State of Origin III moved to Gold Coast

The NRL has made the last-minute call to shift State of Origin III from Newcastle to the Gold Coast amid a worsening COVID-19 outbreak in Greater Sydney.

Fearing a major event with a crowd at Newcastle would pose a serious health threat to regional areas in NSW, the state government told the NRL the risk was too great to stage the series finale.

While there has been no community transmission in Newcastle, the concern was that playing the game in a regional community could pose a risk. The game at McDonald Jones Stadium was going to be at 75 percent capacity, or 20,000.

The third match will now be held at Cbus Super Stadium on Wednesday night, marking an extraordinary series in which all three games will be held in Queensland for the first time.