FOUR months ago, the Newcastle and Townsville mayors wrote to the Australian Rugby League Commission asking for their cities to become annual hosts of Women's State of Origin games.
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Their co-signed letter came after Townsville hosted the second of two interstate fixtures this year.
A record-breaking crowd of 18,275 turned out at Queensland Country Bank Stadium, which was hosting the series for the first time.
It was an emphatic endorsement for playing the match in regional North Queensland, far surpassing the previous record Women's Origin crowd of 12,972 set just a few weeks earlier in the opening game at CommBank Stadium in Parramatta.
But while Townsville has strong credentials to again host a match in 2024, what more can Newcastle do to prove it deserves the same?
The Knights have won back-to-back NRLW premierships, capturing the attention of an ever-increasing number of supporters.
A crowd of 12,689 watched the team's inaugural home semi-final in September, a record attendance for a standalone NRLW match.
A month earlier, when the side was playing before the men's team as part of two separate double-headers, the Knights posted NRLW crowds of 17,043 and 19,519.
Sure, those attendances were much larger than standalone games because they were played ahead of sold-out NRL matches, but they showed the growing support for the women's team.
More broadly, the Hunter has proven it responds to major women's sporting events in Newcastle.
The national women's soccer, netball and basketball teams have all drawn strong crowds here in recent years.
The Knights are also well represented in the Women's Origin sides. This year, Jesse Southwell and Yasmin Clydsdale were in the NSW team. Dally M Medallist and NRLW grand final hero Tamika Upton played for Queensland.
Such local representation will help to attract fans, and given their dominance of the club competition, the number of Knights in the state teams will likely only rise.
Southwell and former Knights co-captain Millie Boyle have both previously called for Origin to be played in Newcastle.
After the Knights' dual title triumphs, it seems foolish not to capitalise on that success and the town's interest by playing a match at McDonald Jones Stadium.
The stadium's capacity of about 30,000 is the perfect size for the fixture given recent Origin attendances.
McDonald Jones Stadium last hosted a representative rugby league fixture in 2017, when 20,241 turned up for the NRL All Stars.
A Test between Australia and New Zealand the year prior attracted 27,724.
And let's not forget how the city was due to host a men's Origin in 2021, only to be stripped of the match due to concerns about COVID.
The governing body is due to release its 2024 NRL draw in coming weeks, which will likely include Origin dates.
The women played two matches this year for the first time, expanding from a sole fixture which had been held annually for the past 14 years.
Moving from one to two matches was a positive step for the women, but it became an almost awkward scenario when NSW and Queensland won a game each and the Maroons were declared winners on points aggregate.
That argument aside, whether there's two or three games played, Newcastle deserves to host one.
It's time the region was given an opportunity, like Townsville was.
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