The question, to New South Wales captain Isaah Yeo, was blunt. In any other social or professional situation it would have been downright rude. But this is the week of State of Origin, the annual threat to Australia’s federation.
“Yeoy, we haven’t really felt the hate,” the optimistic television reporter began, on a mission to jazz up his 6pm news package with a throwback quote. “Can you give us insight into how much you dislike Queensland?”
The mild-mannered, diplomatic Yeo who – after four NRL premierships, Kangaroos honours and more than half a decade in blue – knows the modern game like few others, understood what was being asked. But he could only go so far. “There’s obviously dislike, but you’re probably [asking] the wrong person,” he said. “I try not to create headlines. I apologise.”
It was one whiff among many this week for a bloodthirsty press corps desperate to infuse this season’s Origin series with a little extra spice. The Courier Mail did its best on Tuesday, describing Spencer Leniu as a “grub” in its back page headline. The Blues forward and Queensland great – and now Nine personality – Johnathan Thurston shared a sideline disagreement last month, prompting Maroons “legends” like Billy Moore and Corey Parker to declare in the classic of the Origin-week genre that Leniu must now be targeted.
But Blues coach Laurie Daley was on a different wavelength, saying Leniu “will be fine”. Instead, he suggested “grub’s a heavy word”. The headline was also put to Yeo, but he didn’t have a direct response, saying only that Leniu will “handle it fine”. “Being the villain, I feel like he handles that really well,” was about as far as Yeo would go.
Two hours later, Daley’s counterpart Billy Slater was asked for his views, the latest button to push on the Origin media machine. “I haven’t seen that headline, and it wouldn’t have come from anyone internal,” the Maroons coach said. “So yeah, you might have to ask the person who put the headline up there, that certainly didn’t come from me.”
As it happened, one of the story’s reporters was on hand. He accepted responsibility, prompting laughs all round. It was not the only time on Tuesday the media’s attempt to revive the old Origin narrative was raised.
Yeo said the supposed animosity between the teams is largely a media fabrication. “I don’t think there’s many headlines coming from the players, and that’s to be expected,” the Blues skipper said. “It’s a big occasion, I think the media aren’t liking the fact that there’s not that much hate between players, so I feel like they’re doing a good job of building it up.”
There have been stories of a “storm” after Maroons captain Daly Cherry-Evans was pictured chatting to referee Ashley Klein at a recent Manly training. (“I’m respectful, empathetic,” the Maroons captain responded.) There was Monday’s “spying drama” when a closed New South Wales training was filmed and released. Yeo said there was not much to gain.
The Daily Telegraph wrote last week that the Maroons are now too likeable, upsetting the Origin formula. Slater, genuine and considered at his media opportunity on Tuesday, did little to dispel those accusations. “At the end of the day, you can’t help what type of people you are and what type of person I am,” Slater said. “And you’ve just got to be real to yourself and true to yourself.”
State of Origin has changed in recent years as rugby league leans even further into sports science and professional preparation, and away from on-field violence and alcohol-fuelled bonding sessions.
Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii sending off for a high shot on Reece Walsh this time last year was the latest example of the winds of change. Traditionalists railed against the sanction, arguing that the threshold for foul play in Origin has always been higher than first grade and the send-off ruined the match. But last year’s series continued to draw millions on television. The three matches were all in the top five largest-drawing sport broadcasts of 2024, and the final match had the highest audience of the three.
Indeed, the code appears in a healthy state as it prepares to go to market for a new broadcast deal beginning in 2028. Average audiences for Nine’s NRL games this year are up more than 5%, according to sports industry blogger Jason Lassey.
The Women’s State of Origin series has also emerged as a boon for the code, and a tentpole women’s spectacle the envy of the AFL. Insiders estimate the three-match contest, once a loss-making exercise, is now a broadcasting asset worth several million dollars to the game. Heck, the NRL welcomes a Papua New Guinea side in 2028 as part of Australia’s soft diplomacy. Try explaining that to the Origin hard-men of yesteryear.
For Origin in 2025 there may be less of yesterday’s pantomime, but Slater – who has spent two decades as an Origin player and now coach – believes the sheen of rugby league’s jewel remains. “The game is the game, the game sells itself,” he said. “If you need the bit of feud off the field, well, you’re probably not doing the job on the field. And I think they’re doing the job on the field at the moment.”
