The 2020 State of Origin series was the 39th annual best-of-three series between the

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

and

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

rugby league teams. Before this series, Queensland has won 21 times, NSW 15 times, with two series drawn. Originally, the series was to have been played in the traditional mid-season slot; however, due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

which caused the

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and ...

to be suspended after round two, the series was moved to November, with the three matches to be played on consecutive Wednesday nights. On 15 May, the NRL announced that the matches would be played on three consecutive Wednesdays after the season's end, these being 4, 11 and 18 November. For just the third time, a game was played away from Sydney, Brisbane or Melbourne, with Game 1 played at

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

’s

Adelaide Oval Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the city centre and North Adelaide. The venue is predominantly used for cricket and Australian rules football, but has also played host to rugby le ...

. Before the start of the series, ''

Daily Telegraph Daily or The Daily may refer to: Journalism * Daily newspaper, newspaper issued on five to seven day of most weeks * ''The Daily'' (podcast), a podcast by ''The New York Times'' * ''The Daily'' (News Corporation), a defunct US-based iPad new ...

'' journalist Dean Ritchie described the Queensland team as the worst ever Maroons side. Queensland would go on to upset a highly fancied New South Wales side and win the series 2–1.

Game I

Game II

Game III

Player debuts

Game 1

* Cap no.

288 Year 288 ( CCLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Maximian and Ianuarianus (or, less frequently, year 1041 ...

Clinton Gutherson Clinton Gutherson (born 9 September 1994) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who captains and plays for the Parramatta Eels in the NRL. He previously played for the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles in the National Rugby League, a ...

* Cap no. 289,

Luke Keary Luke Keary (born 3 February 1992) is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a or for the Sydney Roosters in the NRL and Australia and Ireland at international level. Keary previously played for the South Sydney Rabbitohs, with ...

* Cap no. 290,

Junior Paulo Junior Paulo may refer to: * Junior Paulo (rugby league born 1983) * Junior Paulo (rugby league born 1993) Junior Paulo (born 20 November 1993) is a Samoa international rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Parramatta Eels in the NR ...

* Cap no. 204,

AJ Brimson Alexander "AJ" Brimson (born 9 September 1998) is an Australian rugby league footballer who plays as a and for the Gold Coast Titans in the National Rugby League (NRL). He has played for Queensland in the State of Origin series and Australi ...

* Cap no.

205 Year 205 ( CCV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Aurelius and Geta (or, less frequently, year 958 '' Ab urbe condita' ...

Xavier Coates Xavier Coates (born 12 March 2001) is a Papua New Guinea international rugby league footballer who plays as a er for the Melbourne Storm in the NRL. He previously played for the Brisbane Broncos. He has played for Queensland in the State of Or ...

* Cap no. 206,

Phillip Sami Phillip Sami (born 2 August 1997) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a er and for the Gold Coast Titans in the NRL. Sami has also represented his home state, Queensland, in the State of Origin series. Backgrou ...

* Cap no. 207,

Jake Friend Jake Friend (born 1 February 1990) is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played as a . He spent his entire first-grade career, spanning 2008 to 2021, with the Sydney Roosters in the NRL; at the time of his retirement, he was the ...

* Cap no.

208 Year 208 ( CCVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Aurelius and Geta (or, less frequently, year 961 ''Ab urbe condita' ...

Tino Fa'asuamaleaui Tino Fa'asuamaleaui () (born 16 February 2000) is a professional rugby league footballer who captains the Gold Coast Titans playing as a lock and prop forward in the NRL. He has played for Samoa and Australia at international level. He previo ...

* Cap no.

209 Year 209 ( CCIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Commodus and Lollianus (or, less frequently, year 962 '' Ab urbe cond ...

, Lindsay Collins * Cap no. 210,

Jaydn Su'A Jaydn Su'a (born 23 October 1997) is a Samoa international rugby league footballer who plays as a forward for the St George Illawarra Dragons in the National Rugby League (NRL). He previously played for the Brisbane Broncos and South Sydney R ...

* Cap no. 211,

Kurt Capewell Kurt Capewell (born 12 July 1993) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a forward and for the Brisbane Broncos in the NRL. He previously played for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks and Penrith Panthers in the Nat ...

Game 2

* Cap no. 291, Nathan Brown * Cap no.

292 __NOTOC__ Year 292 ( CCXCII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Hannibalianus and Asclepiodotus (or, less frequently, year ...

Isaah Yeo Isaah Ferguson-Yeo (born 6 November 1994) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a and forward for the Penrith Panthers in the NRL and Australia at international level. At representative level he has played for ...

* Cap no. 212, Dunamis Lui * Cap no. 213,

Moeaki Fotuaika Moeaki Fotuaika (born 16 November 1999) is a Tonga international rugby league footballer who plays as for the Gold Coast Titans in the NRL. He has previously played at representative level for Queensland in the State of Origin series. Backgr ...

Game 3

* Cap no. 214, Corey Allan * Cap no.

215 Year 215 ( CCXV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Laetus and Sulla (or, less frequently, year 968 ''Ab urbe condita''). ...

Edrick Lee Edrick Lee (born 18 September 1992) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a er for the Dolphins (NRL), Dolphins in the National Rugby League, NRL. Lee previously played for the Canberra Raiders, Cronulla-Sutherland ...

* Cap no. 216,

Brenko Lee Brenko Lee (born 10 October 1995) is a Tonga international rugby league footballer who plays as a and er for the Dolphins in the National Rugby League. Lee previously played for the Brisbane Broncos, Canberra Raiders, Canterbury-Bankstown Bu ...

* Cap no.

217 Year 217 (Roman numerals, CCXVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Praesens and Extricatus (or, less frequently, yea ...

, Harry Grant

Teams

New South Wales Blues

¹ –

Tom Trbojevic Thomas Peter Trbojevic (born 2 October 1996), also nicknamed "Tommy Turbo", is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a as well as a wing and centre for the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles in the NRL and plays for Austra ...

was originally selected in the squad, but was subsequently forced to withdraw due to injury. He was replaced by

Zac Lomax Zac Lomax (born 24 September 1999) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for the St George Illawarra Dragons in the National Rugby League (NRL). Early life Lomax was born in Temora, New South Wales, Australia. ...

Queensland Maroons

¹ –

Kalyn Ponga Kalyn Ponga (born 30 March 1998) is a professional rugby league footballer who captains and plays as a for the Newcastle Knights in the National Rugby League, NRL. He played for the North Queensland Cowboys in the National Rugby League, New ...

was originally selected in the squad, but was subsequently forced to withdraw due to injury.

Women's State of Origin

References

{{2020 in rugby league State of Origin series