It’s game one of the men’s State of Origin today but talks of future editions including a trip to Wembley have already started, with a Super League club owner backed as the man to get the deal done.
New South Wales versus Queensland is one of the most iconic rivalries in sport and it has certainly grown to a status where it has overtaken international rugby league, at least for those Down Under.
The success of State of Origin and the downturn of international rugby league, namely the fact we’ve not had an Ashes series since 2003, do correlate somewhat.
However, the Ashes is now back on the agenda and talks about the NRL investing in Super League have also began. Many of the sport’s leaders in Australia realise the importance of England and having rugby league as a global product, and that’s led to the latest suggestion that Origin could head overseas.
Could State of Origin head to Wembley?
State of Origin has headed overseas before with New South Wales winning in Los Angeles back in 1987, however, Buzz Rothfield has now pointed to talks that New Zealand could host a game.
Appearing on the Off the Record podcast, Rothfield and fellow journalist Andrew Webster have spoken on the prospects of Origin heading overseas.
Eden Park in Auckland was touted by Rothfield with the time difference noted as a possible stopping point, something that would be even more dramatic if the game headed to Wembley – something that Webster believed was possible.
He backed Warrington Wolves owner Simon Moran as the man to get the deal done and secure a Wembley State of Origin match.
“If he can get Oasis back together, he can organise an Origin at Wembley in his lunch break,” Webster said.
“I’ve spoken to English reporters over there, they reckon an Origin in Wembley would sell out for sure.
“With the NRL eyeing off a possible stake in the UK Super League, it would be a no-brainer. And it would help the game enormously over there.”
Wembley will host the first of the Ashes Tests this year and ticket sales for that would be a litmus test for just how viable a State of Origin game would be. Currently, over 30,000 tickets have sold for the Ashes opener.
2 Comments
Leave a Reply
Leave a Reply
Super League Disciplinary News
Every Super League player’s disciplinary record after latest charges
Huddersfield Giants
Leeds Rhinos outcast signs for Super League rivals amid hooker contract boost
Johnny
May 28, 2025 at 4:09 pm
Bring your own officials don’t use our cheating hard heartless bastards
Namely K R is KR endall moore and mrs thaler
Wiganexpat
May 29, 2025 at 12:06 am
It would be a great way to “hopefully” bring in some new fans and showcase the game. We would have to show that we can fill Wembley for the Ashes game. If we can get 68k to last year’s Challenge Cup final surely we can fill Wembley for the Ashes game.
But at the end of the day, the ball is in our half, watch it or lose it.