Game II
For game II, also played at Lang Park, the Maroons made several changes as they tried to keep the series alive. Meninga was sidelined with a shoulder injury, opening the way for the debut of Gene Miles who would go on to star in 20 Origins for Queensland throughout the 1980s and would form a regular Australian Test side pairing with his Origin opposite Brett Kenny, who would debut in the next game.
Maroons coach Arthur Beetson sprang a late surprise when he replaced Manly-Warringah second-rower Paul Vautin, who made his Australian debut a month later in the test series against New Zealand, in the starting line-up with veteran front-rower Rod Morris. Morris had played only a handful of club games for Wynnum-Manly after emerging from retirement, but Beetson's move proved a masterstroke.
The Queensland plan was to bustle the Blues out of the contest and they were aided in this by Qld referee Barry Gomersall making his own Origin debut and allowing the Maroons enormous latitude in the tackles.
With Morris leading from the front in a man-of-the-match winning performance, Queensland ground New South Wales out of the contest, scoring three tries to one to win 11–7. Miles scored the first try when he ran over the top of Blues fullback Greg Brentnall. The Maroons led 8-7 before Vautin sealed the result with a late try scored after second-rower Rohan Hancock punched a hole in the Blues defence close to the line.
Queensland's win in game 2 ensured that the third game would also be played under Origin rules. According to some reports, had NSW wrapped up the series in the second game, the third game in Sydney would have reverted to the old State of Residence rules and would most likely have been played at Leichhardt Oval instead of on the hallowed turf of the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Game III
The first three-match series came down to a Game III decider to be played at the Sydney Cricket Ground, the first time the Maroons had played at the ground since 1976. The attendance of 20,242 was the largest for an interstate game in Sydney since 1973 when 19,049 saw NSW defeat Qld 26-0 (reports at the time said NSWRL officials would have been happy if they got 20,000 to Origin's first game in Sydney after years of sub 5,000 crowds for interstate games at Leichhardt Oval). Officiated by a neutral referee – New Zealander Don Wilson, it was the first State of Origin match to be played in Sydney, and for the players, test positions in the Australian team for the upcoming series against New Zealand hung in the balance.
I cannot imagine any match having more appeal than this in the rugby league calendar. If ever the resistance by fans to representative matches in Sydney is to be broken down, this will be the match to do it.
The Blues made wholesale changes and among the new faces were Brett Kenny at five-eighth in place of Manly's Alan Thompson, Canterbury centre Phil Sigsworth at fullback, and virtual unknown Moree Boomerangs winger Phillip Duke who had starred for NSW Country in the annual City vs Country Origin match in Sydney, despite City winning the game 47–3.
Tuesday, 22 June 1982 [6] |
Duke and Sigsworth were involved in one of the most memorable bungles in State of Origin history. [8] With the series poised on a knife's edge and the score at 5-all, Sigsworth scrambled to field a Lewis kick in the Blues in-goal. Trapped by Second-rower Paul McCabe, Sigsworth threw a pass to Duke who fumbled the ball, and Wally Lewis dived on it for a try that rocked the Blues. However, Qld should not have had the ball at all at that stage. Referee Wilson had penalised Blues halfback Steve Mortimer for a second-row scrum feed 10 metres out from the Maroons try line. In a complete foul-up, Wilson had somehow penalised the wrong man as it was actually Qld halfback Mark Murray who had fed the scrum. When Motrimer protested his innocence, Wilson then marched the Blues 10 metres downfield for backchat. It was at the end of the following set of tackles where Lewis put in his kick leading to the Blues fateful fumble. [9] Blues coach Stanton however refused to blame Wilson for the error, or lay blame with Sigsworth and Duke, instead claiming that errors throughout the game had cost NSW victory. Incredibly, NSW failed to complete 27 sets of 6 tackles during the game, often handing Qld the ball in an attacking position.
Queensland went on to win 10–5, claiming the first three-match series 2–1 and their first interstate series win over New South Wales since 1960. Lewis won the first of his record total of eight man-of-the-match awards and beginning a run of five Origin best player awards in six games.
Walter James Lewis AM is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, and coached in the 1980s and 1990s. He became a commentator for television coverage of the sport. A highly decorated Australian national captain, Lewis is widely regarded as one of the greatest ever players of rugby league. His time as a player and coach was followed by a career as a sports presenter for the Nine Network.
Paul Vautin, nicknamed Fatty, is an Australian football commentator and former professional rugby league footballer, captain and coach. He has provided commentary for the Nine Network's coverage of rugby league since joining the network in 1992 and also hosted The Footy Show from its beginnings in 1994 opposite co-host Peter Sterling, until 2017. An Australian Kangaroos test and Queensland State of Origin representative lock or second-row forward, Vautin played club football in Brisbane with Wests, before moving to Sydney in 1979 to play with Manly-Warringah, whom he would captain to the 1987 NSWRL premiership. He also played for Sydney's Eastern Suburbs, and in England for St Helens.
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.
Noel Harvey "Crusher" Cleal is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer and coach. A destructive second-row for the Manly Sea Eagles, he also represented New South Wales in the State of Origin Series and the Australian national rugby league team.
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 1980s 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.
Frank Stanton, also known by the nickname of "Biscuits", is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1960s, and was a successful club and national representative coach in the 1970s and 1980s. He was educated at North Sydney Boys High School. Both his playing and his club coaching careers were with the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles, although he later also went on to coach the Balmain Tigers and North Sydney Bears. He enjoyed success as coach of the Australian national side from 1978 to 1984, being at the helm in the period when the Kangaroos began to consistently dominate the other rugby league playing nations. Since the death of Norm Provan on 13 October 2021, Stanton is both the oldest and earliest winning of all the living premiership winning coaches.
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 1995 State of Origin series was the 14th annual three-game series between the Queensland and New South Wales representative rugby league teams. Due to the Australian Rugby League's ongoing conflicts with Super League, they ruled that no Super League-aligned players were eligible for State of Origin selection in 1995. This appeared to hurt Queensland, eliminating their mostly Brisbane Broncos back line, and they were not widely expected to win the series. However, they won 3–0, their first series win since 1991. Novice Queensland coach Paul Vautin made only one player change to his squad during the three game series. This series once again saw State of Origin football venture to Melbourne, after an enthusiastic Melbourne crowd packed the MCG to watch game two of the 1994 series. Although the crowd in Melbourne was not as high as 1994's then-record origin crowd of 87,161, it was still a success, attracting 52,994 spectators and furthering the case for a first grade team in Melbourne.
The 1991 State of Origin series saw the tenth time the annual three-match State of Origin series between the New South Wales and Queensland representative rugby league teams was played entirely under 'state of origin' selection rules. It was notable as Wally Lewis' farewell from Origin football and featured his half-time stoush with Mark Geyer in Game II which match culminated in Michael O'Connor's sensational match-winning sideline conversion in teeming rain.
The 1990 State of Origin series saw the ninth time that the annual three-game series between New South Wales and Queensland representative rugby league football teams was contested entirely under "state of origin" selection rules. It was the first year that the Australian Rugby League took an Origin match to Melbourne to showcase the code in Victoria. New South Wales broke an eight-game losing streak in game I and took the series for the first time since 1986.
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 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 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 1982 Kangaroo tour was the fifteenth Kangaroo tour where the Australian national rugby league team played a number of matches against British and French rugby league teams, in addition to the Test matches. The Australia national rugby league team have generally since 1908 barring wartime, toured Great Britain every four years often capping the tour with matches and Tests in France. This regular touring side are known as the Kangaroos.
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.
Queensland (1st series title)
Ziggy Niszczot & Brad Izzard 
