Broadcast on the Triple J radio station to simulcast with the annual three-game rugby league State of Origin series, Australian comedians Roy and HG (played by John Doyle and Greig Pickhaver) provide a commentary of the match at hand. An extension of the duo's This Sporting Life radio program, also on Triple J, Roy and HG's use of comedy makes their sporting calls unique from that provided by other media sources, and has earned a cult following. With the duo's move to Triple M radio in 2009, and the end of This Sporting Life, the State of Origin commentary is currently on hiatus.

Format

Build-up

At 7:30pm on the night of a State of Origin match, Triple J interrupts its normal evening broadcasts (Super Request) in New South Wales and Queensland, and the State of Origin coverage begins with a fanfare of horns. A lengthy introduction to State of Origin rugby league is given by "King Wally Otto in the Soundproof Booth" (a pseudonym for well-known Australian voice-over presenter Robbie McGregor). This introduction, which can last for 5 minutes or more, features King Wally Otto enthusiastically reading an elaborate Doyle and Pickhaver script, which more often than not culminates in a list of Former Origin Greats ("F.O.G.s"), and anecdotes about their achievements or foibles. It is also common for Otto to announce a 'theme' for the year's three game series, often to do with current events (such as the 2003 invasion of Iraq). A twist on this was when the 2006 series was heavily "sponsored" by fictitious Lakemba-based car dealership Frosty Lahood Motors Australia.

At the end of Otto's build-up to the game, he usually switches to a rhapsodic introduction for Roy and HG themselves, ending with the question "are you there...HG?" Taking his role of the 'sports announcer' of the pair, HG Nelson thanks King Wally Otto in the Soundproof Booth, welcomes listeners to their State of Origin coverage and provides further build-up to the game at hand. Nelson introduces the State of Origin contest as being played for the "highest principles on the planet"; those principles being "Peace through violence, harmony through brutality and getting everyone to shut-up and behave just like us or they’ll cop a boot up the date [buttocks] and a fist of fives."

During the first few minutes, Nelson's broadcasting partner, "Rampaging" Roy Slaven remains silent until eventually introduced to the airwaves by Nelson. Roy's character, a supposed former player of the game who takes more of an 'expert commentary' role to Nelson's main call,Roy Slaven on the Rampage is often restrained with his opening remarks; that is, until his enthusiasm for the game provokes a passionate expression of opinion about the contest to Nelson and the listening audience. The pair talk about the build-up to the game for approximately half an hour, often with Slaven recounting supposed interactions he had with stars of the league (he professes intimate friendships with virtually every current and former player of rugby league). An example of one of these (obviously fictional) exchanges was before the first game of the 2006 series which New South Wales was entering after winning the previous three in a row. With many media commentators declaring the concept of State of Origin dead after such one-sided results, Roy contacted Wally Lewis for his thoughts on the upcoming series, to which he replied "oh, are they still playing that?"

Game commentary

Compared to the more traditional commentary on Channel 9 and ABC Radio's Grandstand, Roy and HG are often less restrained in their criticism of players and teams. This feature of their call may be off-putting for certain fans who are sensitive to hearing players in their team criticised (being called a "goose", etc.), but is generally taken in the humorous way it is intended. The duo's commentary, and particularly Slaven's, often features over the top reactions to the game at hand, such as calling for entire teams of players to be sacked after losses, or even questioning whether losing teams will ever win another match in the future.

Though Doyle was born in New South Wales, and both currently reside within the state, this gives seemingly little influence to any commentary 'bias'. Roy and HG are also quick to relish the more 'unsavoury' actions of players on the field which are ignored or downplayed by more traditional commentators. This includes spitting, dacking, wedgies, gouging, groping, pig-rooting, fighting and roughhousing in general.

Roy and HG's State of Origin commentary is also noteworthy for the use of nicknames to refer to many of players on the field, rather than their surnames. While standard, well-known nicknames such as "Sticky" Ricky Stuart and "Mad Dog" MacDougall are used, the duo are renowned for their creation and use of more obscure 'running joke'-type nicknames about players. A partial list of nicknames is presented below:

Player nicknames

New South Wales State of Origin player nicknames Player name Roy and HG nickname Reason for nickname Jamie Ainscough The Cough Drop A play on the pronunciation of Ainscough's surname. He was also called "the prettiest sight in rugby league" due to his bizarre running style. Braith Anasta The Black Hole Roy and HG noted during one match that Anasta's effectiveness in the New South Wales defence was like a hole that Queensland players could break through with little trouble, "There's a hole out there, and it's called Anasta". Braith Anasta Death and Poison A nickname picked up during the 2007 Origin series, Anasta made several errors with the ball after which Roy and HG suggesting that everything he touched turned to death and poison. Braith Anasta The Car Horn Given to Anasta during the 2007 series as Roy and HG pointed out, the horn doesn't do anything for the car except make noise. David Barnhill Mockers To "put the mocker on someone" is similar to a curse or a bad luck wish. Roy and HG nicknamed Barnhill "Mockers" because of the numerous losing grand final teams he had been a part of. Greg Bird Tweet Tweet Occasionally named Tweet Tweet because of his last name. Greg Bird The Personality For growing a moustache and therefore having more personality than anyone else on the field Tim Brasher The Boy/Man on the Bike Brasher entered first grade while still in high school. Danny Buderus Butterball Buderus Possibly because of his poor ball handling in a State of Origin match. John Cartwright The Burning Map The television series Bonanza, whose protagonists were the Cartwright family, featured a burning map in its intro sequence. Matt Cooper The Brown Polish Cooper was tackled several times in the first and second games of the 2007 series on top of some of the advertising paint on the playing field, most of which was black and red in colour, causing Cooper's face and legs to get covered in black/red/brown polish. Most of the other players ended up with this as well. This nickname also alludes to the coaching polish put on Cooper by his St George-Illawarra club coach Nathan Brown. Laurie Daley Tooley In reference to an alleged dressing room incident following the Canberra Raiders' first Grand Final win in 1989 where Daley celebrated by allegedly popping his own "magnum" of champagne in full view of his teammates and then Prime Minister Bob Hawke. Tool is a slang term used often by Roy and HG for penis. Jim Dymock The Doctor's Feet Due to Dymock's "sublime" kicking game, Roy posited that his feet were as educated as a doctor's. Ben Elias Back Door Benny Often shortened to just "The Door." Elias occasionally attempted to pass the ball behind his back or "through the back door" with mixed success. This nickname alludes to Benny's alleged sexual predilections. Ben Elias The Crimea Look During a 1990s State of Origin appearance, Elias suffered a nasty head gash during the game which required a bandage. By the end of the game, the wound was so bad that a lot of blood had seeped through the bandage and was all over his face and jersey. The Blues ended up winning the game and Elias's mother ran on the field to congratulate him. This post-match hug resulted in his mother being covered in blood too. The Roy and HG nickname is derived from Elias' appearance more resembling a warring soldier than a sportsman. Andrew Ettingshausen The Nudist After nude pictures taken of Ettingshausen in the shower were published by Blue Magazine, he sued them for invasion of privacy. Also referred to as "The Flathead" in response to the nude dressing room photo. The flathead fish observed from above is said to have a similar profile to a penis. In Game 2, 1993, HG, Encouraged ET to "grease up and slip through" when running the ball back into the QLD defence. Brad Fittler Captain in a Cab, Adolf, About to cut loose While captaining New South Wales, Fittler was found unconscious and incoherently drunk in front of a police station unable to communicate his name or address. After three hours, he was sober enough to remember his address and he was loaded into a cab by police officers. Early in his career, he was occasionally referred to as "Adolf" (i.e. Adolf Fittler). Craig Fitzgibbon Raw Bones Named because of his bald head and thin bony physique, resembling a skeleton. Bryan Fletcher Old Man River The nickname was given as a reference to his age, being one of the oldest players on the team. Mark Gasnier Fire Up Bitch! Gasnier was fired from the 2004 New South Wales State of Origin team for leaving an obscene voice mail message on a woman's mobile phone after a 'bonding session'. The transcript of the phone message is as follows:

"Where the fuck are you? There's four toey humans in the cab with sausages ready to spurt sauce. It's 20 to four...and you're in bed, fuck me. Fire up, you sad cunt."