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.
The Queensland Cup, currently known as the Hostplus Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the highest-level regional rugby league football competition in Queensland, Australia. It is run by the Queensland Rugby League (QRL) and is contested by fifteen teams, thirteen of which are based in Queensland, with one based in New South Wales and one in Central Province, Papua New Guinea.
In Queensland, Australian rules football dates back to the colonial era in 1866, with organised competitions being continuous since the 1900s. Today, it is most popular in South East Queensland and the Cairns Region. There are 11 regional club competitions, the highest profile of which are the semi-professional Queensland Australian Football League and AFL Cairns. It is governed by AFL Queensland which has more than 55,000 registered adult players.
In Western Australia, rugby league is played at amateur level by 31 clubs across 5 regional leagues with a total of around 7,900 players. It attracts an audience mainly for the State of Origin series.
The Queensland women's rugby league team represents the Australian state of Queensland in rugby league football. Nicknamed the "Maroons", after the colour of their jersey, the team compete in the annual Women's State of Origin game against arch-rivals New South Wales. Coached by Tahnee Norris and captained by Ali Brigginshaw, the team is administered by the Queensland Rugby League.
The NRL State Championship is a rugby league match contested by the premiers of the two elite second-tier competitions in Australia, the New South Wales Cup and the Queensland Cup. The match has been played as a curtain-raiser to the NRL Grand Final at Stadium Australia since it was introduced by the National Rugby League (NRL) in 2014. The match acts as Super Bowl-type to determine the National Reserve Grade Champions.
The Queensland Under-20 rugby league team, also known as Queensland Under-20s or Queensland U20, represents Queensland in the sport of rugby league at an under-20 age level. Since 2012, the team has played an annual fixture against the New South Wales Under-20s team for the Darren Lockyer Shield. The team features players selected from the NRL, Intrust Super Cup, Canterbury Cup NSW, Hastings Deering Colts and Jersey Flegg Cup competitions. They are administered by the Queensland Rugby League.
The Queensland Under-18 rugby league team, also known as Queensland Under-18s or Queensland U18, represents Queensland in the sport of rugby league at an under-18 age level. Since 2008, the team has played an annual fixture against the New South Wales Under-18 team as a curtain raiser to a State of Origin game. The team features players selected from Queensland's premier under-18 rugby league competition, the Mal Meninga Cup. They are administered by the Queensland Rugby League.
The Queensland Under-16 rugby league team, also known as Queensland Under-16s or Queensland U16, represents Queensland in the sport of rugby league at an under-16 age level. Since 2008, the team has played an annual fixture against the New South Wales Under-16s team as a curtain raiser to a State of Origin game. The team features players selected from Queensland's premier under-16 rugby league competition, the Cyril Connell Cup. They are administered by the Queensland Rugby League.
The New South Wales Under-16's rugby league team, also known as New South Wales Under-16s or New South Wales U16, represents New South Wales in the sport of rugby league at an under-16 age level. Since 2008, the team has played an annual fixture against the Queensland Under-16s team as a curtain-raiser to a State of Origin game. The team features players selected from New South Wales's premier under-16 rugby league competition, the Harold Matthews Cup and Andrew Johns Cup. They New South Wales Rugby League administered them.
The New South Wales Under-20's rugby league team, also known as New South Wales Under-20s or New South Wales U20, represents New South Wales in the sport of rugby league at an under-20 age level. Since 2012, the team has played an annual fixture against the Queensland Under-20s team for the Darren Lockyer Shield. The team features players selected from the National Rugby League (NRL), Holden Cup, Jersey Flegg Cup and Intrust Super Premiership competitions. They are administered by the New South Wales Rugby League.
The 2018 Women's State of Origin was the first State of Origin rugby league match between the New South Wales and Queensland women's teams played at North Sydney Oval on 22 June 2018.
The 2019 Women's State of Origin was the second State of Origin rugby league match between the New South Wales and Queensland women's teams played at North Sydney Oval on 21 June 2019. The match was the second played under the State of Origin banner.
Reuben Cotter is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who captains and plays primarily as a lock or prop for the North Queensland Cowboys in the National Rugby League (NRL) and Australia at international level.
Tino Fa'asuamaleaui is a professional rugby league footballer who captains the Gold Coast Titans playing as a lock and prop forward in the National Rugby League (NRL). He has played for Samoa and Australia at international level.
Nicholas Michael Hynes is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a halfback for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in the National Rugby League (NRL).
The 2020 NRL season was the 113th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 23rd season run by the National Rugby League.
The 2020 Melbourne Storm season was the 23rd in the club's history and they competed in the 2020 NRL season. The team was coached by Craig Bellamy, coaching the club for his 18th consecutive season. Melbourne Storm were also captained by Cameron Smith, who had been the sole captain for the team since 2008—making this his 13th consecutive season. The season was suspended indefinitely on 23 March due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic; however, on 28 April the NRL announced it would recommence on 28 May as a 20 Round competition with a revised fixture.
The 2020 Women's State of Origin was the third official Women's State of Origin rugby league match between the New South Wales and Queensland played at Sunshine Coast Stadium on 13 November 2020. The teams have played each other annually since 1999 with the 2020 game being the third played under the State of Origin banner.
The Women's State of Origin is an annual rugby league fixture between two Australian state representative women's sides, the New South Wales Blues and the Queensland Maroons.
