Melbourne Cricket Ground
Melbourne (Jolimont), Victoria, Australia
Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne (Jolimont), Australia — opened 1853, as a cricket ground; the modern stadium structure has been substantially rebuilt multiple times since, 10 rugby league games hosted, home of Not a rugby league home ground — primarily home to Australian rules football (AFL) and cricket, owned/operated by the Melbourne Cricket Club; used for rugby league almost exclusively for State of Origin and occasional standalone fixtures.
Sourcing caveat: The MCG's own official history page states it has hosted 16 rugby league matches in total, while this site's own database records only 10 games (1914-2026) for this venue. This discrepancy is reported honestly rather than resolved by guesswork; the 7 State of Origin matches and 1914 debut listed above are independently confirmed via the MCG's own page regardless of the total-count mismatch.
Ground facts
| Opened | 1853, as a cricket ground; the modern stadium structure has been substantially rebuilt multiple times since (Rugby league use began much later, from 1914.) |
| Home club | Not a rugby league home ground — primarily home to Australian rules football (AFL) and cricket, owned/operated by the Melbourne Cricket Club; used for rugby league almost exclusively for State of Origin and occasional standalone fixtures |
| Games hosted (rugby league, on record) | 10 |
| Top recorded crowd | 91,671 |
| Capacity | Approximately 100,024 (general/AFL capacity); State of Origin crowds here have reached as high as 91,671 |
| World Club Challenge finals hosted | 7 |
| Floodlights installed | Yes |
| Surface | Grass, maintained to elite AFL/cricket drop-in-turf standard |
| First rugby league match | 1914 — England v New South Wales |
| Years used | 1914–2026 |
| Location | Melbourne (Jolimont), Victoria |
Name history
- Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) — used throughout
Rugby league history
One of the largest and most famous stadiums in the world, used for rugby league almost exclusively as a State of Origin venue in the modern era — independently confirmed via the MCG's own official history page as having hosted seven Origin matches since 1994, with attendances up to a venue-record 91,671 in 2026. Its only other confirmed rugby league fixtures are its 1914 debut match (England v New South Wales) and two Melbourne Storm home NRL matches in 2000, including the well-known 70-10 'revenge' rout of St George Illawarra shortly after the 1999 Grand Final controversy.
Historic Test matches, Cup & Grand Finals hosted
- 8 Jun 1994 — State of Origin: NSW def. Queensland (87,161, an Australian rugby league record crowd at the time)
- 31 May 1995 — State of Origin: Queensland def. NSW (52,994)
- 11 Jun 1997 — State of Origin: NSW def. Queensland (25,015)
- 17 Jun 2015 — State of Origin: NSW def. Queensland (91,513)
- 6 Jun 2018 — State of Origin: NSW def. Queensland (87,122)
- 26 Jun 2024 — State of Origin: NSW def. Queensland (90,084)
- 17 Jun 2026 — State of Origin: NSW def. Queensland (91,671, a new rugby league attendance record for the venue)
Pre-dates the site's structured match-by-match records for these competitions, so listed here as sourced facts rather than linked match pages.
Sources
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
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