
NRL SOO was born out of pure hate. Both codes used to play regular state games but Queensland (like WA & SA) got sick of seeing their players who played in NSWRL turning out for NSW and belting them, SOO happened in ‘80 as a trial and when QLD won it went from there. The other key factor is that generally, Australian jumpers are on the line and as RL is an international game (albeit limited) it has some meaning as in you actually get to play RL for Australia against an opponent. To my knowledge and limited time living in Sin City, no one has ever turned up to regulation home and away RL games. I attended a lot of theIronically, one of the reasons why the NRL's SOO product is so popular is because the AFL has smashed it in terms of club football and national reach. It kills the NRL on pretty much every figure that matters - attendance, national exposure, broadcast dollars... it has a decent foothold in Sydney and Brisbane, whereas very, very few people give a damn about the Storm.
