Earlier this week I recalled the deeds of several New South Wales State of Origin stars from yesteryear. So as Kevin Walters cracks another gas canister to keep the Cockroaches on their backs, he’s a list of charismatic trailblazing Maroons whose feats will never be matched.
1982 Scanlens hero: Chris Close, 9 Origins, 1980-86
If the mention of Chris ‘Choppy’ Close doesn’t stir your cauldron then you’ve probably packed a Sherrin with the picnic rug.
The chunky centre’s eye-spinning havoc startled the Blues’ untouchables from day one. With ball in hand or jumper ripped off, he was the dictator, pocketing man of the match gongs in the opening two encounters.
Swooping south without remorse, the parochial antagonist accepted the Sea Eagles’ big bucks joining a host of like-minded Queenslanders and locals he despised three days a year.
With boots shelved, Choppy transitioned to Maroons’ obsessive sideline ambassador best remembered for flicking the Blues a celebratory bird.
Years later Close came clean echoing the thoughts of many Queenslanders when he said, ‘I don’t like what NSW stands for in sport but I live with it’.
1982 Scanlens hero: Norm Carr, 3 Origins, 1981-82
No blood bleeds more Maroon than Norm Carr’s. Along with fellow Origin inaugurals Brad Backer and Bruce Astill they front a small group of Lang Park legends who played their entire club careers in the Brisbane premiership.
Carr’s three unbeaten Origins would have been four had he taken the field in Arthur Beetson’s only clash. And now almost 40-years later, the onetime Wests Panther probably still recalls his night on the bench with more pride than his birth in NSW.
1982 Scanlens hero: Wally Lewis, 31 Origins, 1980-91
The only thing Wally Lewis and his southern despisers share in common is a dislike for ‘The King’ and ‘The Emperor of Lang Park’.
More at ease with ‘Gator’, Lewis was on hand when state rivalries reignited and made sure there’d be no turning back.
Upon retirement Lewis relived the emotional build-up when he said, “I looked at Arthur Beetson in the dressing room and thought I can either go on from here, or bugger it up. So make up your mind – do you want success, or not?”
Eight emphatic man-of-the-match awards needed no translation. But now immortalised in bronze, it’s plausible ‘The King’ regrets his consistency with every passing pigeon.
1978 Scanlens hero: John Ribot, 8 Origins, 1982-85
The Blues’ ten year hiatus might be the side effect of Johnathan Thurston’s superior vision. But not since John Ribot has Sydney’s head office been pantsed by a superior ‘vision’.
In 1995 rampant Reds, Rams and Mariners went to town. For the dual Dally-M Winger of the year the Super League ambush proved a life defining moment.
Constant NSW one-upmanship during his playing days peaked when Origin outings were diluted by interstate flings for the Blues.
Originally Ribot de Bresac, the abbreviated version flew up the administration ranks in search of a level playing field before a run-in with the NSWRL kick started the war.
The visionary’s undoing followed a request for a Brisbane hosted grand final. But with no progress two decades on, those discarded mascot suits might just get lucky again.
1982 Scanlens hero: Greg Conescu, 20 Origins, 1981-88
Greg Conescu was a tough as old boots Maroon prototype. Plucked from Gladstone for his Test debut in 1984, the ‘Turtle’ was a hooker notorious for sticking his neck out.
Origin exploded in 1988 when referee Mick Stone bravely sin-binned ‘The Emperor of Lang Park’ after an ugly all-in brawl. Uglier scenes followed and several minutes were lost while police mopped up the dregs from Brisbane’s ferocious Fourex deluge.
Preying for helmets, NSW wilted but the chief instigator was largely forgotten. Lewis received the plaudits but it was the Turtle’s sneaky biff that sparked another Blues defeat.
1982 Scanlens hero: Greg Dowling, 11 Origins, 1984-87
Greg ‘Dish-head’ Dowling’s rugged bookend looks are reward for years of provocative verbal.
His infamous sideline stoush with Kiwi Kevin Tamati in 1985 typified an insistence for the final say.
In the same year, Australian coach Terry Fearnley strayed from the pack.
Prior to the Tests, Fearnley guided the Blues to an unbeatable 2-0 series lead. Then with New Zealand looking down the same barrel, he inexplicably axed four Queenslanders.
A hostile Maroons escaped a whitewash but Fearnley wasn’t so lucky. Dowling’s seething parting shot towards the dug-out enough to terminate his reign and eventually prevented active state coaches from wearing the green-and-gold.
1979 Scanlens hero: Paul McCabe, 5 Origins, 1981-85
For Sydney based Queenslanders, sluggish club form and Origin invincibility were as predictable as mullets in the Winfield Cup.
Paul McCabe’s arrival at North Sydney in 1979 was a perfect match for the struggling Bears. Comically captured in hibernation mode on his Scanlens footy card, the rangy back-rower scurried away to three more Sin-City clubs hell-bent on erasing the image.
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