State of Origin football was back for another year, and before the first tackle was even made, the night had already found its first flashpoint. Australian country artist Robbie Mortimer was handed the honour of singing Advance Australia Fair in front of more than 80,000 Origin fans at Accor Stadium on Wednesday night, only for the performance to trigger a wave of criticism from viewers at home.

The backlash spread quickly online as fans posted blunt, sometimes brutal, reactions to the rendition. News Corp reporter Lachlan McKirdy wrote: “Didn’t realise the national anthem was called Edvence Estrelia Feair,” while another described it as “a national anthem which sounded like a sick chainsaw slicing a bagpipe in half.” A different critic said, “Over heard some shocking renditions of the Australian national anthem over the years, but that one takes the cake. That was horrendous. Whoever hired him is tone deaf,” and social media was soon flooded with similar comments, including claims that the anthem had been “murdered” live on television and “butchered” beyond recognition.

The performance came before the State of Origin series-opener had fully settled into its rhythm, and Queensland then started like a house on fire in the first half. That context mattered because the anthem was meant to set the tone for one of rugby league’s biggest nights, not become the story before the game even properly began. Instead, the opening minutes of the contest were paired with a separate, fast-moving debate about whether Mortimer was the right choice for such a high-profile stage.

That gap between the intent and the reception is what gave the moment its edge. Mortimer was singing to a packed stadium on one of Australian sport’s most watched nights, yet the loudest reaction was not inside the ground. It was online, where one critic wrote it was “possibly the worst signing of the national anthem I have ever heard,” another said it was “hard to think of a more terrible rendition,” and one viewer asked, “Was that Robbie Mortimer or Enrico Palazzo singing Anthem at Origin tonight?”

The controversy also fits into the larger return of State of Origin football, which had come back for another year with the usual noise, expectation and scrutiny. For those wanting the wider picture around the series and the teams involved, MogazMasr’s guide on When Is State Of Origin 2026? NSW names six debutants for opener explains how the competition is shaping up. But on Wednesday night, the first viral moment belonged not to a try, a tackle or a selection call — it belonged to the anthem.

What happens next is simpler: the football will decide the series, but the anthem will linger for as long as people keep replaying it. In Origin, the opening act is rarely forgotten, and this one drew its own crowd long before the match had a chance to do the same.