State of Origin 2015: QRL chairman Peter Betros says Sydney should lose fixture if it can’t sell out
FOX SPORTS May 19, 2015 9:02AM SHARE

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Queensland Rugby League chairman Peter Betros says Sydney should lose automatic rights to host Origin fixtures if it can’t fill ANZ Stadium for game one in just over a week’s time.

With as many as 20,000 tickets still available for the 2015 series opener on May 27, there are genuine fears the Olympic Stadium will be significantly below full capacity as the Blues Origin defence kicks off.

A recent price hike has been blamed for the sluggish ticket sales, though Sydney has traditionally struggled to sell out ANZ Stadium when it has hosted game one, averaging an attendance of 67,813 when hosting the opening match.



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A sea of Blue as NSW recorded their historic series win in game two of last year’s Origin
A sea of Blue as NSW recorded their historic series win in game two of last year’s Origin series.Source: News Corp Australia
Speaking to The Australian, Betros floated alternative options of Melbourne, Newcastle, Brisbane and New Zealand if the Harbour City’s sporting public refused to turn out for NSW’s first series defence in eight campaigns.

“If the Sydney rugby league fraternity don’t want to go and watch Origin in Sydney then I think the game should be taken somewhere where people do want to watch it,” Betros told The Australian.

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“If you can’t make it pay and the people aren’t interested why would you keep playing it there?”

Crowd figures for five of Sydney’s nine NRL clubs are down on 2014 averages, with Cronulla, Manly, Parramatta, Souths and St. George Illawarra all recording smaller attendances in 2015.

The worrying trend for rugby league’s traditional stronghold comes as Western Sydney outfits Canterbury, Wests Tigers, the Eels and Penrith are all struggling outside of the top eight while competing AFL franchises GWS and the Sydney Swans are cruising toward the top of the ladder, the Waratahs draw healthy numbers in their Super Rugby title defence and Sydney FC ride the wave of their recent A-League grand final appearance.