more overwhelming majority than usual will be cheering for NSW.
And we’ve learned this year that tens of thousands of fans, even if they are matched by tens of thousands of empty seats, can create the requisite mood for top-flight football.
For a Blues side that appeared complacent to start the series, it could be just the tonic.
Everything from the players’ commitment to the cause, to their medical team’s ability to diagnose concussion has been questioned since the series-opening boilover.
But being low on energy in front of a crowd like the one expected tonight isn’t really possible, regardless of how long the season was or how banged up the body is.
It will also be James Tedesco’s first game as captain and 22-year-old Nathan Cleary’s first as vice-captain. And Cleary has a point to prove after getting pilloried as a non-big-game player in the wake of grand final and Origin I losses.
Cody Walker will inject energy and the loss of Boyd Cordner, after having played so much football in the past four seasons and enduring a down year in terms of team and individual performance, shouldn’t hurt the side as much as it would have in previous years.
For the Maroons, after Game I — cliched as it was with an unlikely comeback win perpetrated by a Queensland team that was written off by all and sundry — comes another classic Origin storyline: the us-against-them, backs-against-the-wall mentality.
With 40,000 fans baying for blood, it won’t take much for coach Wayne Bennett to get his young side into the old-school mindset that everyone wants them to be humiliated out there.
If NSW was looking for a boost to get back into the series, they should find it at Homebush.
If the Maroons are hoping to pull off another bit of daylight robbery, they might find inspiration in the screaming faces of Blatchy’s Blues or they’ll get their chance in front of a raucous, biased crowd for a decider at Lang Park next week.
Regardless who wins the game, the fans who tune in will get the pleasure of watching an Origin match with all the fire and fury expected of the game’s interstate showpiece.
