State of Origin: What to expect in Perth

State of Origin: What to expect in Perth

Dylan Leach

The good people of Perth finally get a taste of State of Origin Rugby League for the first time this Sunday night at Optus Stadium.

With Perth the centre of the Rugby League world this week, we’ve come up with a handy guide for Origin fans making the trip over the Nullarbor for the big game on Sunday night.

Perth People Love to Boo 

If there’s one thing Perth crowds love doing – it’s relentless and pointless booing. The Sandgropers love a boo. They’ll boo anything. No one boo’s better than someone from WA. Watch any game involving the West Coast Eagles in the AFL and you’ll see and hear some of the finest booing in Australia. Everyone repeat after me, BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Why are you booing? It doesn’t matter.

Someone will be in Western Reds Merch 

“Who on earth are the Western Reds” you ask?

Believe it or not, Perth had a team in the ARL/Super League in the midst of the Super League war from 1995 – 1997.

They played at the WACA. They wore red, black, yellow and white. They gave away tickets to Sly Stalone in Judge Dread at home games. 

They even tried to recruit an AFL player to play for them – like a reverse Izzy Folau/K-Hunt move in former West Coast player/then Channel 7 reporter Adrian Barich  – he never played first grade.

The club was the “Perth City Reds” for Super League in 1997 and signed up Rodney Howe and Robbie Kearns but was flat broke and got axed at the end of the season.

It was three magical years for the Western Reds. 

Rather than random Souths guy, let there be random reds man in the crowd – for old times sake.

 

WA actually created State of Origin

This is actually true.

The State of Origin concept actually came from Aussie Rules and more particularly, the WA Football Commission back in 1977.

Sick of the then VFL taking their good players and then having them play for Victoria against WA in state football games, WA proposed that it be played under a “State of Origin” concept. 

WA played Victoria in the very first football match of any code under the “State of Origin” banner back in October of that year and smashed Victoria.

Rugby League followed suit in 1980 and a legend was born. 

https://youtu.be/tm9uBCTCGrk

Everyone will be in High Viz and FIFOs at the airport 

Fly in, fly out work is all the rage in WA.

12 days on, 12 days off – that’s the life for me.

Work on the mines in Kalgoorlie, head back to your McMansion in Perth.

But as part of the local lifestyle and custom, Perth airport won’t be packed with people in Maroon or sky blue, it will be packed with High Viz workers hitting the Crownies at 7am in the morning either coming back from 12 days off or about to head off in the little Wright Brothers plane for 12 days on.

The locals are all doing their bit for Gina Reinhart. 

Perhaps something the Queenslanders can relate to and the Sydney folk can understand where all their super/share money is going too.

 

Locals to support no one as they are from the “Eastern States”

When State of Origin is played in Melbourne, the locals all tend to follow Queensland for obvious reasons.

They hate Sydney and the Queensland team has tended to be “Melbourne Storm & Friends” in recent years, which led to Melburians hoping that Cameron Slater would kick a few Tries.

But what about people from Perth?

Who will they support?

The thing is, WA people hate the “Eastern States”

The isolation gets to their heads. 

Western Australia even voted for secession (forming their own country) back in 1933. 

Every now and then someone from WA calls for it to be for the state to go its own way and we all have a good laugh.

But there’s nothing funny about it for the West Australians.

Post Game Celebrations to be hosted by the 2006 West Coast Eagles team.

Who better to show the Blues and Maroons a good time than the true party boys of Perth – the 2006 West Coast Eagles premiership-winning squad.

No one knew how to party quite like these blokes.

Head on down to a Northbridge nightclub, party hard, get glassed by a FIFO on a week off, end up going for a dip in the Swan River and really immerse yourself in Perth culture. 

And both NSW and QLD Rugby League can not worry about accommodation costs, they won’t need to sleep. 

Value for money beer and food.

“I’ll have a coffee thanks”

“That’ll be $12.90”

Cheers. 

“Hey, let’s go down the pub for Happy Hour. They’ve got Schooners of beer for $15 compared to the usual $22!”

Just count the savings!  

You better hope that your multi gets up or that roughie you backed on Saturday wins because Perth’s idea of cheap is on par with Sydney. 

Also, every single restaurant, bar and cafe in Perth has counter service and insists on giving you a number with a stick on it. 

No way is a waiter going to go up to your table and take your order. That’s unheard of. 

 

Nothing is Open when you want it to be Open 

If you want to get something from the Shop in Perth, you’d better Google the trading hours.

Some of WA’s trading laws include:
– Sunday shopping has only been a thing since 2012.
-Hardware shops can open on Sunday’s but can only sell certain items – they can sell lights, but not decorative lights because it’s Sunday.
– If you want to buy a drink on Good Friday, you have to have food with your purchase.

Sydney might have a mandatory bedtime due to the lock out laws, but WA is a whole other Nanny State.

Of course, you can always hit the Cass anytime of the day and it’s located right near Optus Stadium! 

Rabbs Warren is no Dennis Commetti 

There’s no doubting that Ray “Rabbs” Warren is the voice of Rugby League but to give it a local flavour who better than one of the all-time great broadcasters Perth’s own Dennis Cometti to call State of Origin being played from Perth?

Phrases like “Centimetre perfect” and “bobbing up and down like a cork in the ocean” could easily translate to League.

Have a spell Rabbs and let Dennis have a crack for one night only. 

 

Perth Will Want State of Origin Every Year 

This is why WA can’t have nice things.

They build an awesome stadium and now think they want to host the Boxing Day Test and the AFL Grand Final.

Giving them a taste of State of Origin is potentially dangerous. 

They might like it and they might want to keep it like they discovered iron ore in the Pilbara.

If the Sandgropers get their way, you may never see Origin at Suncorp Stadium again.

Perth should be happy to host the NBL Grand Final, the Hopman Cup and an Elton John concert if they are lucky, and that’s it.