{"id":165527,"date":"2026-02-05T18:57:30","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T18:57:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/165527\/"},"modified":"2026-02-05T18:57:30","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T18:57:30","slug":"nz-legend-backs-origin-across-the-ditch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/165527\/","title":{"rendered":"NZ legend backs Origin across the ditch"},"content":{"rendered":"

The NRL’s landmark move to host a State of Origin match in New Zealand has been hailed as “sensational” by Kiwi legend Gary Freeman.<\/p>\n

It is understood negotiations between the league and the NZ government have culminated in Auckland’s Eden Park earning hosting rights for one game of the 2027 series.<\/p>\n

The match at the 50,000-seat stadium will be the first Origin fixture in New Zealand, and the first overseas since an exhibition match in Long Beach, California, in 1987.<\/p>\n

New Zealand did host one match of a Super League Tri-Series that featured the Kiwis, Queensland and NSW in 1997, but Queensland’s win over the hosts that day was not considered an official Origin fixture.<\/p>\n

\"New<\/p>\n

New Zealand Kiwis captain Gary Freeman leads his team out on to Sydney Football Stadium, 1991. (Source: Photosport)<\/p>\n

Freeman, who played 46 Tests, said Origin in New Zealand was a “sensational” shot in the arm for rugby league, which has boomed across the ditch in recent years.<\/p>\n

“New Zealand needs State of Origin and I am all for it. It will grow the game so much bigger from when us old blokes were playing,” the former halfback told AAP.<\/p>\n

“It will be a sell-out. I just wish we had a stadium that held 70,000 people because that’s what we could get.<\/p>\n

“I don’t know that the Aussies will be able to get a ticket. Quote me on that.”<\/p>\n

Since 2018, each Origin series has featured one match in neither NSW nor Queensland, bar the Covid-affected 2021 series held across Queensland.<\/p>\n

In 2023, the league allotted neutral Origin games to Melbourne and Perth for each series through 2028, but had left the 2027 slot blank.<\/p>\n

Freeman said it was high time for New Zealand to be included.<\/p>\n

Rugby league has boomed in New Zealand since the Warriors’ return from Australia, where they were forced to relocate during the pandemic.<\/p>\n

\"Warriors<\/p>\n

Warriors supporters at a Panthers, Warriors match up. (Source: Photosport)<\/p>\n

The Warriors had an average crowd of 25,382 at their home games last season, selling out nine of the 11 they played in Auckland.<\/p>\n

“If you look back to what the Warriors did for the game during Covid, this [Origin in New Zealand] should have happened earlier,” said Freeman, the first Kiwi player to win the Dally M Medal.<\/p>\n

“I took clients to games last year and the atmosphere was unbelievable. It has a State of Origin atmosphere already, so I can’t wait for the Kiwis to fill the stadium.”<\/p>\n

The landmark Origin match comes amid pushes for New Zealand to host the NRL’s potential 20th team in coming years.<\/p>\n

The NRL received three separate bids representing New Zealand’s South Island when it last accepted expansion applications in 2024, with none successful.<\/p>\n

Kiwi players Jamayne Isaako and Jordan Riki have been among the NRL stars to have previously backed the creation of a second NZ team.<\/p>\n

Freeman believed the benefits of playing Origin in New Zealand would trickle down to the game’s grass roots.<\/p>\n

“Origin is a key to get more kids to play footy over there and they get to see it live and don’t have to stay up until midnight to watch it,” he said.<\/p>\n

“The Warriors and Kiwis have given it another boost, and Origin will take it next level.”<\/p>\n

Melbourne’s MCG will be the neutral venue for the 2026 Origin series, followed by Perth Stadium in 2028.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The NRL’s landmark move to host a State of Origin match in New Zealand has been hailed as…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":165528,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[79876,6915,131,133,132,79875],"class_list":{"0":"post-165527","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-long-beach","8":"tag-auckland","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-long-beach","11":"tag-long-beach-headlines","12":"tag-long-beach-news","13":"tag-nrl"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/165527","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=165527"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/165527\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/165528"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=165527"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=165527"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=165527"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}