Australian Kangaroos and New South Wales captain Boyd Cordner has a left-field State of Origin plan if rugby league returns after suspending their season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The NRL has currently stopped their season due to the virus, with September 1 reportedly set as the point of no return.
If the NRL does not return by then the Roosters captain has come up with a way to get some action in before the season ends.
"You need some sort of rugby league, just to keep the dream alive," Cordner told the Sydney Morning Herald.
"If September 1 does come around and we haven't played any footy and we can't play, why not pick a squad of 30 players for NSW and Queensland, isolate them, then play a five or seven-game Origin series when fans can come and watch.
"The crowd and spectacle is what makes Origin what it is. It's so patriotic, you've never seen a rivalry like it. Without fans it wouldn't be the same. We'd still play because you want to play Queensland any time, anywhere, but for rugby league moving forward you'd need a crowd to play it.''
Once the government lifts the lid on public gatherings then sport all over the country could welcome back crowds. And Cordner would be pleased if those restrictions were lifted before Origin.
"To have one of the best sporting spectacles in Australia โ if not the best โ to be the first thing fans can come back and watch, it would be pretty cool,'' he said.
"It would be unbelievable for the game. Imagine the build-up? It would be every promoter's dream and there would be a really good vibe about it.''
