Players participating in this year’s State of Origin series have agreed to slash their match payments from $30,000 to $10,000 in a huge show of solidarity for the game amid the COVID pandemic.

The proposal was reportedly put forward to the players by the RLPA last week.

“We always knew we were going to take a haircut. This deal is nice and fair, and it will help the salaries for the boys in the NRL a little bit,” Blues stalwart Tyson Frizell told The Sydney Morning Herald.

“Everyone has done it tough. A lot of the boys have sacrificed a lot. We just hope we can get the game back to normal as soon as possible.”

Game I heads to Adelaide next week.