For the first time since State of Origin became a three-game series in 1982, Queensland named the same starting XIII for each game of the series. The Maroons only made two changes during the series, with Origin veterans Dale Shearer coming onto the bench for Game 2 in Sydney to replace Steve Renouf, and Bob Lindner, the player of the 1990 Kangaroo tour, named on the bench for Game 3 in Brisbane (replacing Gavin Allen) after recovering from a broken leg. This saw Queensland only use 19 players for the series. In contrast, NSW only had seven players there for the entire series (five of whom started each game) and used a total of 24 players.
Game I
Controversy preceded the start of the series when Maroon's coach and Queensland Origin figurehead Arthur Beetson was deposed in favour of Manly-Warringah coach and former New Zealand test coach Graham Lowe, the first and (as of 2017) only non-Queenslander to have coached the Maroons. Two time Canberra Raiders premiership winning coach Tim Sheens got the job as New South Wales coach, replacing SupercoachJack Gibson who had retired from coaching. 1990 Kangaroo tour vice-captain Ben Elias was retained as captain of the Blues, while Wally Lewis retained the captaincy of Queensland despite Mal Meninga being the incumbent Australian test captain.
Queensland lost their Australian fullback Gary Belcher to a knee injury only two days before the game and he was replaced by giant (197cm) 20-year-old Brisbane Broncos fullback Paul Hauff. The Maroons also lost test hooker Kerrod Walters who had been suspended for 2 games. He was replaced by his older brother, Canberra Raiders premiership hooker Steve Walters. NSW coach Tim Sheens gave the Blues goal kicking duties to veteran Michael O'Connor over regular Penrith club kicker Greg Alexander despite O'Connor not having been Manly's first choice kicker since early in 1990 and having only kicked 2 goals to that point of the 1991 season.
It took sixty-four minutes for the first try to be scored in a nailbiting series opener at Lang Park. The try featured the two veterans of the Queensland side – Wally Lewis ran wide and powered halfway through an opening and then found Mal Meninga in support who bulldozed through Greg Alexander and Andrew Ettingshausen's attempted tackle to score. Laurie Daley scored his team's only try late in the second half after grubber-kicking behind Michael Hancock into the corner and winning the race to the ball. Meninga landed only one of his four shots at goal but it proved decisive as both Michael O'Connor and Alexander missed their only attempts. O'Connor's conversion attempt of Daley's try went wide leaving Qld with a 6–4 lead. Alexander had a chance to level the scores after NSW received a penalty when Meninga's restart from the Daley try was kicked over the dead ball line on the full, but his kick from half way was wide and short and fell safely into the arms of Wally Lewis who took the tackle to end the game.
After only being a late callup into the Queensland team, replacement fullback Paul Hauff (who at 6'6" (197cm) was the tallest recorded fullback in premiership history) put in a near man of the match performance in his Origin and representative debut, with most judges believing he would have won the award had he not been forced off midway through the second half with a dislocated shoulder. Early in the first half he twice saved certain NSW tries when he first tackled a flying Greg Alexander into touch, and only minutes later he managed to scramble back and prevent Ettingshausen from picking up the ball and scoring next to the posts after ET put in a grubber kick behind Hauff.
The iconic image of Wally Lewis confronting Mark Geyer with referee David Manson in the background and Ben Elias in the foreground.
Game II of 1991 is remembered for a number of dramatic incidents. Played in drenching rain, the game exploded into violence before half-time when volatile New South Wales forward Mark Geyer chopped down on Queensland hookerSteve Walters in a tackle. Prop Andrew Gee ran in to assist his teammate, sparking a brawl which involved most players from both teams. When the dust settled, referee David Manson issued a handful of cautions, but as players left the field for half-time, Queensland captain Wally Lewis continued to goad Geyer,[8] clearly expecting the New South Wales forward to be antagonised into a violent response right in front of Manson that would have him sent off. This became a lasting image in Australian sporting folklore.[9][10]
Soon after the break Geyer missed with a forearm directed towards Queensland fullbackPaul Hauff, sparking another brawl when Peter Jackson and Gary Coyne ran in to target Geyer, while Wally Lewis was trying to calm his players by yelling that Geyer would be gone. However referee David Manson, himself a Queenslander, only cautioned the Blues second-rower. Geyer was later suspended for five matches for his questionable elbow to Hauff. The Maroons looked to have the series wrapped up when an Allan Langer break and Lewis pass led to a try to Dale Shearer 12 minutes from full-time. But with six minutes remaining, a cut-out pass by Blues halfback Ricky Stuart led to a try to centre Mark McGaw out wide, levelling the scores at 12-all. As the rain continued to belt down, O'Connor, who wasn't in great form with the boot but was surprisingly given the kicking duties despite Illawarra Steelers goal kicking winger Rod Wishart in the team, lined up the conversion attempt and sensationally landed the goal to give the Blues a 14–12 victory just before full-time.[11]
The Game III decider back in Brisbane was fast-paced and desperately fought with never more than four points separating the sides. Queensland led 8–4 at half-time but two New South Wales tries, both unconverted by O'Connor who also missed a long-range penalty goal from near half-way, took the Blues to a 12–8 lead. Strangely coach Sheens had stuck with Game 2 hero O'Connor as goal kicker despite him not being the regular kicker for Manly and the presence in the side of regular club kickers Greg Alexander (Penrith) and Rod Wishart (Illawarra). Late in the second-half a superb dash by Maroons' hooker Steve Walters paved the way for a try to replacement back Dale Shearer, levelling the match. Repeating O'Connor's deed in Sydney, Maroon centre Mal Meninga landed the sideline conversion (the only goal kicked in the game),[15] lifting Queensland to a 14–12 victory.
Ten minutes before the end of the game the Lang Park ground announcer advised the 33,226 strong crowd that Wally Lewis was playing his last game for Queensland. Lewis had decided to retire from Origin football after receiving news on the day of the game that his daughter Jaime-Lee was deaf, with only his family and the Qld team knowing about his decision. The Maroons supporters roared as they never had before to lift their weary gladiators to the line and Lewis to his ultimate victory and slow farewell lap around his home ground, hand-in-hand with his two young sons Mitchell and Lincoln. Queensland manager Dick "Tosser" Turner later admitted that Lewis had given an instruction and plotted the perfect timing for the announcement to be made.
The Queensland rugby league team represents the Australian state of Queensland in rugby league football. Nicknamed the "Maroons" after the colour of their jersey, they play three times a year against arch-rivals New South Wales in the State of Origin series. The team is currently coached by Billy Slater and captained by Daly Cherry-Evans, and is administered by the Queensland Rugby League. They play all of their home matches at Brisbane's Lang Park.
Michael David O'Connor is an Australian former rugby league and rugby union footballer who represented Australia in both codes. He played for the Wallabies in 13 Tests from 1979 to 1982 and then the Kangaroos in 17 Tests from 1985 to 1990. O'Connor played club football in the NSWRL Premiership for the St. George Dragons from 1983 until 1986, and later the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles from 1987 until his retirement at the end of 1992, becoming captain of Manly in 1990, as well as winning the 1987 Winfield Cup with the Sea Eagles.
The 2005 State of Origin series saw the 24th time that the annual three-game series between the Queensland and New South Wales representative rugby league football teams was contested entirely under 'state of origin' selection rules. The three matches drew a total attendance of 187,309 and New South Wales won the series 2-1, their third consecutive series victory, and their last until 2014.
The 1980 State of Origin game was the first game between the Queensland Maroons and the New South Wales Blues rugby league teams to be played under "state of origin" selection rules. It was the third match of 1980's annual interstate series between the Blues and the Maroons, and was only allowed to go ahead because the first two matches were already won by New South Wales under established 'state of residency' rules. It was played on 8 July 1980 under the newly configured rules by which a player would represent his "state of origin", i.e. the state in which he was born or in which he started playing registered first grade rugby league football.
The 1981 State of Origin game was the second such match between arch rivals Queensland and New South Wales to be played under State of Origin selection rules. Again it was played as the third game of an already-decided 3-game series. New South Wales' victories in the first two games under the "state of residency" selection rules were, however, the last matches of this kind to ever be played as the following year the Origin concept was fully embraced.
The 1993 State of Origin series was the 12th year that the annual best-of-three series of rugby league football matches between the Queensland and New South Wales representative teams was contested under 'state of origin' selection rules. Queensland's favourite son Wally Lewis returned as coach just two years after his retirement as a player.
The 1992 State of Origin series saw the 11th time that the annual three-game series between the New South Wales and Queensland representative rugby league football teams was contested entirely under "state of origin" selection rules. It was the first year of involvement by New South Wales' most successful coach Phil Gould, who made only four player changes to the Blues squad during the series - one of these necessitated by the return from injury of champion play-maker Ricky Stuart. For the first time in thirteen years of Origin there was no involvement by Wally Lewis to inspire Queensland.
The 1989 State of Origin series was the eighth time the annual three-game series between New South Wales and Queensland was contested entirely under 'state of origin' selection rules. It was Queensland's second consecutive Origin clean-sweep and an unpleasant inauguration for New South Wales' new coach Jack Gibson who, along with a new captain in Gavin Miller and eight new players, was brought into a dramatically overhauled Blues side that had lost its five last State of Origin matches.
The 1985 State of Origin series was the fourth time the annual three-match series between New South Wales and Queensland was contested entirely under 'state of origin' selection rules. It was the year that New South Wales finally ended Queensland's dominance which had arisen with the State of Origin concept.
The 1986 State of Origin series was the fifth year that the annual three-match series between New South Wales and Queensland was contested entirely under "state of origin" selection rules. It was the year that New South Wales finally asserted some dominance and won the series in the first ever 3-0 Origin whitewash. It was an inauspicious introduction to Origin coaching for Wayne Bennett who soon afterwards began plotting a reversal of fortunes that would lead to a pending period of Queensland dominance.
The 1987 State of Origin series saw the sixth time the annual three-match series between the New South Wales and Queensland representative rugby league football teams was contested entirely under 'State of Origin' selection rules. It saw the emergence of new faces who would go on to become Origin legends, record crowds for all three matches, and an additional exhibition game played in Long Beach, California.
The 1984 State of Origin series was the third time the annual three-game series between the representative rugby league football teams of New South Wales and Queensland was played entirely under "state of origin" selection rules. With Queensland wrapping up the series in the first two matches it produced the first dead rubber finish and an infamous opening minute brawl in game II.
The 1988 State of Origin series was the seventh annual three-game series between the New South Wales and Queensland representative rugby league football teams to be contested entirely under 'state of origin' selection rules. Queensland enjoyed their first ever 3–0 series whitewash, mirroring a feat New South Wales had first achieved two years earlier. The series produced an ugly and enduring Origin image when in Game II the parochial Queensland crowd showered the Lang Park playing arena with beer cans in protest at the sin-binning of their captain Wally Lewis.
The 1982 State of Origin series was the first annual three-match series between New South Wales and Queensland to be played entirely under "state of origin" selection rules. After the matches in 1980 and 1981 that trialed the concept, 'Origin' was fully embraced in 1982, with no matches using the previous seventy-four years' residential-based selection rules ever played again.
The 1983 State of Origin series was the second time the annual three-game series between the New South Wales and Queensland rugby league teams was played entirely under "state of origin" selection rules.
The 2010 State of Origin series was the 29th annual best-of-three series of interstate rugby league football matches between the Queensland and New South Wales representative teams played entirely under 'state of origin' selection rules. For the second year in a row, a Queensland victory set a new record for consecutive State of Origin titles, reaching five. Queensland won all three matches, completing their first series white-wash since 1995.
The 2011 State of Origin series was the 30th annual best-of-three series of interstate rugby league football matches between the Queensland and New South Wales representative teams contested under "State of Origin" selection rules. For the third successive year a Queensland victory set a new record for consecutive State of Origin titles, reaching six. Game I was played in Brisbane, Game II in Sydney and Game III was again played in Brisbane. Game III was also Australia's most watched sports TV programme for the year 2011.
The 1991 Trans-Tasman Test series was an international rugby league test series played in Australia between Australia and New Zealand. The series, which started on 3 July in Melbourne and finished on 31 July in Brisbane, consisted of three test matches, with the third test doubling as a 1989–1992 Rugby League World Cup tournament match. New Zealand did not play in any other matches while on tour.
The 2013 State of Origin series was the 32nd time the annual best-of-three series between the Queensland and New South Wales rugby league teams was played entirely under 'state of origin' rules. It was the first series to be administered by the Australian Rugby League Commission which was created in a major re-structure of the sport's administration in Australia.
The 2014 State of Origin series was the 33rd time the annual best-of-three series between the Queensland and New South Wales rugby league teams has been played entirely under 'state of origin' rules. It is the second series to be administered by the Australian Rugby League Commission which was created in a major restructure of the sport's administration in Australia.
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Queensland (7th title)
