The NRL is considering taking a State of Origin match overseas in order to extract more money from the next TV rights broadcast deal.

Origin matches have been taken away from the rugby league heartlands of Sydney and Brisbane in recent years, with Melbourne, Perth and Adelaide all either staging one or being locked in as a venue.

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However, the only time the interstate showpiece match has been held overseas was when an exhibition game was staged at Long Beach, California in 1987, where a crowd of 12,349 witnessed NSW beat Queensland 30-18 at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

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Rival Origin captains Peter Sterling and Wally Lewis after the match in California. Source: News Limited

But NRL CEO Todd Greenberg said the possibility of once again taking Origin overseas is back on the table, once the existing broadcast deal expires.

“That is being considered for the next cycle,” Greenberg told The Sydney Morning Herald.

“The commission is rightfully challenging us to be innovative and consider all new opportunities for the game.

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“We must think big and be bold enough to scale new heights. We might fail but I would rather try and fail than sit back and do nothing.

“We want to consider if we can ever take an Origin international,” Greenberg added. “That would probably go in the mix for the new broadcast deal.

“Under the current model, to play prime time here for Channel Nine, you would be a brave person to move the highest rating program on TV last year. That obviously makes it hard. We will look at that in the next cycle.”

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There are also ongoing discussions about whether to include a 17th NRL team in 2023 — when the new broadcast deal will kick in — and Greenberg said a decision will be made by the end of the year.

“We have been talking to every club, every level of government, New Zealand, Perth, Adelaide, Queensland, broadcasters,” he said. “We have been getting everyone’s views. We have another report in the middle of this year. We have two more reports to the commission for their review.

“We debate them again and we have to land on a position by the end (of 2020).”

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