From confused to captivated: The evolution of rugby league fans in Melbourne

From confused and curious in 1990 to captivated and compelled in 2026… such has been the evolution of State of Origin crowds in Melbourne.

I had been living in Melbourne for three months when I convinced a bunch of AFL-mad workmates to join me at Olympic Park on May 30, 1990 to show them what this rugby league caper was all about.

It’s fair to say they had no idea what they were getting themselves into but the chance to be part of history at the first ever Origin game in Melbourne was enough to convince them to take a punt.

On a clear but chilly night, the NSW Blues got the money 12-6 on the back of a runaway Ricky Stuart intercept and the power up front of Steve Roach, David Gillespie and Glenn Lazarus, a man who a decade later would endear himself to the Melbourne sporting public with his efforts for the Storm.

The ‘house full’ sign had gone up at Olympic Park that night with 25,800 packed in to see what all the fuss was about with State of Origin.

Some 14 years later, the Blues and Maroons would return to the southern capital, this time at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground with NSW looking to square the series after Mark Coyne’s miracle try got Queensland home 16-12 in Game One in Sydney.

With a heaving crowd of 87,161 setting a new record for an Australian rugby league match, The G was fairly bursting at the seams as tries to Paul McGregor and that man Lazarus gave the Blues a 14-0 win.

Melbourne was still four years away from having its own NRL team but the appreciation for the skills of the game and the understanding of the rules had improved exponentially from 1990.

On the back of the raging success of that 1994 game, the Blues and Maroons were back at the MCG in 1995 with Fatty’s ‘Nevilles’ wrapping up the series in a spiteful encounter.

Having joined Rugby League Week magazine that year, I was on hand at the MCG along with 53,000 fans who were treated to a heady mix of brutality and brilliance as Queensland saluted 20-12.

The Melbourne Storm entered the competition in 1998, won their first premiership in 1999, and another one in 2012, so by the time Game Two of the 2015 Origin series arrived at The G we had a core of rugby league diehards in the Victorian capital.

Throw in all the fans who travelled from Brisbane and Sydney to savour the magic of the MCG and we had a stunning crowd of 91,513 on hand to see Robbie Farah’s Blues salute 26-18.

In 2018 the MCG took centre stage for Game One, another mega crowd of 87,122 rocking up as the Blues’ star-studded backline ran riot in a 22-12 triumph.

Fullback James Tedesco claimed man of the match honours and bagged a try while Tom Trbojevic, Josh Addo-Carr, Latrell Mitchell also crossed, thrilling the Melbourne crowd with their skill and speed.

With the ‘biff’ now a thing of the past, fans turned up to see brilliant attacking football from the best 34 players in the land.

The fact that local heroes Cameron Munster, Will Chambers, Felise Kaufusi and Addo-Carr were strutting their stuff added to the appeal for the Melbourne fans.

By 2024, when 90,084 went through the turnstiles at the MCG, we had Storm heroes Harry Grant and Xavier Coates in Maroon, but the Blues again stood tall with a stunning first half that produced six tries and a 34-0 lead.

The aerial skills of Blues winger Zac Lomax was as good as anything you’d see from the regular tenants of the MCG while Latrell Mitchell, Dylan Edwards, Angus Crichton and Payne Haas all turned on a show as Michael Maguire’s men levelled the series before going on to win it in Brisbane three weeks later.

Back at the MCG in 2026 and playing in front of a record crowd of 91,671 it was Maroons magicians Sam Walker and Cameron Munster laying the platform for hat-trick hero Selwyn Cobbo to shine.

"It just shows how great the sport is in Melbourne. Not a whole lot of Melbournians probably watch rugby league but they come along for the spectacle," said Munster.

"So to have 90-plus thousand at the MCG, it's not known for rugby league in Melbourne. I know the Storm are starting to get bigger and bigger every year and rugby league is getting big down here as well and you just see how many kids and how many families were excited to see us when we out to watch Casey Warriors play.

"When you play rugby league, sometimes you forget about those sorts of things and it just brings you back to earth, and that definitely did that.

"Our coach is a big believer in that."

For Slater's part he said the growth of the game in Victoria is something he and Munster are extremely proud of.

"Cam and I are Queensland through and through but we spent our whole career down here in Victoria... we had a training session on Saturday and ducked into a junior game and we went to Altona and just showed our face and got some photos with some kids and it was a great experience," Slater said.

"We're really proud of the growth of the game down here and events like this, we fill the MCG up and put on a spectacle like that, it's only going to get bigger. Victorians love their rugby league."

The MCG stands were packed on Wednesday night with fans who had made a pilgrimage from interstate sitting alongside Melbourne locals who have adopted the greatest game for all… from confused and curious in 1990 to captivated and compelled in 2026.