100 Best State of Origin Trivia Questions (With Answers)

State of Origin almost didn’t happen. Queensland spent decades getting flogged by New South Wales because their best juniors kept getting poached south by clubs with poker machine money — until a one-off experiment at Lang Park in 1980 changed everything. Since then it’s grown into arguably the biggest annual sporting rivalry in the country, producing some of rugby league’s greatest players, tightest deciders and most-replayed moments. Whether you’re setting a trivia night, filling in a long car trip, or just want to test yourself before the next series, this collection has 100 questions covering the history, the legends, the records and the weird stuff that makes Origin what it is. Answers are included right under each question.

Jump to a category: History & Origins · Legends & Records · Queensland Maroons · NSW Blues · Women’s State of Origin · Weird & Wonderful · Modern Era

History & Origins

1. In what year was the very first State of Origin match played? Answer: 1980.
2. At which ground was that first Origin match played? Answer: Lang Park, Brisbane (now known as Suncorp Stadium).
3. What date in 1980 was the first Origin match played? Answer: 8 July 1980.
4. Why was Queensland losing so badly to NSW in the years before Origin began? Answer: Many of their best juniors were lured to Sydney clubs by money from poker machines, which were illegal in Queensland at the time.
5. Which Queensland-born players were playing for NSW under the old residency rules before switching to the Maroons for that first Origin game? Answer: Kerry Boustead, Rod Reddy, Rod Morris and John Lang.
6. Who captained Queensland in the first-ever Origin match? Answer: Arthur Beetson.
7. What was the final score of the first Origin match in 1980? Answer: Queensland 20, New South Wales 10.
8. Which rugby league identity is remembered for calling the whole Origin concept “the non-event of the century” before that first game? Answer: Bob Fulton.
9. Which Queensland Rugby League official is credited with pushing for the Origin concept? Answer: Ron McAuliffe.
10. How many fans attended a Sydney interstate match earlier in 1980, showing just how low interest had sunk before Origin began? Answer: 1,638.
11. In which year did Origin become a permanent three-game series every season? Answer: 1982.
12. What phrase, born from Arthur Beetson tackling his own club teammate in that first game, is still used to describe the spirit of Origin? Answer: “State against state, mate against mate.”
13. What is Origin eligibility broadly based on today? Answer: The state a player represented in their junior or first senior football, rather than simply where they were born.
14. What colour jersey does New South Wales wear in Origin? Answer: Sky blue.
15. What colour jersey does Queensland wear in Origin? Answer: Maroon.

Legends & Records

16. Who is the all-time leading points scorer in State of Origin history? Answer: Johnathan Thurston, with 220 points.
17. Whose Origin points record did Johnathan Thurston overtake in 2014? Answer: Mal Meninga’s.
18. How many points did Mal Meninga score across his Origin career? Answer: 175, from 33 matches.
19. Who holds the record for most tries in Origin history? Answer: Greg Inglis, with 18 tries.
20. How many games did Greg Inglis play to score his record 18 tries? Answer: 32.
21. Which Queensland fullback played 31 Origin matches and scored 12 tries across his career? Answer: Billy Slater.
22. Who is the most-capped player in State of Origin history across both states? Answer: Cameron Smith.
23. Who is the Wally Lewis Medal, awarded to the player of the series, named after? Answer: Wally Lewis, nicknamed “The King.”
24. What is the record attendance for a State of Origin match? Answer: 91,671, set at the MCG in game two of the 2026 series.
25. Which ground held the previous Origin attendance record before 2026, set in 2015? Answer: The MCG, with 91,513 fans.
26. What is the biggest winning margin in State of Origin history? Answer: A 52–6 win to Queensland at Suncorp Stadium in 2015.
27. What is the lowest-scoring Origin match on record? Answer: A 2–0 win to Queensland at the SFS in 1995.
28. Name a player who has scored a hat-trick (three tries) in a single Origin match. Answer: Any of Kerry Boustead (1984), Lote Tuqiri (2002), Matt Sing (2003), Dane Gagai (2016) or Valentine Holmes (2017).
29. What was Queensland’s longest winning streak in the 1980s? Answer: Six straight games, between 1988 and 1989.
30. How many consecutive series did Queensland win during their “dynasty” era? Answer: Eight, from 2006 to 2013.
31. Which prop forward holds the record for most tries by a front-rower in Origin history? Answer: Greg Dowling.

Queensland Maroons

32. Which Queensland captain is remembered by the nickname “The King”? Answer: Wally Lewis.
33. Which diminutive Queensland halfback was repeatedly underestimated by bigger opposition forwards throughout his career? Answer: Allan Langer.
34. Which Queensland great captained the Maroons at both fullback and five-eighth across his career? Answer: Darren Lockyer.
35. Which Queensland hooker went from a bench utility early on to one of the most influential players of his era? Answer: Cameron Smith.
36. Which Queensland fullback followed in Billy Slater’s footsteps as the state’s next generational number 1? Answer: Kalyn Ponga.
37. What is the name of Queensland’s traditional home fortress, previously known as Lang Park? Answer: Suncorp Stadium.
38. Which NRL club didn’t re-sign Johnathan Thurston after the 2004 grand final, before he went on to become an Origin great? Answer: Canterbury Bulldogs.
39. Which Queensland winger was the top try scorer of the entire 2026 series, despite Queensland losing that series? Answer: Selwyn Cobbo.
40. How many tries did Selwyn Cobbo score in the 2026 series? Answer: Four.
41. Which former Queensland Origin players have gone on to coach the state as well as play for it? Answer: Arthur Beetson, Wally Lewis and Mal Meninga, among others.
42. Roughly how many series has Queensland won overall since Origin began? Answer: More than New South Wales — Queensland has been the more successful state across Origin’s history.

NSW Blues

43. Which NSW player is remembered as one of the most complete players to ever wear the Blues jersey, dangerous with both ball and boot? Answer: Andrew Johns.
44. Which NSW forward made 24 Origin appearances and became a symbol of the Blues’ most physical era against Queensland? Answer: Paul Gallen.
45. Which NSW fullback has become one of the most-capped Blues players of the modern era? Answer: James Tedesco.
46. Which former NSW Origin player went on to coach the Blues for several years? Answer: Laurie Daley.
47. Which NSW halfback has rewritten both the games and points records for the state in just a few seasons? Answer: Nathan Cleary.
48. What was NSW’s series win in 2026 in terms of overall Origin titles? Answer: Their 18th title.
49. Whose long-standing NSW points record did Nathan Cleary break in 2026? Answer: Michael O’Connor’s.
50. Which two NSW players share the state’s try-scoring record with 11 tries each? Answer: Brian To’o and Josh Addo-Carr.
51. In how many games did Brian To’o and Josh Addo-Carr each score their 11 tries? Answer: 15 games.
52. Who is NSW’s most-capped Origin player, with 31 appearances between 1990 and 2004? Answer: Brad Fittler.
53. Who is the youngest player ever to represent NSW in Origin? Answer: Brad Fittler, aged 18 years and 114 days on debut.
54. Who is the oldest player ever to debut for NSW in Origin? Answer: John Ferguson, aged 34 years and 348 days.
55. Which NSW lock forward has captained the Blues in recent series? Answer: Isaah Yeo.

Women’s State of Origin

56. In what year did Queensland and NSW first meet in an official women’s interstate rugby league match? Answer: 1999.
57. What was the score of that first official women’s interstate match in 1999? Answer: Queensland won 16–6.
58. How many years did Queensland go unbeaten in the women’s interstate match after that first win? Answer: 17 years.
59. In what year did NSW finally beat Queensland in the women’s match? Answer: 2016.
60. In what year was the first match officially played under the “Women’s State of Origin” banner? Answer: 2018.
61. What was the result of that first official Women’s State of Origin match in 2018? Answer: NSW won 16–10.
62. Where was the first Women’s State of Origin match played? Answer: North Sydney Oval.
63. Who won the inaugural Nellie Doherty Medal as player of the match in 2018? Answer: Isabelle Kelly.
64. What did the Nellie Doherty Medal and shield replace once the women’s game moved under the Origin banner? Answer: The Nellie Doherty Cup.
65. In what year were both Women’s Origin teams coached by women for the first time? Answer: 2021.
66. Who coached NSW and Queensland respectively in that historic 2021 match? Answer: Kylie Hilder (NSW) and Tahnee Norris (Queensland).
67. What other first happened in that same 2021 Women’s Origin match? Answer: It was officiated entirely by an all-female team.
68. From what year did Women’s State of Origin expand to three matches a season, matching the men’s format? Answer: 2024.
69. How close have most Women’s Origin matches been since 2018? Answer: Most have been decided by six points or less.

Weird & Wonderful

70. What happened in the first Origin match that gave rise to the phrase “mate against mate”? Answer: Queensland captain Arthur Beetson made a heavy tackle on his own Sydney club teammate, Mick Cronin.
71. What is the famous 1994 Origin comeback try, scored after Queensland looked dead and buried, commonly remembered as? Answer: Mark Coyne’s length-of-field try in game two of the 1994 series.
72. What media nickname was given to a 2011 Queensland squad incident involving a hotel room-service biscuit complaint? Answer: “Biscuitgate.”
73. What have some Origin players described feeling the moment they put on their state’s jersey? Answer: Like flicking a switch and becoming a different person on the field.
74. What system, now used to review contentious tries and incidents, is commonly nicknamed “the bunker”? Answer: The video referee system.
75. What kind of allegiance do many Australians develop for Origin, regardless of where they were born? Answer: A fierce loyalty to whichever state they currently live in, sometimes overriding birthplace ties entirely.
76. What have Origin jerseys from the 1980s, especially from the first 1980 game, become among collectors? Answer: Genuine collector’s items.
77. What is unusual about how some current Origin players’ allegiances were decided, given who they supported as kids? Answer: Some grew up supporting the opposite state before junior football rules determined which team they were eligible for.
78. What is the biggest winning margin ever recorded compared with the closest-ever result, showing how unpredictable Origin can be? Answer: Margins have ranged from 1-point thrillers to blowouts of 40 points or more.

Modern Era

79. What was the combined attendance across all three matches of the 2026 State of Origin series? Answer: Over 223,000.
80. Who won the Wally Lewis Medal for player of the series in 2026? Answer: Nathan Cleary.
81. How many points did Nathan Cleary score in the 2026 series? Answer: 36.
82. Which stadium hosted game one of the 2026 series? Answer: Accor Stadium, Sydney.
83. Which stadium hosted the record-breaking game two of the 2026 series? Answer: The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
84. Which stadium hosted the deciding game three of the 2026 series? Answer: Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane.
85. Which Queensland player was made an honorary “20th man” for the Maroons squad in 2026 after a sudden retirement due to a serious health diagnosis? Answer: Jai Arrow.
86. What was the overall series result of the 2026 State of Origin? Answer: New South Wales won 2–1.
87. What technology has changed how fans review Origin incidents compared with matches from the 1980s? Answer: The video referee “bunker” and modern broadcast replay technology.
88. What do many players who’ve already won World Cups or grand finals say about their Origin debut? Answer: That it was the most nervous they’ve ever felt on a footy field.
89. How does Origin’s TV audience compare with other major rugby league broadcasts in some years? Answer: An Origin decider can outrate even the NRL grand final.
90. Roughly how many years has it been since that first experimental Origin match in 1980? Answer: More than 45 years.
91. What has stayed constant about Origin despite decades of change in coaching, sports science and broadcast technology? Answer: The emotional intensity and rivalry between the two states.
92. What best-of-three format, used since 1982, decides an Origin series if the first two games are split? Answer: A deciding third match.
93. What happens if a team wins the first two games of an Origin series? Answer: They win the series outright and the third game becomes a “dead rubber.”
94. What is the general nickname fans use for New South Wales in Origin? Answer: “The Blues.”
95. What is the general nickname fans use for Queensland in Origin? Answer: “The Maroons.”
96. What term describes an Origin match that decides the series outright? Answer: “The decider.”
97. Which two rugby league states have contested every State of Origin series since it began? Answer: New South Wales and Queensland.
98. What was Origin originally designed to double as, beyond an interstate rivalry? Answer: A selection trial for the Australian Kangaroos Test team.
99. What is the standard series format for both men’s and women’s Origin since 2024? Answer: Three matches per season.
100. What has Origin proven about the value of “state against state, mate against mate” more than four decades on? Answer: That the concept Ron McAuliffe pushed for in 1980 still drives one of the fiercest rivalries in Australian sport today.

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