Rugby league will have the chance to break the world record for the biggest crowd at a sporting event since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic when State of Origin kicks off in Melbourne on June 9.
At the series launch at a picturesque Melbourne Arts Centre on Wednesday, Victorian MP Martin Pakula confirmed that 85,000 spectators would be allowed into the MCG for game one of the best-of-three series between the defending champion Queensland Maroons and NSW Blues.
ARL Commissioner Peter Beattie is backing sports-mad Melburnians to come out in big numbers and eclipse the 78,113 fans that attended the AFL's traditional Anzac Day clash between Collingwood and Essendon.