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Origin is considered by most rugby league players and supporters to be the game’s greatest contest and where the best meets the best. If you can make it in Origin, you can make it anywhere.
Since the Origin format kicked off way back in 1980, over 530 players have turned out for Queensland and NSW. Some were legends of the game, some forgettable, and many reputations were won and lost in the Origin arena.
The question is, who are the best of the best when it comes to Origin players, regardless of the state they turned out for, and how many of the 17 will be from NSW? Note that we’re talking about the best Origin players here, not the best players who have played Origin.
Players like Arthur Beetson, Rod Reddy, Tom Raudonikis and Eric Grothe Snr were all greats of the game, and yes, they all played Origin, but they didn’t play enough Origin games in their careers for consideration in this team.
Here’s my take on the greatest combined Origin team of all time, and note that both current players and those with 10 games or fewer weren’t considered.
NSW were well served for many years by the likes of Tim Brasher, Gary Jack and Anthony Minichiello, but their Origin exploits pale into insignificance when compared to Queensland’s two most famous custodians in Darren Lockyer and Billy Slater.
Lockyer played 36 origins for Queensland and captained the Maroons 22 times, splitting his career between 16 games at fullback followed by 20 at five-eighth. He was a far more dominant player at five-eighth, and won two of his three man of the match awards in the 6 jersey.
Billy Slater spent all but five of his 31 Origins in the No.1 jersey, won eight of the 11 series he contested as fullback and was virtually untouchable as the best custodian in the game between 2008 and 2018.
(Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
There are four standout wingers when it comes to Origin: Darius Boyd, who sits second on the all-time Origin try-scoring list with 17 tries from his 28 appearances for Queensland; Matt Sing, who came from nowhere in 1995 when selected in Paul Vautin’s “Neville Nobodies” and was still in the Maroons side 10 years later; Rod Wishart, who played 22 games for NSW between 1990 and 1998; and Brett Morris, who represented NSW between 2010 and 2017.
Boyd was one of those players who saved his best for Origin, formed a deadly combination with Greg Inglis during his career, and simply can’t be left out, regardless of some of his ordinary efforts at club level.
The second choice is more problematic as Morris, Wishart and Sing all gave 100 per cent every time they took the field and were all great finishers, but the nod goes to Morris, who is the most complete winger to play the game in the NRL era.
There’s been some great centres pull on the Queensland jersey over the years, from Chris Closel who was man of the match in the first two Origins, big Gene Miles, the very competitive Justin Hodges and Brent Tate, and even Mark Coyne from south of the border.
Meanwhile, NSW had the likes of Michael O’Connor, Paul McGregor, Andrew Ettingshausen, Matt Cooper, Michael Jennings, and Josh Morris, but no centre from either state got within cooee of the Maroons duo of Mal Meninga and Greg Inglis.
Meninga, a rugby league Immortal, played in the very first Origin in 1980 on his 20th birthday and was still going strong 14 years later before retiring as the incumbent captain of both Queensland and Australia.
Greg Inglis began his career as a winger in 2006 but went on to play 26 games in the centres for Queensland and holds the record for the most Origin tries with 18. He was virtually unstoppable during his 12-year Origin career and always pulled out that extra effort when wearing the Maroons jersey, winning 10 of the 12 series he contested.
The five-eighth position in Origin has featured some of the greatest players the game has produced, but the No. 6 jersey simply has to go to Immortal and Queensland legend Wally Lewis.
The King owned State of Origin in the 1980s, captained the Maroons a record 29 times, won eight man of the match awards and set the benchmark for Origin performances. The rest of the contenders in Darren Lockyer, Johnathan Thurston, Brett Kenny, Brad Fittler and Laurie Daley will just have to politely applaud and look on.
Surely NSW’s greatest halfback Andrew Johns gets the No.7 jersey in this team? After all, he is an Immortal. Well, not so fast – let’s first take a look at his Origin record and his opposition for the halfback role in this team.
Johns played 16 of his Origins at halfback, winning just seven, and won just two series of the six he started for NSW in the 7 jersey.
Meanwhile, Johnathan Thurston won 14 of the 19 games he played halfback, and Cooper Cronk won 11 of 16, so perhaps they should get the nod?
(Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
Despite this hot competition, my choice is Allan Langer. Alfie played 32 games across 12 series for the Maroons between 1987 and 2002, and his combination with Wally Lewis in the early part of his career sets him apart from the other contenders, and I doubt that Lewis would want to see anyone else in the 7 jersey other than Langer.
I want a lock forward who can both create opportunities in attack as well as run the ball, rather than just hog possession like Paul Gallen, so it’s hard to go past Brad Fittler, who played 31 games for NSW between lock, five-eighth and centre, and captained his state 14 times.
Other contenders were Corey Parker, who played more of a traditional “middle forward” role, and Bob Lindner, who’s wide running skills are probably best suited to an edge role.
With all that attacking and point-scoring talent in the team I want two hard-working, feared and courageous second rowers who would provide a defensive platform for the team, and of course I’m talking about Trevor Gillmeister and Gary Larson.
Gillmeister played 22 Origins, winning 14 of them, and was probably the best defensive forward ever to take the Origin stage. Despite not being a big man, he was nonetheless effective, and any opponent running the ball on his side of the ruck could expect the worst.
Larson was slightly bigger and had a huge work rate that not only saw him regularly top the tackle count, but also take the hard carries when required.
When it comes to choosing front rowers, I’m looking for players capable of dominating the middle of the ruck, getting the sets started with power running, and playing big minutes, so it will be Petero Civoniceva and Glenn Lazarus.
No front rower played more Origins than Petero’s 33 games for Queensland, and he didn’t miss a series between 2001 and 2012, leading the Maroons pack with his strong runs and flawless defence.
Lazarus was the first NSW forward picked in the 1990s after making his Origin debut in 1989 and there were few better forwards in the game.
No surprise here that Cameron Smith is first choice and daylight a distant second. He played in a record 42 Origins between 2003 and 2017 without missing a series, won seven man of the match awards, captained the Maroons 21 times, and won every series from 2006 on. Can also kick goals, apparently.
(Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
What sort of bench do you need for a ridiculously talented team like this? My preference is to have a player who can cover the halfback/hooker role, a second rower who can play in the backs if required, and two middle forwards who can maintain the rage and provide impact when they come on.
Halfback/hooker – Andrew Johns
Johns is the obvious choice here. An Origin hero for NSW with 23 games to his credit, winning four of the five games he started as hooker. Apart from his brilliant ball skills and game management, he was also a very strong defender and would be deadly in the middle of the paddock against tiring opposition forwards.
Second rower/outside back – Luke Lewis
Lewis was a tenacious competitor no matter what position he played and has been everywhere from second row to wing during his career with distinction.
Middle forwards – Nate Myles and Shane Webcke
It may be surprising to some to find that Myles played as many origins for Queensland as Mal Meninga, but the Maroons selectors knew exactly what they were doing, as nobody “gets” Origin more than Myles. He was selected in every series from 2006 to 2017 and was prepared to take or give whatever punishment was required to win the game.
Webcke was a classic front rower, hard to bring down, had a good offload and was a tough defender.
Here’s how they line up:
1. Billy Slater
2. Brett Morris
3. Mal Meninga
4. Greg Inglis
5. Darius Boyd
6. Wally Lewis (c)
7. Allan Langer
8. Petero Civoniceva
9. Cameron Smith
10. Glenn Lazarus
11. Trevor Gillmeister
12. Gary Larson
13. Brad Fittler
14. Andrew Johns
15. Luke Lewis
16. Nate Myles
17. Shane Webcke
That’s quite a side, and I wonder if any team could ever match it with them? Probably only the second greatest combined Origin team, selected under the same rules, i.e. no current players or players with fewer than 10 Origins:
1. Darren Lockyer
2. Dale Shearer
3. Gene Miles
4. Laurie Daley
5. Matt Sing
6. Brett Kenny
7. Johnathan Thurston
8. Paul Harragon
9. Danny Buderus
10. Matt Scott
11. Gordon Tallis
12. Brad Clyde
13. Bob Lindner
14. Cooper Cronk
15. Brad Mackay
16. Jacob Lillyman
17. Steve Price
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