As a Victorian, you may be wondering why everyone North of the border is losing their minds over ‘State of Origin’, which kicks off tonight in Melbourne for some reason.

In Victoria, most people only care about something’s origin when it comes to their coffee, but in NSW and Queensland ‘State of Origin’ is the closest they come to a cultural event.

What is it?

State of Origin is a representative series in the sport of Rugby League, in which Queensland beats NSW on an annual basis.

It is a three-game series and features the best players from Queensland and NSW and for some reason, Mitchell Pearce.

Which one is Rugby League again?

Rugby League, or ‘League’ as it’s more commonly known, is the successful branch of rugby in Australia.

As a Victorian, it’s easy to remember which one it is, as it’s the code Melbourne Storm play. The Melbourne Rebels play Union.

What’s that? You’ve never heard of the Rebels? Don’t worry that won’t matter as the ARU are currently in the process of doing their best to wind up that sport in Australia.

League is the working-class version of the sport, while Rugby Union is played by the inbred elite.

Doesn’t League have an issue with players doing things to dogs?

Well yes, but don’t get too comfortable on that moral high horse AFL fan, as no League player has ever set fire to a dwarf to my knowledge.

Why the rivalry?

Throughout League’s history, NSW have treated Queensland like it’s their dim-witted younger brother. While many would say that’s fair enough, it hasn’t led to positive relations between the two.

Things escalated in 1956 when the government of NSW decided it would be great if people go somewhere and just throw away their money, with the government getting a nice slice of it. So, they introduced pokies.

This pokies money was a huge boon for many of the ‘Leagues Clubs’ run by Rugby League teams. Suddenly, NSW clubs had the funds to raid the Queensland clubs for the best players.

The Queensland clubs just couldn’t financially compete and saw quality player after quality player head south.

This made the NSWRL the strongest competition in the country, with the QRL merely a feeder league for them.

By the 1970’s, the interstate competition was dying in League, as the NSW authorities had said players would represent the state where they played their footy, not where they were from.

With every good player plying their trade in the NSWRL, this made for very one sided games.

It got to a point where no one was interested in these games, so a compromise was reached. A ‘State of Origin’ concept would be trialled in the third game of the interstate series if it was a dead rubber.

That was big of those NSW guys, letting Queensland have their players but only if the game meant nothing.

1980 would see the first test of the new arrangements, with Queensland being belted in the first game 35-3 and the losing the second 17–7.

This set up the third game under the new concept, and Arthur Beetson would captain Queensland in the game. Beetson was a star and the first Indigenous Australian to have captained his country in any sport. This game meant a lot to the Queenslanders who thought this would never happen.

The game attracted a sellout crowd of 33,210, dwarfing many of the recent interstate crowds and surprised many in the game and in the media who had been deeply sceptical.

And surprise, surprise, with their own players, Queensland would win convincingly too, 20-10 and the State of Origin concept was now taken a bit more seriously.

This was a real rivalry and years of feeling like second class citizens made Queenslanders embrace the concept with a fanatical edge that is genuinely scary.

Talk to a Queenslander about Origin, and they get a mad look in their eye, like Mel Gibson in Braveheart or on a night out.

In 1982, with these State of Origin games being far more successful, the series moved to a full State of Origin concept.

The NSW powerbrokers had come around due to the oldest persuader in history, the promise of untold riches. The series’ success up until the current day, both financially and as a promotion for the sport has been beyond their wildest dreams.

NSW and Queensland goes a little bonkers while it’s on. Even in Federal Parliament, politicians from either state will wear maroon or blue to make themselves seem vaguely human.

When are the games?

Origin I — Wednesday, June 6 8pm (AEST), at Melbourne Cricket Ground

Origin II — Sunday, June 24 7.40pm (AEST), at ANZ Stadium

Origin III — Wednesday, July 11 8pm (AEST), at Suncorp Stadium

Where can I watch it?

You can watch it on Channel Nine. The Channel Nine pre-game show starts several years before the actual game and involves a lot of Andrew Johns standing in front of a flat screen TV in an ill-fitting suit.

Phil ‘Gus’ Gould is another feature of the coverage. He’s like all the annoying AFL commentators distilled into one person.

Channel Nine’s coverage is exactly as you’d expect, at the cutting edge of 1980s sports coverage.

Who will win?

I’ve got no idea. I’m a Victorian, and even my AFL tipping has dipped into the negative a few times this year.

As a Victorian, who should I go for?

Look, there’s no good choice. It’s like deciding between a vegan or a vegetarian meal, there’s little difference and both are awful. Just enjoy 80 minutes of big blokes running into each other.

I have two shows this week!

The first is 7.00pm Wednesday 6 June The Comic’s Lounge in Melbourne.

The second is 8.00pm Thu 7 June Arkaba Hotel Adelaide.

Tickets for both shows available here: frontiercomedy.com/titusoreily

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