State of Origin series

The State of Origin series is an annual best-of-three rugby league series between two Australian state representative sides, the New South Wales Blues and the Queensland Maroons. Referred to as "Australian sport's greatest rivalry", the State of Origin series is one of Australia's premier sporting events, attracting huge television audiences and usually selling out the stadiums in which the games are played. It is regularly described as the pinnacle of rugby league, inclusive of comparisons with international competitions. Players are selected to represent the Australian state in which they played their first senior rugby league game (either high school or local senior club). Before 1980 players were only selected for interstate matches based on where they were playing their club football at the time. Queensland was not generally competitive under these selection rules, with a total record of 54 wins, 8 draws, and 159 losses, as their smaller economy and ban on poker machines meant that leagues clubs could not compete and the vast majority of elite players ended up playing in the much richer Sydney Rugby League premiership. In both 1980 and 1981, there were two interstate matches under the old selection rules and one experimental "State of Origin" match. From 1982 onwards a best-of-three match series has been played around the middle of the rugby league season for the State of Origin shield. During the early years the overall series results remained relatively even, but Queensland surged ahead between 2006 and 2017, winning 11 out of 12 series, including a record eight series in a row.