South Australian Prime Minister Peter Malinauskas reveals his very unusual way of choosing who to support in the home state – but one of his statements is sure to anger Croweaters
- Peter Malinauskas has committed a sporting blunder
- SA Prime Minister labeled Origin the ‘greatest rivalry in sport’
- Commentary will irk AFL fans of Crows and Power
South Australian Prime Minister Peter Malinauskas has revealed who he will barrack for in the opener of the State of Origin series on May 31, but his accompanying statement will ruffle a few feathers in his home state.
Malinauskas posted a video to Twitter declaring, “Wednesday, May 31, here at Adelaide Oval, the greatest rivalry in sport, State of Origin!”
The sports slip is sure to anger fans of the Adelaide Crows and Port Power, as their annual Showdown clashes are by far the most intense sporting events as far as Croweaters are concerned.
in Malinauskas’ tweetposted on Thursday, he then reveals that the premiers of NSW and Queensland pushed him to support their state’s team.
South Australian Prime Minister Peter Malinauskas has revealed who he will be barracking for in the opener of the State of Origin series on May 31.
He labeled the rugby league clash between NSW and Queensland as the ‘biggest rivalry in the sport’, when every other South Australian thinks it’s the Showdown derby with the Power and Crows (pictured)
And it was NSW Prime Minister Chris Minns who bragged about Queensland counterpart Annastacia Palaszczuk after Malinauskas fired up a mini-footy that exploded into a shower blue powder, similar to a gender reveal.
The development comes as the NRL admitted on Thursday that only 41,000 tickets were sold ahead of the Origin series opener.
Adelaide Oval has a capacity of 53,500 – and despite the shortfall officials remain confident there will be a healthy crowd on match day.
“We are following a strong crowd for State of Origin 1 in Adelaide with over 45,000 fans expected,” an NRL spokesperson said.
“Ticket sales have increased considerably since the names of the teams were announced on Monday and it is expected that this will continue.”
And according News Corpa billboard slogan in Rundle Mall, Adelaide’s main street, reading ‘Real footy is coming soon to Adelaide’ has not been well received by locals.
A senior sports official said “insulting AFL fans about their game” was not a wise move.
The second game at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium on June 21 will sell out in front of 52,000, while the Sydney game at Accor Stadium on July 12 should draw a crowd of more than 80,000 fans.