Other State of origin
Other State of origin
by Andrew Pelechaty
While the rugby league ‘State of Origin’ series a popular Origin contest in Australia, there are other sports with their own ‘State of Origin’ contents featuring state v state competition.
STATE OF ORIGIN AFL
The AFL Origin concept, which lasted from 1977 to 1999, featured Victoria, Western Australia and South Australia. QLD, NSW, Tasmania, NT and ACT also competed. In 1994 the ‘other’ states combined to form ‘The Allies’. Unlike the three-game rugby league Origin series the AFL Origin games were either played in a carnival format or one-off matches. The growing importance of the AFL premiership – helped by the success of non-Victorian teams – saw Origin diminish in popularity. The Origin concept was revived for a one-off Hall of Fame tribute match in 2008 (also to celebrate the AFL’s 150th anniversary) between Victoria and The Dream Team (a combination of the best non-Victorian players). Before Origin, there were regular interstate carnivals, which the powerful Victorians usually dominated.
STATE OF ORIGIN TOUCH FOOTBALL
Touch Football, popular in the rugby league strongholds of QLD, NSW and ACT, had a two-day State of Origin carnival in Port Macquarie between QLD and NSW in September 2012. Matches ranged from Men’s and Women’s Open and Mixed Open to 20s, 30s, 35s, 40s and Men’s 45s and 50s, each playing three game series.
NSW were the overall winners in 2012, with seven division victories to six.
There are also regular junior Origin carnivals.
STATE OF ORIGIN OZTAG
Oztag held their 2012 State of Origin carnival in late June at Caloundra. The carnival had age ranges from Under 11 – 15 Boys and Girls to Open, Senior, Under 20, Over 30s, Over 35s, Over 40s, Over 45s and Over 50s. NSW dominated the carnival, winning 15 divisions to QLD’s five.
STATE OF ORIGIN FISHING
In 2009, a BCF State of Origin fishing tournament was held in Northern NSW over three days, with fishermen from Brisbane Fishing Online and North Coast Fishing NSW competing. While the environment was relaxed and social, there was also a serious side, with NSW winning 16 points to 10.
In October 2011 another tournament was held by Brisbane Fishing Online at the Jacobs Well Tourist Park on the Gold Coast. Prizes were given for Longest Bream, Longest Flathead, Longest Whiting, Longest Jewfish and Junior Angler. The winning state was the one with the most State points, though no result was available.
STATE OF ORIGIN LAWN BOWLS
In 2010, the Paradise Point Bowls Club held a State of Origin event, with QLD winning two tests to one. As well as a number of international tournaments, the Australian Premier League has started as a City v City competition. The tournament has been touted as a more exciting version of lawn bowls (like Twenty20 cricket), possibly to counter lawn bowls’ reputation as a sedate pastime for retired people.
STATE OF ORIGIN TOYOTA CUP RUGBY LEAGUE
The Toyota Cup under 20s rugby league competition (National Youth Competition) – run in conjunction with the NRL since 2008 – held their first State of Origin contest in 2012. Played at Penrith’s Centrebet Stadium on Saturday April 21, NSW won the Darren Lockyer Shield, defeating QLD 18-14.
STATE OF ORIGIN DARTS
Darts, seen by many as a pub sport, has their own version of State of Origin. In October 2012 the 33rd Australian Darts Championship was held over six days in Darwin. WA defeated QLD in the Women’s Pairs while the WA men also defeated QLD in their Pairs event. Tasmania won the Australian Ladies Teams title while South Australia won the Australian Men’s Teams. In the singles championship, Victoria won the ladies division and WA won the men’s. In the Peter McMenamin Cup, men’s titles went to South Australia Red (Green Division Group A) and Northern Territory (Group B). Ladies Green Division titles were won by Tasmania Yellow (Group A) and WA Black (Group B). NSW closed out the tournament by winning the Mixedsate Doubles over QLD.
STATE OF ORIGIN CRICKET
Cricket NSW have borrowed the Australian Rugby League’s City v Country Origin concept for a limited-overs game played last September at Blacktown. It was a presitgious affair, with Australian reps Doug Bollinger, Moises Henriques and Steve Smith playing for City, and Trent Copeland (Bathurst), Brad Haddin (ACT) and Josh Hazlewood (Bedeemer) representing Country. A women’s version was also held in September 2012 with four Twenty20 matches.
STATE OF ORIGIN SWIMMING
A state teams short course event was held in 2011 at Canberra’s AIS Arena. All six states (NSW, VIC, QLD, WA, SA, TAS) and the Northern Territory competed. Local Hugo Morris, from the Woden Swim Club, represented NSW.
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OTHER – ‘FACE OF ORIGIN’
While not strictly a sport, the ‘Face of Origin’ competition seeks out the best swimwear models from each state via three heats and a final. The event ties in nicely with the NRL State of Origin, as the FOO winners from NSW and QLD represent their state during promotional events in the lead-up to the Origin series. The 2012 final was held in Sydney on the night of the third Origin game, Wednesday July 4th. Rachel Burr, who won Face of Origin for NSW in 2009 Is now a regular model for local men’s magazine like Zoo Weekly.
OTHER – ‘PIE OF ORIGIN’
In June 2012, two bakeries – the Fernvale Bakery in QLD and Glenorie Bakery in NSW competed for the first ‘Pie of Origin.’ The Chunky Steak Pie was the main attraction, with Fernvale’s version winning at the Great Aussie Pie competition. The revelry was for a good cause, with $2 from every pie hold going towards Brisbane flood victims.
FLYBALL
The Australian Flyball Association – a relay event between two teams of four dogs retrieving a ball over a series of obstacles – hold regular events throughout the year across the country. In 2013 there will be a series of weekend-long tournaments from mid-February to mid-November, culminating in the 2013 Nationals at Dandenong. Flyball is a great sport for dogs, as it exercised their natural need to run, jump and retrieve.
STATE OF ORIGIN POKER
Poker AsiaPacific hold an annual State of Origin tournament. Establised by Joe and Tony Hachem, it started in 2008. South Australia have won twice (2008 and 2010), New Zealand in 2009 and Tasmania in 2011. Six teams were represented in the No Limit Holdem Shootout event, with points allocated based on finishing positions to determine the overall team champion. After a successful inaugural event, the State of Origin Event expanded in 2009 to include New Zealand and combined Territories for the first time.
OTHER – TOURISM
There was an Origin-style scuffle between the Sunshine Coast and Byron Bay in July 2012 with the Sunny Coast claiming Byron was running a copycat campaign. Byron’s slogan “Byron Naturally” was accused of being too similar to the Sunshine Coast’s “Sunshine Coast Naturally Refreshing”. Sunshine Coast launch their brand in October 2010 while Byron’s appeared in March 2011. Both campaigns feature images of surfing, walking on the beach, mountain streams, rainforests and dining. While the argument seems to be pure semantics, it does indicate the rivarly between QLD and NSW applies to more than the footy field.
STATE OF ORIGIN DOG TRIALLING
A State of Origin dog trial between QLD and NSW was held from July 20-22 2012 at Rappaville. Trialling started at 6.30am each day and continued until 5pm Friday and Saturday, with the State of Origin Challenge held at 2pm on the Sunday. RESULTS.
STATE OF ORIGIN FIELD HOCKEY
On February 26 2012, NSWIS defeated QAS four goals to three (QAS lead 3-2 at halftime) at Tweed Heads on Sunday February 26th 2012.
STATE OF ORIGIN STOCK HORSE
Equitana added an Australian Stock Horse State of Origin challenge in November 2012. The top horse and rider combos from each state competed in an obstacle course, held as a finale to the outdoor competition.
STATE OF ORIGIN VOLLEYBALL
In September 2012, the CBVA hosted the Alan Wilton State of Origin Competition. It’s a 4 x 4 competition with a minumum of two girls and is international rather than state-based. All team members must have the same nationality. Previous winners have been Argentina (2010 & 2011) and Germany (2012).
STATE OF ORIGIN WOOD CHOPPING
The Melbourne Royal Show hosted a State of Origin Teams race as part of its woodchopping program in late September 2012. The SOO program was held on September 23 at the Izuzu D-Max Woodchop Pavillion.
STATE OF ORIGIN BASEBALL
On Saturday 9th July 2011, an inagural State of Origin clash was held between the Sydney Major first grade champions Marcarthur Orioles and Pine Hills Lightning Major As at Bunya Field in Brisbane. Both the Orioles and the Lightning won the right to the Origin match after winning their respective Major League titles. RESULT.
STATE OF ORIGIN GOLF
On the 24th and 25th January 2011, a State of Origin golf contest between the Greg Norman Golf Foundation (QLD) and Jack Newton Golf of NSW was held at the Newcastle Golf Club, with NSW winning 16.5 points to 13.5. The tournament consisted of Mixed Foursomes (won by QLD 3.5 to 2.5), Four ball (QLD 4-2), Foursomes (3-3) and Singles (NSW 9-3).
OTHER ‘STATE OF ORIGIN’ CONTESTS
There are other sporting contents which – while not officially known as ‘State of Origin’ – do feature interstate competition.
Well-known competitions include the Super 15 Rugby, which features QLD Reds, NSW Waratahs, ACT Brumbies, Western Force and Melbourne Rebels. While it is a state v state competition, it is not regarded as ‘State of Origin’ as the teams are treated like franchises and players move freely between states. The biggest ‘Origin’ rivalry is between the Reds and Waratahs. The Reds v Waratahs matches, played for the Bob Templeton Cup, traditionally draw the biggest crowds to Reds home games. They’ve played 270 matches, with NSW winning 170 games, QLD 80 and 12 draws. Queensland has a slight edge in Super Rugby matches with nine wins to NSW’s seven and one draw. The Reds have also emerged as the powerhouse Australian team after the Brumbies dominated from 1997 to 2004.
Sheffield Shield cricket has a similar state v state relationship as the Super 15. All six states are represented: NSW Blues, VIC Bushrangers, QLD Bulls, SA Redbacks, WA Warriors, Tasmanian Tigers, but players regularly switch between states. The biggest rivalry in interstate cricket has been between NSW and Victoria. Since the Shield started in 1892-93, the Blues have won 45 titles and the Bushrangers 28. The Warriors have won 15, Redbacks 13, Bulls 7 and Tigers 2. While the Bulls – admitted into the competition in 1926-27 – had to wait until 1994-95 for their first Shield success, they dominated the late nineties and most of the 2000s, and are reigning Shield champions. The domestic one-day competition follows a similar format, with the ACT Comets briefly appearing in the late nineties with little success.
Australia’s dominance of netball extends to the domestic ANZ Championship. There are ten teams; five from Australia (Adelaide Thunderbirds, Queensland Firebirds, Melbourne Vixens, NSW Swifts, West Coast Fever) and five from NZ (Canterbury Tactic, Waikato/BOP Magic, Central Pulse, Southern Steel, Northern Mystics). The Australian teams have won all five seasons: Melbourne twice (2009 and 2012), NSW (2008), Adelaide (2010) and QLD (2011) once each. Probably the closest to ‘State of Origin’ the competition gets is the regular clashes between QLD Firebirds and NSW Swifts.
Softball Australia hold a number of International, National and State events during the year. The State events include the ACT Skins in Canberra, Brisbane Classic, Southern Cross Challenge, SA Junior Labour Day Tournament (held over the October long weekend), Victorian Waverley Easter Junior Tournament, ACT Australia Day Junior Carnival, Gold Coast Pan Pacific Masters and the Alice Springs Masters Games. The ACT Skins and Brisbane Classic double as selection events for the Aussie Steelers representative team.
In December 2012, the John Reid Shield (Australian Open Men’s Championship) will be held in Hawker, ACT, with ACT, NSW, QLD, SA, VIC and WA competing.
While baseball is a relatively minor sport in Australia, the Claxton Shield has been running since 1934. The competition comprises of a mix of city and state-based teams, though winning teams are officially recognised by their state. Victoria, SA and NSW are the three foundation teams and have competed in all 70 tournaments. Victoria has won 22 titles, South Australia 15 and NSW 12. Other competing states include WA (12 titles in 65 appearances), QLD (nine titles in 60 appearances), ACT (zero titles in ten appearances) and NT (zero titles in eight appearances). Over the years the tournament has taken various forms, usually in a ‘round-robin’ or ‘home and away’ format. The Shield was taken over by the Australian Baseball League in 2010-11, with six city-based teams: Perth Heat, Melbourne Aces, Sydney Blue Sox, Adelaide Bite, Brisbane Bandits and Canberra Cavalry. Perth has won both titles in 2010-11 and 2011-12.
We have listed but a few and if you would like to read some info about them please click on the links following! (If you would like your “State of Origin event” listed here please email us the details!)
If you are part of organisation listed below or another and you are having your own State of Origin event, feel free use our face book notice board or blogs to notify competitors about your event!