The State of Origin one-game wonders

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By Brett McKay, 2 Jun 2009 Brett McKay is a Roar Expert

Tagged:: Arthur Beetson, Des Morris, maroons, NSW, Queensland, Rugby League, State Of Origin, Tommy Raudonikis

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I was originally going to write an article on my favourite State of Origin highlights and low-lights this week, but a sentence in David Wiseman’s article last Friday captured my attention. David wrote in his piece that, “47 players have played one game for NSW, compared to the 21 for Queensland.”

Since reading that statement, I’ve made it my mission to find out who these players are (or aren’t, as the case looks to be, from the selectors at least), and to determine what sort of line-ups could be created from these “one-gamers”.

Straightaway I thought of the classics of Origin folklore, like Phil Duke, who was a winger from the Moree Boomerangs, and played the third game of the 1982 series after playing for Country that same year. Duke is one of three Country players to have earned State selection while not playing in the main NSWRL competition. I’ll get to the others in a second.

Unfortunately for Duke, and despite scoring a try on debut, he’ll only ever be remembered for missing an ill-directed pass from NSW fullback Phil Sigsworth, which was pounced upon by the great Wally Lewis for one of Queensland’s simplest tries ever.

The two other Country players were both forwards, Cootamundra’s Paul Field and North Newcastle hooker Rex Wright (1984 Game 1). Amazingly, Field won’t qualify for this team of one-gamers, as he replaced Wayne Pearce in the NSW second row for the second and third game of the 1983 series.

I figured that Western Suburbs centre Ken McGuiness would have to be a certainty too, because all I can ever remember him doing in an Origin game was sit on a bench, unused by Tommy Raudonikis. But he’s out too, as McGuiness actually played five games for NSW, three of those being off the bench. And scored two tries too, so he must have done something right at some point.

My knowledge of Queensland one-gamers starts and finishes with Arthur Beetson in the original State of Origin game in 1980, but apparently, he has twenty mates.

So, the task I’ve set myself is to come up with NSW and Queensland teams of one-gamers, ideally as recently-selected as possible. Coaches will be appointed too, and fortunately, there are some standouts.

For this exercise, NSW will be coached by none other than John “Bomber” Peard, who coached NSW for one series only, losing all three games in 1988.

Current Queensland selector Des Morris gets to wear the coaching cap for the one-game Maroons, with his sole series in 1985 netting just the one win.

With 47 players to pick from, the NSW side was pretty easy, and with only three players from the 1980s being required. Queensland was another story however, with several of the one-game players being from the 1980s, including four from the inaugural State of Origin game in 1980.

And so to the teams (most recently selected in each position, with some minor shuffling):

New South Wales	Position	Queensland
David Peachey 2000 Game 1	Fullback	Clinton Schifcofske 2006 G3 *
Hazem El Masri 2007 G3	Wing	Terry Butler 1983 G2
John Hopoate 1995 G2	Centre	Graham Quinn 1982 G2
Joel Monaghan 2008 G3	Centre	Adrian Vowles 1994 G2 (Bench)
Steve Turner 2008 G2	Wing	Adam Mogg 2006 G3 *
Jarrod Mullen 2007 G1	Five-eighth	Alan Smith 1980 G1
Mitchell Pearce 2008 G3	Halfback	Greg Oliphant 1980 G1
Ryan O’Hara 2004 G1	Prop	Arthur Beetson 1980 G1
Aaron Raper 1997 G3 (Bench)	Hooker	Johnny Lang 1980 G1
Tony Butterfield 1998 G3	Prop	Danny Nutley 2005 G3
Chris Walsh 1984 G3	Second Row	Matthew Scott 2006 G1
David Brooks 1985 G3	Second Row	David Stagg 2006 G1
Jim Leis 1980 G1	Lock	Owen Cunningham 1996 G2 (Bench)
Josh Perry 2003 G1 (Bench)	Interchange	Antonio Kaufusi 2007 G1 (Bench)
Anthony Watmough 2005 G1 (Bench)	Interchange	Scott Sattler 2003 G2 (Bench)
Scott Gourley 1993 G3 (Bench)	Interchange	Allan Cann 1996 (Bench)
Michael Buettner 1997 G3 (Bench)	Interchange	Nathan Fein 2001 G2 (Bench)

Queensland was so difficult in fact that I’ve had to use a fullback and a winger who got a second game (they’d be the ones with the asterix). For this, I lay the blame squarely at the feet of the Maroon selectors, whose unwavering loyalty to players is renowned. Even average fullbacks and wingers got another run.

Simply, my choice was to either run with Schifcofske and Mogg, or to play a one-game bench forward well out of position.

Another point of note too: David Peachey (NSW) and Owen Cunningham (Qld) both played in the Super League interstate series in 1997, but only played a single State of Origin game each. For this purpose, they qualify as “one-gamers”.

Also, a special mention to former Illawarra centre Brett Rodwell, who played one game for NSW, from the bench in 1995 (Game 2). Rodwell gets a mention because his Origin experience involved scoring a try with one of his first touches of the ball, but suffered a serious knee injury in doing so, and never played at this level again. John Hopoate gets the centre spot ahead of him only because he lasted the whole game!

So there they are; some quality players amidst a fair amount of nostalgia. Let the debate begin!

The fact that New South Wales has used somewhere near fifty players more than Queensland over the years says something for depth of playing ranks for the Blues, and for the aforementioned Maroon selection loyalty.

And just as ever, we go into another game on Wednesday night where NSW are full of debutants and Queensland keep selecting the same players.

I’m hoping that youthful exuberance triumphs, but I have a suspicion experience might again win out.

Follow Brett McKay on Twitter: @BMcSport

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The Crowd Says (25) | Page 1 of Comments

Brett McKay said | June 2nd 2009 @ 10:26am | Report comment

Anthony Watmough’s place amongst my NSW one-gamers is now of course subject to him not being required in Melbourne tomorrow night. He was brought in as 18th man yesterday..

Mark Sargent and Terry Matterson have been placed on standby

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Choppy said | June 2nd 2009 @ 10:56am | Report comment

Let’s just hope that Watmough joins the NSW list of one gamers. Don’t rate him, can’t stand him.

No wonder he shares Choc with Mundine as his nickname….

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Andrew Jones said | June 2nd 2009 @ 11:39am | Report comment

Oustanding effort Brett – as an old Magpies fan, I particularly enjoyed the selection of Jimmy Leis
cheers
AJ

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sheek said | June 2nd 2009 @ 12:47pm | Report comment

Good stuff Brett,

Slightly off-target I guess (what I’m about to say), but another ‘one only SOO player’ was Tony Melrose, who played one match on the wing for NSW in 1982.

Melrose was an ex-Wallaby (6 tests, 1978-79) who had an excellent rugby league career without reaching the same heights as either Wally Lewis or Michael O’Connor. Melrose played with Parramatta (1980-81), Souths (1982-83), Manly (1984-85) & Easts (1986-89), racking up 177 first grade games with the 4 clubs & scoring 739 points, including 31 tries, 299 goals & 30 field goals.

I mention him with Lewis & O’Connor because all 3 were members of the famous 1977-78 Australian Schoolboys rugby union team to the Uk & Ireland, which also included the 3 Ella brothers (Mark, Glen & Gary), Michael Hawker, Chris Roche & Tony D’Arcy (all Wallabies).

Melrose was captain of that schoolboys team, & was the first to reach full international status in either code. However, there were apparently rumblings even at the time of the schoolboys tour that some of the other guys had more natural talent. It was just that, at the time Melrose had the best organised all-round game.

Nevertheless, it is a mouth-watering prospect to speculate what might have happened, or how things would have played themselves out, had all these guys remained in union. How would they (the backs) have sorted themselves by the time of the grand slam tour of 1984, for example?

I think Mark Ella would have been the flyhalf, as he was. Lewis would have been inside centre & O’Connor outside centre (with Campese & Moon on the wings!). It would have been a catfight among the others – Hawker, Melrose, Glen & Gary Ella – as to which of them also made the tour.

They were all wonderful players, & it would have been a very nice headache for the selectors to have, trying to untangle all those talented players, along with the Cox brothers, Gould, Farr-Jones, Lynagh, Slack, Grigg, Black, Burke, Hanley, Lane, Williams, Papworth, etc.

Sometimes, you just wish it could have been different……….

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Brett McKay said | June 2nd 2009 @ 1:02pm | Report comment

Thanks AJ, Sheek, it was a fun exercise, except for the time I spent trying to find a winger and fullback for Qld..

Sheek, Melrose did indeed come into calcs, but Turner and El Masri were certs. If only he was a Queenslander!!

The full lists of SOO players can be found at the links below. In both lists, the one-gamers will be toward the bottom….

NSW SOO players: http://stats.rleague.com/rl/soo/nsw.html
Qld SOO players: http://stats.rleague.com/rl/soo/qld.html

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sheek said | June 2nd 2009 @ 1:49pm | Report comment

I guess SOO would still have been a great spectacle had Lewis & O’Connor remained in union.

But what made SOO so successful in the early years was the fact that the underdog David (QLD) triumphed so often over the hotshots Goliath (NSW). And who led Qld with such inspiration & authority in those early years? Wally Lewis.

Would Mal Meninga have filled the role otherwise? Certainly not to quite the same extent.

Ahh well, league’s gain of Lewis & O’Connor in the 80s, was union’s loss.

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Brett McKay said | June 2nd 2009 @ 3:39pm | Report comment

Sheek, I actually think it’s the period in the 80s prior to the Broncos joining the then NSWRL that made SOO what it was. Before the Broncos came about it there was always tha air of mystery about the Qld players, especially those who were still playing for the strong Wynnum-Manly and Ipswich sides. Once the Broncos came in, plus the inclusion of NQ and the Gold Coast over time, there isn’t so much surprise any more as we see these players every week. Of course the Qld passion remains as strong as ever.

Add to that the fact that Qld have the same team as last year, pretty much to a man. That there hasn’t been a Qld one-gamer since Game 1 of 2007 says something about their selections. NSW have had 5 one-gamers in the same period..

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Choppy said | June 2nd 2009 @ 3:54pm | Report comment

I think there’s something in that Brett, before the Bronco’s etc came in, the only chance we got to watch most of the Maroons team was in the State of Origin and the Panasonic Cup….

That’s what they should bring back, I want the Panasonic cup back….

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True Tah said | June 2nd 2009 @ 4:14pm | Report comment

The thing about Queensland was that you had blokes who would flat out struggle in 1st grade in the NSW comp, then in Origin they would play an absolute blinder. Im sure Queensland even used to pick guys out of reserve grade.

NSW on the other hand, had players who seemingly couldnt step up at Origin, but were superstars in their club sides, e.g. Terry Matterson never seemed able to replicate his Broncos form for NSW.

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JohnB said | June 2nd 2009 @ 4:20pm | Report comment

Nice article Brett – some blasts from the past in that Qld side. Sheek, you raise again one of Australian rugby’s more teasing hypotheticals of the last 30 odd years – if Wally Lewis had kept playing union, what position would he have played? It’s an interesting question, given Wally didn’t fit the normal mould of union backs in the halves or centres (or fullback, assuming he was a bit slow for wing, and would be wasted in the forwards). You suggest inside centre, and you’re probably right – I think that’s where he mostly played at State High, and in rep teams up to 1977 – I don’t know where he played (if indeed he did) in the tests on the 1977/8 tour. On the other hand, if he had tried 12, would he have got past Geoff Shaw in his early seasons, and would selectors still have preferred Lynagh’s goalkicking in that spot 12 in 1984? Probably fair to say he was too good not to have found been outstanding somewhere.

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