DERBY DAYS - STATE OF ORIGIN: Queensland Maroons v New South Wales Blues.The decision to follow the example of Aussie Rules breathes new life into a century-old series, writes Damien Cullen.

Game 1 Next Wednesday, ANZ Stadium, Sydney, 8pm (Live on Setanta Ireland, 10.30am, Irish-time, Wednesday)

Game 2 June 11th, Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, 8pm Game 3 July 2nd, ANZ Stadium, Sydney, 8pm

IN 1977, Australian Rules officials decided on a radical rule change for their interstate matches - players would in future line out for the state they originally came from, not with the state where they were currently based.

It was a radical decision, and one that was closely observed - not by the fans and officials of Aussie Rules - but by the organisers of the Australian Rugby League.

A great idea was born.

And then it was stolen by a rival sport.

Since 1908, the neighbouring Australian states of Queensland and New South Wales had been meeting on the rugby league field regularly. However, despite decades of clashes, one glaring problem persisted for more than 70 years - one team, namely the NSW Blues, emerged victorious from almost every meeting.

If one team is winning every battle, can it be called a rivalry?

The reason for the imbalance was simple. Until the late 1970s, teams selected players from clubs in that state (there was no provision for players to play for the state they came from). The folly of this rule was, perhaps, most visably exposed by the impact a gambling law had on the interstate series.

By the mid 1950s New South Wales had almost wholly dominated the meetings between the states, and when gaming machines were allowed into clubs in the state - thus dramatically increasing revenue - the interstate rugby league dominance merely increased further. The New South Wales clubs ransacked Queensland clubs in search for the best talent, and the Maroons didn't win a single series in the 1960s or '70s.

Something had to be done.

It was not a derby.

Or a rivalry.

It was cruel and unusual punishment.

Australian Rules football came up with the answer. Aussie Rules, suffering a similar drain of talent to one state (Victoria) decided, in 1977, to play a series under so-called State of Origin rules.

The result, a shock win by Western Australian against Victoria, prompted the Australian Rugby League to push for a similar format for their series.

In the 1979 series, the first two matches between the Blues and Maroons were played under the old rules and NSW won both easily (the second in front of only 1,600 spectators). The third would be under the new State of Origin rules. Queensland were still given no chance, but the clash was heavily promoted and a crowd of over 30,000 turned up at Lang Park (now Suncorp Stadium). The Maroons won 20-10, but a more important victory was that claimed by the promoters of the State of Origin format itself.

From 1982 onwards, all three games in each series would be under the State of Origin rules.

Queensland were reinvigorated and won six of the following eight series in the 1980s.

Quickly, the series had become a derby worthy of the name. For the first time in decades Queensland rugby league fans owned the bragging rights. Rivalry hit new levels off the field - aggression and determination hit new levels on it.

It culminated in the 1999 series, the 20th series of the State of Origin, when Queensland edged the first game 9-8 in front of a capacity crowd in Brisbane.

The second encounter, played at the magnificent new Sydney stadium which would host the Olympic Games the following year, was witnessed by a record 88,000 spectators, despite driving rain, which did nothing to dampen the performance of the teams on the field. This time NSW edged the game - and the series would come down to the final match, back in Brisbane.

Another capacity crowd, more rain and another tight match, which ended in a 10-10 draw - meaning the previous year's victors, Queensland, retained the shield. It was a seminal season for interstate sport in Australia.

The series was now one of the most popular sporting events in Australia, with a growing reputation for being the hardest, toughest rugby league matches in the world. However, ironically, it was to be the last season of the State of Origin series in Australian Rules.

Rugby league was on top, and, in 2004, more than 200,000 fans witnessed the three-game series and its popularity shows no signs of fading.

The Queensland Maroons, despite having one home game this season, start next Wednesday's opening game as slight favourites to retain the shield. State pride will, once again, be up for grabs. And bodies will be put on the line to protect it. Whoever wins, the shield will be hard-earned a and worth it.