Sideline Sid Sports correspondant & historian www.sunlive.co.nz

The next few editions of Sideline Sid's sport blog will come from over the ditch, as Sid and Mrs Sid escape the Western Bay winter, to play on Queensland's Sunshine Coast. Confirmation of our winter migration has been confirmed with temperatures reaching 27 degrees Celsius during the last week.

Rugby league – and more importantly – the State of Origin have totally dominated the sporting media since our arrival. The first State of Origin game of 2014 at Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium saw an interesting before and after approach by the ‘Courier Mail', which is Queensland's major daily paper.

With Queensland Maroons having won an incredible last eight series, there was overwhelming belief in the sunshine state that their team just had to turn up to put game one in the bag.

Game one has even more significance, being the 100th meeting between the Queensland Maroons and the New South Wales Blues since the first Origin match-up in 1980.

The rivalry between the Maroons and the Blues is a bit like the Bay of Plenty local derbies between Rotorua and Tauranga teams – multiplied a couple of million times. From the time we stepped off the big bird at Brisbane airport, there was Maroon support everywhere. Any vocal support for the Blues north of the border is quickly rubbished with chants of ‘Go the Maroons'.

Before the State of Origin, the NSW professional players would beat up the Queensland amateurs year after year, with little interest in the annual games. The grip State of Origin has taken on the two States was shown by a new record of four million television viewers last Wednesday night.

Not only is it a game that holds the attention of more than four million Aussies, but is a cash cow of unbelievable proportions. Rugby league fans lay out millions of dollars for tickets, with sponsorship and pay-for-view television revenue, also contributing to an estimated $100 million dollars during the three-game State of Origin during May, June and July.

However, it was the price of tickets that grabbed the media headlines during the week leading up to game one. The ‘Courier Mail' made a song and dance about the Aussie battler not being able to afford a ticket to the game, which started at about $120 apiece. Notwithstanding the fact the same paper was promoting the big screen (free) viewing at Southbank Park for Maroons fans who hadn't acquired tickets. As well, the game was shown live on free-to-air Channel Nine.

Game one certainly lived up to all the hype, with underdogs New South Wales getting home by four, to claim first-blood 12 points to eight. State of Origin fans and media make one-eyed Canterbury rugby fans look unbiased.

The ‘Courier Mail' had eight pages of preview and a 12-page liftout Wednesday morning. Thursday morning there was a half-page summary of the match with a few pictures, mainly listing the various excuses for the loss. By contrast, Sydney's ‘Daily Telegraph' Thursday edition featured extensive coverage spread over a dozen pages – trumpeting the Blues victory.