State of Origin game three sees thousands of fans packed into Gold Coast stadium

Tens of thousands of Queenslanders have booed the Maroons as they took the field to warm up for game three of the 2021 State of Origin series. 

The match is going ahead at CBUS Stadium on the Gold Coast with a capacity crowd of 27,000 spectators after the contest was moved first from Sydney and then from Newcastle, following a surge in Covid cases in the Greater Sydney area. 

Queensland are hoping to restore some pride in their rugby-league mad state after being thumped by New South Wales in the first two games by a cumulative score of 76-6 – the largest margin in Origin history.

The devastating losses have been compounded even more for the Maroons with the first two games both played in Queensland for the first time ever after game one scheduled for Melbourne was shifted to Townsville after a separate Covid outbreak.

The clash is going ahead with over five million people in the Greater Sydney area still under strict lockdown. 

Tens of thousands of Maroons supporters have descended on the Gold Coast ahead of game three of the 2021 State of Origin series, as five million Sydneysiders remain under lockdown. Pictured: CBUS Stadium

The Cane Toads come into the clash on the back of a horror week of preparation which saw Maroons enforcer Jai Arrow banned from the match after breaching biosecurity protocols by sneaking a woman into the team’s player bubble.

The Blues are also facing their own challenges with Panthers superstar halves combination Nathan Cleary and Jarome Luai both ruled out with injury.

Taking their place will be Parramatta Eels Halfback Mitchell Moses who is making his State of Origin debut, and hard-running Canberra Raiders five-eighth Jack Wighton.

Despite calls the match should be played without spectators given the worrying outbreak of the Indian Delta variant devastating Sydney, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk assured fans the event will be safe.

‘Queenslanders have worked hard to keep our state safe from the virus, which puts us in prime position to secure more job-creating major events as part of our COVID-19 Economic Recovery Plan,’ she wrote on Twitter.

‘Around 1,000 staff will be employed at the match, including around 700 hospitality workers who are expected will sell roughly 4,000 pies, 12,000 chips and 14,000 litres of beer.’

A NSW fan is seen during Game 3 of the 2021 State of Origin series between the NSW Blues and the Queensland Maroons at Cbus Super Stadium on the Gold Coast, Wednesday, July 14, 2021

Tonight’s match was originally scheduled to go ahead in Sydney but after spiraling Covid cases the NRL opted to move the contest to Newcastle. 

But as case number continued to dramatically rise, organisers had no choice but to once again move the event back to the Sunshine State for a third time.

The Greater Sydney area has seen 864 Covid cases in the past month with 97 new infection announced on Wednesday before tonight’s clash. 

One person affected more than most by the constant shifting of venues was Hunter Valley woman Amanda Barrass who will achieve a lifelong dream by singing the national anthem ahead of State of Origin III.

When the 37-year-old mother-of-two who is battling stage four cancer, found out game three was set to be played in Newcastle she took to social media declaring she wanted to belt out Advance Australia Fair before the match.

It took just 24 hours for organisers at the NRL to agree.

But after the decision to move the match game, Mrs Barrass feared her dream might be over.

But after pulling some strings the NRL and Queensland government allowed her and her family to cross the border and sign the anthem on the Gold Coast.

Mrs Barrass was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2016 and then discovered the cancer had

Metastasised and spread to her bones two years later.

As part of treatment she had part of her spine removed after the cancer had eaten through her C7 vertebrae.

She told the Cessnock Advertiser she wants to create special memories for her two children.

‘It’s things you can’t put a price on,’ she told the Cessnock Advertiser.

‘Because I did most of my singing before they were born, they don’t have that many memories of me singing.

‘So to be able to give that to them for the rest of their life would be just incredible.’