Queensland celebrate their seventh straight series win over NSW but things may get tougher now the balance has been tipped in favour of the Blues. Picture: Adam Head Source: The Courier-Mail
QUEENSLAND has been robbed of its right to host two State of Origin matches next year as rugby league officials change the rules.
The Courier-Mail can reveal a multimillion-dollar deal has been struck between the NSW Government, Sydney's ANZ Stadium management and the new Australian Rugby League Commission to give the Blues the 2013 home advantage over the Maroons.
The Maroons, who have dominated the Blues with a record seven consecutive series wins, were supposed to host two of the three matches next year.
Before the introduction of the independent ARLC, Queensland was scheduled to host Origin games one and three at Suncorp Stadium next year in its bid to win a record eighth consecutive series.
But the ARLC has decided to treat the series featuring a Melbourne match as a neutral year, meaning the usual hosting rights are put on hold until the following series.
Queensland lost out the last time a series followed a Melbourne match with its hosting rights passed over, enabling the Blues to go three years without having to play two matches in Brisbane.
In a new seven-year Origin schedule to be unveiled at a media conference at NRL headquarters today, the Blues will host the first and final games of the 2013 series. The Maroons will play Game Two at Suncorp Stadium next year, but the venue will stage two games in 2014.
The big loser in the new deal is Victoria, which gets only one game - the first game in 2015 - in the new seven-year deal.
The change will make it an uphill battle for the Maroons to maintain their hold over the Blues. Since 1999, Queensland has had a 31 per cent win rate in Sydney, compared with 72 per cent at Suncorp Stadium.
Statistics also show that penalty counts favour the home team, handing the hosts a double bonus of their home supporters and sympathetic referees.
Maroons coach Mal Meninga and the state's rugby league bosses had been supremely confident that Queensland would host its two matches next year as per the time-honoured arrangement.
Meninga and his team have fought the odds for their unprecedented Origin streak.
The seven-year deal is also a blow for New Zealand, which had also expressed interest in hosting Origin matches in a bid to grow the game.
ORIGIN ON THE ROAD
Who gets the games in the next seven years
2013: Sydney, Brisbane, Sydney
2014: Brisbane, Sydney, Brisbane
2015: Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane
2016: Sydney, Brisbane, Sydney
2017: Brisbane, Sydney, Brisbane
2018: Sydney, Brisbane, Sydney
2019: Brisbane, Sydney, Brisbane
No comments:
Post a Comment