The National Rugby League's State of Origin, "could be headed to Western Australia for the first time," according to Dean Ritchie of the Sydney DAILY TELEGRAPH. Perth is "expected to make a full-blown bid" for an Origin match in the '18 series. Two games will be played at Sydney's ANZ Stadium this year, two matches in Brisbane next season before a match goes "on the road" again in '18. A new A$1.2B ($860M) stadium being built in Burswood -- which will originally seat 60,000 fans with the potential to rise to 70,000 -- "has Perth ready to pounce." The three-game Origin format "may alter permanently in coming years" with a game each in Sydney and Brisbane and a third being awarded to the highest-bidding city from around Australia. The Western Australia and Victoria Governments would "outlay big money to the NRL in return for a match in what is the most lucrative sporting series in Australia." A just-completed Perth Stadium may give WA a "decisive edge." NRL officials have already traveled to Perth and "were openly impressed by plans for the new stadium," which will be completed for the '18 Australian Football League season. Origin in Perth "would generate millions of dollars for the local economy" (DAILY TELEGRAPH, 2/21).
