Wheelchair State Challenge
| Sport | Wheelchair rugby league |
|---|---|
| Inaugural season | 2015 |
| Number of teams | 2 |
| Country | Australia (ARL) |
| Shield Holders |  Queensland (2024) |
| Website | NRL Wheelchair |
The Wheelchair State Challenge is an annual wheelchair rugby league fixture between the Australian state representative sides of New South Wales and Queensland. First played in 2015 as the Wheelchair Interstate Challenge, the competition was rebranded as the Wheelchair State of Origin in 2019, and as the Wheelchair State Challenge in 2023.
History
[edit]
Establishment of wheelchair rugby league
[edit]Wheelchair rugby league was developed in France in 2000 and introduced to Australia by a touring French team in 2004.[1][2] Interest in the sport increased when the first World Cup was held in Sydney in November 2008[3] and in December 2009 it was announced that a wheelchair rugby league competition would be launched in New South Wales.[4] The sport continued to develop in the Sydney area and the Australian Wheelchair Rugby League had grown to eight teams by 2014 when exhibition matches and events were first held in Queensland as part of an effort to expand the game within Australia.[5][6][7]
Wheelchair Interstate Challenge (2015–2018)
[edit]The inaugural interstate competition took place at the Eagles Sports Complex, Mansfield, on 2 July 2015 with New South Wales winning 49–4 in a one-off match.[6][8][9] It was proposed that the competition could be expanded into a three-match series.[10] In 2016, the challenge was played as a two-match series at the Sleeman Sports Complex in Brisbane on the weekend before Game II of the 2016 State of Origin series. New South Wales won 84–0 and 90–6 for a 2–0 series win.[11][12][13] The same venue and format was used in June 2017 as New South Wales remained unbeaten to retain their title.[11][14] In 2018, the challenge reverted to a single-match format and was won 54–18 by New South Wales. It was played at the Quaycentre, Sydney Olympic Park, on the same day as Game II of the 2018 State of Origin series at the nearby ANZ Stadium.[15][16]
Wheelchair State of Origin (2019–2022)
[edit]In 2019, the match was played under the State of Origin name. On 6 July, New South Wales won 52–4 in front of an estimated crowd of 1,000 at the Quaycentre.[17][18][19] The competition was cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the June 2021 fixture was postponed until January 2022 when it was played without spectators at the Whitlam Centre, Liverpool. Queensland claimed the title for the first time with a 50–30 win.[20][21] In July 2022, Queensland retained the title with a 49–24 win at the Townsville Stadium.[22][23]
Wheelchair State Challenge (2023–present)
[edit]The competition was rebranded as the Wheelchair State Challenge in 2023.[24] The 2023 match was scheduled to take place at the Quaycentre but this was changed in June when the venue became unavailable.[25] On 8 July, Queensland won their third successive title with a 42–26 victory at the Whitlam Leisure Centre.[26] The 2024 competition took place on 13 July at the South Pine Sports Centre, City of Moreton Bay.[27] Queensland won 42–36 to retain the title.[28]
Results
[edit]| Year | Winner | Score | Location | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | New South Wales | 49–4 | QLD | [6] |
| 2016 | New South Wales | 84–0 | QLD | [13] |
| 90–6 | [13] | |||
| 2017 | New South Wales | ? | QLD | |
| ? | ||||
| 2018 | New South Wales | 54–18 | NSW | [16] |
| 2019 | New South Wales | 52–4 | NSW | [18] |
| 2020 | Cancelled | |||
| 2021 | Queensland | 50–30 | NSW | [21] |
| 2022 | Queensland | 49–24 | QLD | [22] |
| 2023 | Queensland | 42–26 | NSW | [26] |
| 2024 | Queensland | 42–36 | QLD | [28] |
References
[edit]- ^ "Rules of the Game". NRL Wheelchair. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
- ^ "International pioneer Tas Baitieri receives Order of Australia Medal". International Rugby League. 12 June 2023. Archived from the original on 12 June 2023. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
- ^ "England Wheelchair team win World Cup". England Rugby League. Archived from the original on 27 December 2008.
- ^ "Keating & Robinson to help launch Wheelchair League". NRL. 3 December 2009. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
- ^ "Wheelchair Rugby League comes to Canberra". NRL. 25 June 2014. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
- ^ a b c "Wheelchair Interstate challenge". NRL. 16 June 2016. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
- ^ "Try Wheelchair Rugby League". QRL. 15 October 2014. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
- ^ "Origin Arrives Early". NSWRL. 30 June 2015. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
- ^ "Rookies do Qld proud in wheelchair State of Origin". Courier Mail. 15 July 2015. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
- ^ "Pentecost Picked for NSW". Penrith Panthers. 17 June 2015. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
- ^ a b "NSW Look To Defend Interstate Wheelchair Title". NSWRL. 31 May 2017. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
- ^ "Wheelchair RL prepare for Interstate series". QRL. 9 June 2016. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
- ^ a b c "NSW claim wheelchair series". QRL. 24 June 2016. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
- ^ "2017 Interstate Challenge". NRL Wheelchair. Archived from the original on 28 February 2020.
- ^ "Wheelchair warriors provide State of Origin curtain raiser". NRL. 23 June 2018. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
- ^ a b "Wheelchair State of Origin hoping to build on 2018 success". NRL. 4 July 2019. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
- ^ "Wheelchair rugby league Origin teams named". NRL. 27 July 2019. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
- ^ a b "NSW claim victory in Wheelchair State of Origin". NRL. 6 July 2019. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
- ^ "Blues' sweep made possible by wheelchair success". NRL. 11 July 2019. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
- ^ "The game's greatest rivalry opens another brutal chapter". NRL. 28 January 2022. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
- ^ a b "Maroons dominate Blues in Wheelchair State of Origin". NRL. 29 January 2022. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
- ^ a b "Queensland go back-to-back in Wheelchair State of Origin". NRL. 23 July 2022. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
- ^ "'New lease on life': How Arbuckle is thriving in Wheelchair Origin". NRL. 21 July 2022. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
- ^ "Wheelchair State Challenge". NSWRL. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
- ^ "Wheelchair Rugby League announces venue change for 2023 State Challenge". NRL Wheelchair. Archived from the original on 11 July 2023.
- ^ a b "Tannock helps Queensland make it three in a row". NRL. 8 July 2023. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
- ^ "Cocoon SDA Care Wheelchair Rugby League State Challenge Set for July 13th 2024". NRL Wheelchair. 30 May 2024. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
- ^ a b "NSW goes down in wheelchair thriller". NSWRL. 13 July 2024. Retrieved 13 July 2024.