The NRL’s Origin crowd record was set in Melbourne. Will it be beaten this year?

Melbourne Storm captain Harry Grant is calling on Melburnians to turn out in force to support Queensland for game two of this year’s NRL State of Origin series at the MCG.

The MCG will host an Origin game for the first time in six years this June, and Grant hopes it will convert more Melburnians into league – and Maroons – fans.

Cam Munster puts a kick in for Queensland in State of Origin.

“It’s great for Melbourne and great for rugby league,” Grant said. “It’s got a massive following down here and it’s only continuing to grow … hopefully there’s a few more Melburnians that come to the game and they’re wearing maroon.”

The current record for attendance at a State of Origin game is 91,513, set at the MCG for game two of the 2015 series, and the NRL is targeting a sellout this time around. It’s a big shift from the league’s original mindset 30 years ago, when Origin was played in Melbourne for the first time.

Back in 1994, playing a game in Melbourne was seen as a “major risk”.

“One thing I do recall leading up to the game was when we decided a rugby league decided to bring an origin game to the MCG, they weren’t sure how it would go. Obviously, Melbourne at that stage was foreign territory for rugby league,” Graham Annesley, the NRL’s head of elite competition, said.

The MCG lit up in maroon before the State of Origin game played there in 2015.

He said they’d hoped to get a crowd of 40,000. The game drew 87,000.

Queensland coach Billy Slater, a former Storm player and great of the club, shares the NRL’s ambition in 2024.

“A lot of people watch this game because of the intensity, because of the rivalry, because of how physically challenging it is. And it’s a battle. It’s a huge battle,” Slater said.

“I’m sure there’ll be a lot of New South Wales people, a lot of Queenslanders that make the journey down, but for the people of Melbourne? They’ll pick their side, they’ll gravitate to who they feel is their team, and it’d be a great occasion.”

Origin at the MCG in 1994.

Grant, a Queenslander, has high hopes that one of his club-level teammates will be selected but wants another to miss out on playing in rugby league’s showcase series.

Star playmaker Cameron Munster missed the opening three games of Storm’s NRL season with a groin issue, suffered in the off-season when he fell in the shower, but has been back at full contact training.

Queensland hooker Harry Grant.

Grant said his teammate had been pivotal to Queensland’s past two series wins and didn’t expect his injury to hold him back: “A lot of people see the big plays he comes up with and when the game’s on the line, you want the ball in his hands … He’ll go down in the books as potentially one of the great Queenslanders to play for Queensland.”

Slater isn’t concerned whether Munster will be ready to take the field against NSW.

“It can be painful, but it doesn’t seem to be hindering his performance,” Slater said.

“Every time that I’ve seen him train he’s been as energetic and as Cameron Munster as you can be, if that makes sense. [But] it’s going to be an ongoing thing for him. These sort of things don’t just heal over a couple of weeks.

“He’s going to have to manage, but he’s not the only one in the competition managing an injury. Some we know about some we don’t know about and, you know, this one is just well publicised.”

Slater will be watching closely in the coming weeks to determine how both star fullbacks Kalyn Ponga and Reece Walsh fit into his starting side.

Then there’s also winger Xavier Coates, whom Slater said had “earned the right to be in the 34-man squad up in Brisbane” in February.

“He certainly is a player that would do Queensland proud given the opportunity,” said Slater of Coates, who leapt five metres to score the freakish match-winning try for Storm against the New Zealand Warriors in round two.

Grant’s tongue was firmly in his cheek when asked about another of his star teammates, Ryan Papenhuyzen, a New South Welshman.

Would Grant like to see the Storm fullback get his shot at Origin?

“No,” Grant laughed. “Because he’s a very good player.

“But no, I think … credit to him the way he’s bounced back from the last couple of injuries … I think we haven’t seen the best of him. So, as a footy fan and teammate, that’s pretty exciting.”

Papenhuyzen has come close a few times to a Blues debut and his club coach Craig Bellamy said after a star performance where he picked up the Anzac Medal in 2022, he had been “knocking on the door” for a couple of years now and “deserves to be there”.

The problem is, he shares a position with Sydney Roosters star and NSW captain James Tedesco.

Tedesco, however, suffered his 10th career concussion in last Friday night’s loss to the Bulldogs, which has raised concerns about his long-term future in the game.

Other Blues stars have played limited minutes this season, including Nathan Clearly (hamstring) and Latrell Mitchell (suspension).

NSW coach Michael Maguire said along with watching those players closely at club level, he would assess the individial performances of some of his incumbents who were playing in sides lower on the ladder.

“I’ve seen players that might have been had a tough period through the season, jump into the Origin arena and they can play really well,” said Maguire.

“When you jump into the Origin arena, you got some of the best of the game around you. So, it’s amazing how all of a sudden they can jump to that level.”

News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport sent every Monday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.