ORIGIN 2020 Blue Murder
THE YEAR WAS 1980 and it was the birth of State of Origin. NSW had won the first two interstate games and the series against Queensland, but a third game was proposed where players would instead represent the state where they were born, or where they had started playing first-grade.
This meant that finally a host of top Maroons – Arthur Beetson, Kerry Boustead, Rod Reddy and John Lang – would represent their home state and not the Blues. The match was written off by the Sydney media as a waste of time, a nonevent, a game without any meaning. NSW were expected to dominate, just like they did in the first two matches that year and had for decades.
Before kick-off Queensland Rugby League President Ron McAuliffe entered the Maroons dressing room and famously told the players: “The future of the game is in your hands. We have taken this bold step. If we are beaten we cannot retreat to any other position. We must win”.
Win they did. In a fiery contest in front of more than 30,000 people at Lang Park – that included an all-in brawl – Queensland finished 20-10 winners. Mal Meninga scored a try and kicked seven goals, while Chris Close was the man of the match while also grabbing a sensational try.
The next year the first two interstate matches were again played under the old selection rules. As NSW won the first two matches in the series, ‘state
