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Maybe because State of Origin is the 'tribal' grudge match series, players are only ever eligible for the one team.

Some players do manage to be eligible for both, you just can't swap once you've decided

It's safe to say they're both highly watched in PNG, Origin is just more of an event (a three game series, compared to the NRL which is a full season + playoffs). It's the same two sides every game, you're maroon or you're blue. Meanwhile there's 17 clubs in the NRL, I assume people from abroad pick one arbitrarily, of which only two clubs are going to make the grand final every year.

The origin teams are comprised of the all the best players in the league across clubs so they’re like dream teams.