Most fans know State of Origin began because Queenslanders were sick and tired of losing State of Residence games in which NSW fielded Queensland players who played their club footy in Sydney.
Despite all the doubters about the concept, Queensland dominance of the early years gave the State of Origin concept the momentum which has turned it into the phenomenon it is today.
Throughout the eighties Queensland won eight out of ten series including a record three in a row from 1987-89, and ended the decade with a record win of 36 – 6 in game three.
Man, those were the days.
At this point it was decided that perhaps Queensland didn’t need home ground advantage every year to be competitive, and since 1990 both teams have enjoyed home ground advantage on alternate years.
This is when everything changed.
A bigger population and greater playing depth belatedly gave NSW the advantage most fans expected from day one, and NSW won six series in the nineties to Queensland’s three with one drawn series. Players such as Fittler, Daley, Stuart, Johns, Harrigan, Lazarus and Clyde simply proved too strong.
The new millennium gave Queensland fans the hope of a fresh start and change in fortune. The optimism didn’t last long with NSW white washing Qld 3-0 in 2000, including a record 56-16 win in game three which brought out the infamous post try grenade celebration. I still haven’t forgiven NSW for that one.
After Alfie Langer was brought out of English moth balls by Wayne Bennett and Queensland selectors took a leap of faith by selecting ten debutants, Queensland, helped by the excellent young fullback Darren Lockyer, shocked the heavily favourite Blues team by winning the 2001 series. The greatest State Of Origin series in history.
A late try in game three by Dane Carlaw allowed Queensland to scrounge out a drawn series in 2002, but then things reverted back to normal and NSW won the next three series from 2003-2005.
NSW had now won more origin series, more origin games, and scored more origin points. They had won ten series since 1990 to Queensland’s four and had equalled the record of consecutive series wins set by Queensland back in the eighties.
Talk was of a NSW dynasty and the death of Origin as Queensland could no longer compete.
Goliath was simply too dominant, no matter how passionate David was punching above his weight. I had long since excepted that Queensland would probably win only two or three series every decade, and since being a Queensland fan, I had to savour every series win such as 2001.
Then after Brett Hodgson threw an errant pass allowing Darren Lockyer to score the winning try in the tight 2006 series, everything has now gone completely pear shaped.
Queensland look a shoe in to win an amazing fifth straight series, and considering every player in the Queensland seventeen that played in game one this year – except for Lockyer and Civoniceva – are in their twenties, including injured players Hodges, Hannant, Smith and Crocker. There doesn’t seem to be much relief in sight for suffering blues fans.
The Queensland sides of the last three years are the best in Origin history. I would tip them to beat the Queensland teams of the late eighties or the Blues teams of 1986, 1991, 2000 or 2005. It’s not at all crazy to suggest that Queensland could be in the middle of seven or eight consecutive series wins.
Some Queensland fans, at the risk of being banished from the Sunshine State, have even admitted feeling some sympathy for NSW fans. This was something unfathomable back in 2000 or 2005.
But we Queenslanders must be careful to not get too far ahead of ourselves.
We know that Goliath is not dead but merely asleep and one day he must finally wake up. Origin history has shown us that when he does make his return, he will come back with vengeance.
Reckon you can pick the winning team? Build your own dream team with Draftstars daily fantasy and compete on any match. For great odds on the NRL head on over to PlayUp. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.
New coach Michael Maguire is considering as many as 50 players for the State of Origin series opener with not even captain James Tedesco…
Queensland often has the right mix of generational talent, playmaking brilliance and these nuts-and-bolts players that bind them together like glue.
Despite a poor season by his own high standards, Latrell Mitchell is still a chance to force his way into the NSW team for…
Michael Maguire is saying all the right things about how he wants to guide NSW back to State of Origin supremacy but the inescapable…
Wayde Egan's rise to star hooker status at the Warriors should earn him a place in conversation to play at No.9 for NSW in…
Hilton Cartwright and Joel Paris have powered Western Australia to a five-wicket win over NSW in the one-day cup final, securing a historic third…
