Almost half of avid Rugby League fans (46%) are more interested in watching a game if they are familiar with the individual players, according to a recent study from Bastion Experience and Bastion Insights, but that won't the majority from tuning into upcoming State of Origin.

The research found that while familiar faces matter, 80% of the same group also disagreed that they have no interest in watching if their favourite players aren’t involved.

Despite some key players being ruled out, new faces have been brought into the teams for the upcoming game. 19% of all Rugby League fans surveyed said they are less interested in the State of Origin than they were last year, but 69% agreed they would still be watching," the team added.

Rugby League Fans in New South Wales are more likely to watch the game this year than Queensland fans (72% vs 67%). Despite the intent to watch the game, Queenslanders are 27% more likely to agree they are passionate about the result (69% of fans vs 54%).

The survey also found that 65% of Rugby League fans with pride in their state agreed they would watch the State of Origin, a figure more than two times higher than the average respondent and almost 1.5 times higher than 'casual' fans.

The data and insights were sourced from a poll of 306 Australians conducted in late May.