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Opinion
Four hundred and eighty nine men have played State of Origin. Seventy six of them — a hefty 15 per cent — did so just once.
A chunk of these one-game wonders (Payne Haas, Cody Walker, Christian Welch) are current players who’ll add to their tally this week.
Another portion are bona fide legends (Tommy Raudonokis, Artie Beetson, Graham Eadie) who only lined up in the inaugural Origin during the twilight of their careers.
But in between lie tales of unfulfilled potential (Jamal Idris), bolts from the bush (Phillip Duke, Rex Wright), solid first-graders perhaps lucky to pull on an Origin jersey (Scott Tronc, Jamie Buhrer, Jim Leis), and an awful lot of New South Welshmen who only got one crack at stopping Queensland’s eight-in-a-row dynasty before being discarded (Jarrod Mullen, Michael Gordon, Keith Galloway, Terry Campese, Dean Young and Nathan Merritt…).
Then there are the decorated players who, for one reason or another, only received a solitary opportunity in the Origin arena — victims of age, injury or fickle NSW selectors (you’ll notice a distinctly sky blue tinge to the following line-up).
Introducing the greatest 17 to only receive one bite at the Origin cherry.
1. David Peachey
The Cronulla fullback bagged the match-winning try in the Blues’ comeback victory in the 2000 series opener, but a hamstring injury sidelined him from the rest of that year’s clean sweep. Mark Hughes and Brett Hodgson then kept Peachey out of the number one jumper until Anthony Minichiello made it his own.
2. Hazem El Masri
El Masri had amassed nearly 2000 NRL points before Graham Murray handed him an Origin debut in the 2007 dead rubber. And true to form, his ten points in NSW’s 18-4 win makes him the leading point-scorer among all one-Origin wonders.
Hazem El Masri of the Blues
3. Phil Blake
Manly, Warrington, Souths, Wigan, Norths, Canberra, St George, Auckland… Blake’s shopping list of a CV places him firmly in the ‘more clubs than Tiger Woods’ camp. He added NSW to his resume in 1989, coming off the bench in the third game of Queensland’s 3-0 demolition.
That versatility earns him a place in the three-quarter line here — curiously, only one man (St George stalwart Graham Quinn) played their solitary Origin at centre.
4. John Hopoate
Hopoate left his stamp on Origin when he left his knuckles stamped all over Manly teammate Danny Moore in the ill-tempered 1995 clash at the MCG. And despite his starring role in this oft-replayed brawl, it was the Manly wild man’s only major contribution to the interstate stage.
5. Darren Albert
Injury prevented the Knights’ 1997 grand final hero from converting that moment into a blockbuster career. But after an injury-ravaged 1998, Albert did get a taste of Origin in NSW’s series-opening loss in ’99.
6. Kevin Hastings
A three-peat of Dally M halfback of the year gongs finally earned the Easts playmaker a gig on the Blues’ bench in the 1983 decider, as a Wally Lewis masterclass handed Queensland the shield. He takes the number six jersey in this side because the halfback would probably punch him if he tried to pinch the seven.
7. Tommy Raudonikis
Raudonikis’ legend stretches much further than his solitary appearance in the first ever Origin in 1980. One word: cattledog.
8. Artie Beetson (C)
Tommy’s rival skipper in that inaugural match signalled the start of the new interstate era the moment he clattered Parra teammate Mick Cronin, and he added to this legacy over six series as coach. Few players — and certainly none who only ran out in one game — leave a longer shadow on the Origin concept than Beetson.
9. Steve Edge
Edge’s single Origin in 1980 was sandwiched between titles with St George in 1977 and ’79, then three consecutive crowns as captain of Parramatta between 1981 and ’83. But Newtown’s Barry Jensen (another one-gamer) and Manly skipper Max Krilich kept him out of the Blues’ early squads.
10. Tony Butterfield
The Newcastle hardman might count himself lucky to have received even this one call-up in NSW’s losing decider in 1998, replacing Knights teammate Pall Harragon as a slew of Blues succumbed to injury and illness prior to kick-off.
11. Scott Gourley
The ex-Wallaby made a good fist of his code switch, first representing the Kangaroos in 1991, then NSW in their loss in 1993’s dead rubber — a match best remembered for Paul Harragon treating Martin Bella like a punching bag.
12. Alan Cann
The Broncos’ all-conquering teams of 1992 and ’93 were virtually Queensland’s State of Origin sides — and Alan Cann was in them. But he only forced his way into an actual Maroons jumper in the first game of 1996, as NSW avenged the ‘Fatty’s Nevilles’ clean sweep of 1995 with a 3-0 of their own.
13. Scott Sattler
The Queenslander’s only Origin came in the Blues’ series-clinching Game 2 win in 2003 — the evening Phil Gould nicked Laurie Daley’s seat on the sideline at the then-Telstra Stadium. Sattler’s crowning glory came at the same ground three months later, though, mowing down Todd Byrne in the ’03 grand final.
The Blues stand for the national anthem (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
14. Don McKinnon
The front-rower made his mark on Lang Park with an infamous leak during the Broncos’ first ever game in 1988. But he had no such impact on the venue in Origin, making his only appearance in NSW’s unsuccessful decider at the SCG in 1982.
15. Rod Reddy
The Rockhampton product made 13 appearances in a NSW jumper under the old residency rep rules prior to 1980, but just one for Queensland in the inaugural Origin that year. Maroons teammates that night Kerry Boustead, John Lang, Rod Morris and Beetson himself also donned the sky blue earlier in their careers.
16. Graeme Wynn
The St George back-rower lined up in the first ever Origin after just 31 first-grade games, and despite tallying another 207 before his retirement in 1992, never saw the inside of an interstate dressing room again.
17. Owen Cunningham
The Manly mainstay was the type of no-frills forward Queensland are normally so good at transforming into Origin-calibre players. But the Maroons only called on him once during an indefatigable 16-season top-grade career, off the bench in the ’96 dead rubber.
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