In a break from over 40 years of tradition, the 2023 State of Origin series will be moved to November.
Borrowing the format used during the shortened 2020 series, the 2023 series will be played on three consecutive Wednesday nights: November 1, 8, and 15.
NRL CEO Andrew Abdo explained the many benefits.
“Firstly, the dreaded June to July ‘Origin period’ is gone. Successful teams won’t be punished for having Origin-quality players, be forced to field a NSW Cup side, and risk losing to the Wests Tigers. With no Origin commitments, these top sides will be fresher come August, which should provide higher quality footy leading into the finals,” said Abdo. “And we used to play the majority of Test footy in October and November, so why not Origin?”
As expected, Channel Nein kicked up a huge stink, but Abdo was able to convince them.
“I told them they can keep their precious Wednesday night slots, and it’s at the tailend of the ratings season, so they can finish the year with a big ratings spike and win ‘the ratings war’. I know nobody cares about ratings season anymore, but the Nein bigwigs were quite excited by that, followed by some unprintable comments about what they’d do to the bigwigs at Channel Seven.”
Abdo also highlighted another benefit – player behaviour.
“If a player’s team misses the finals, but they’re in Origin contention, they’re less likely to play up in the off-season. And any naughtiness means no Origin for them. While it also means the premiers can’t party as hard as they’d like before Origin, that also reduces the risk them doing stupid stuff, like ruining the trophy or doing stupid TikTok dances after a four-day bender.”
Adding to the theatre of it all, the NSW and QLD extended squads will be named straight after the NRL Grand Final, which is another boon for Nein.
“Those greedy fat cats at Nein can pivot straight from the grand final to plugging Origin. And then spend the next month plugging it even more as the teams prepare. It’s not like they show any other sport before the tennis in January. The extra prep time allows the finals players to take their time getting into Origin mode.”
While the ‘Origin period’ is gone, it’s been replaced by a Rep Round in mid-June. The NRL will have a full bye, with Women’s Origin, age group Origin, and Pacific Tests (involving PNG, Fiji, Lebanon, Cook Islands, Tonga, and Samoa) on that weekend.
