[Source: NRL]

The State of Origin game one will now be played in Townsville and not Victoria.

This afternoon Townsville has won the right to hold the series opener after Victoria’s latest Covid-19 outbreak prevented the NRL from taking game one to the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Fox Sports report the 25,000-capacity Queensland Country Bank Stadium will host Origin I after beating Bankwest Stadium and Canberra’s GIO Stadium.

Your @NSWBlues 📸#Origin pic.twitter.com/Do6qEauFYq

— NRL (@NRL) May 31, 2021

The interstate series has been taken to Melbourne, Perth and Adelaide to ensure each state has a game at a home, away and neutral venue.

Earlier the NRL had hoped to take the series opener to Melbourne once more, but the recent spike in COVID cases forced the game into a rethink.

New South Wales and Queensland have named their series opener squad’s.

Three Bati reps Apisai Koroisau, Tariq Sims and Daniel Saifiti are in the Blues squad.