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.
Jack Gibson had never before coached at representative level and turned from Origin commentator to coach. He was pitted against his good friend and golfing buddy Arthur Beetson who had been recalled as Queensland coach to take over from Wayne Bennett. Experienced Blues Peter Sterling and Wayne Pearce declared their reluctance to be selected for the Kangaroo tour of New Zealand following the series and were declared non-selections by the NSWRL (effectively ending their representative careers), while King Wally's greatest Origin nemesis Brett Kenny, had retired from representative football after suffering an ACL injury in 1988. As such, New South Wales were forced to elevate some debutantes and only four players in game I of 1989 were in the squad from game III of 1988 - Garry Jack, John Ferguson, Des Hasler and Andrew Ettingshausen. According to Ch.9Brisbane commentator Andrew Thomas, Jack Gibson said before the game saying that Queensland had their two best players Wally Lewis and Allan Langer playing for them while his two best players, Peter Sterling and Wayne Pearce, would be watching from the grandstand.[1]
Two surprise non-selections for NSW was that of tough front rowers Steve Roach (Balmain) and Penrith's Peter Kelly, with Gibson pulling a surprise by naming ball playing Penrith second rower John Cartwright for his Origin debut in the unfamiliar position of prop.
Queensland's 19 year old Brisbane Broncos winger Michael Hancock became the youngest State of Origin footballer to that point from either state that night. Hancock was one of five Maroons making their Origin debut in Game 1, the others being his Broncos team mate and hooker Kerrod Walters, Cronulla-Sutherland forward Dan Stains in the front row ahead of Brisbane's Sam Backo who had been struggling for form, reserve forward Gary Coyne from the Canberra Raiders, and in-form Newcastle Knights half Michael Hagan was selected for his debut off the bench after finding that three reserve grade games for Brisbane Wests in 1982 qualified him to play for Queensland.[2] Hagan, the younger brother of 1960s Test centre Bob Hagan and a dual Premiership winner with Canterbury-Bankstown in 1985 and 1988, became the first Knights player selected to play State of Origin.
Gavin Miller had not represented for New South Wales since 1983, but was selected and posted as skipper. Canberra teenagers Laurie Daley and Bradley Clyde made their debut at the intimidating Lang Park "Cauldron", with Daley also handed the goal kicking duties despite the experienced Terry Lamb in the team at Five-eighth. Daley showed his nerves when missed his first shot on goal, a penalty from only 15 metres out from the posts and directly in front when Qld were leading 6–0. Also making their debut for NSW were Broncos centre Chris Johns playing on the wing, South Sydney forward Mario Fenech at hooker, 1986Kangaroo Tourist and 1988 World Cup final second rower Paul Sironen from Balmain, with Canberra prop Glenn Lazarus and 1986 Kangaroo tourist, Penrith halfback Greg Alexander, on the bench. NSW in fact went in with three backs on the bench and only one forward. Chris Johns, actually born in Brisbane and normally a centre with the Brisbane Broncos (but grew up in Sydney and was graded with St George in 1984), made history by becoming the first player chosen to represent NSW Origin while playing for a Queensland-based club.
The game seemed to start well for the Blues as Maroons winger Alan McIndoe knocked on in-goal fielding the kick off. From the ensuing line drop out, Qld quickly gained the upper hand. Wally Lewis put up a towering goal line drop out that went 58 metres on the fly and was let bounce by NSW fullback Garry Jack. Unfortunately for NSW, the ball continued bouncing towards their own line and Jack finally fielded the ball just two metres inside his own quarter, allowing the Qld defence to trap NSW in their own half. From there things just went from bad to worse for NSW. A breakout from their own half started by Lewis who passed to Currie who passed on to Hancock for a 30 metre run before an offside penalty saw Langer run across field before putting a flying McIndoe over in the south-west corner. After Meninga's conversion, NSW were able to put together some attacking plays with almost 10 minutes of pressure on the Queensland line, forcing another two goal line dropouts, but the Maroons defence held strong. Then with Qld leading 6–0, a penalty right in front and just 14 metres saw NSW with a chance to put points on the board, but Laurie Daley badly hooked his kick wide of the posts. And from there the floodgates opened despite Lewis being sent to the sin-bin for 5 minutes. Michael Hancock scored two tries in his Origin debut, while Mal Meninga signalled his return to representative football with two tries and four goals of his own and in the process overtake dual rugby international outside back Michael O'Connor (NSW) as the greatest point scorer in Origin history to that point (Meninga's tries were his first in Origin since Game 1 of the 1983 series, and doubled his Origin total to that point). Also scoring for the Maroons were Langer and Bobby Lindner. However, on the night there was none better than Martin Bella whose powerhouse performance in the front row gave the likes of Wally Lewis and Allan Langer the room they needed and earned him the Man of the Match award.
While the Maroon debutants such as Michael Hancock, Kerrod Walters and Dan Stains had seemingly handled the pressure of Origin easily, only Bradley Clyde and Paul Sironen of the many Blues new faces seemed to handle the pressure in what was New South Wales' biggest Origin losing margin: 30 points (it had been 18–nil at half time). Only a late try to reserve back Andrew Ettingshausen who grounded a kick from his Cronulla club mate Gavin Miller, prevented NSW from losing the game 36–0. ET's try was converted by Daley who unlike his first kick, had settled his nerves and put the conversion straight over the black dot.[citation needed]
Queensland wrapped up the 1989 series in game II in probably their most courageous effort in Origin history. They lost Allan Langer with a broken leg, Mal Meninga with a fractured eye socket and Paul Vautin with an elbow injury by half-time. In the second half, Michael Hancock came off with a bruised shoulder while Bob Lindner played on with a fracture in his ankle which he carried for much of the match before retiring five minutes from the end, leaving the Maroons down to 12 men.[3]
Lindner, who stayed on the field despite his injury as there were no reserves left,[4] claimed it was the toughest match in which he had played and Wally Lewis, who scored a memorable 40-metre try,[5] rated it as Queensland's greatest performance. Maroon's coach Arthur Beetson was irate at the Blues' intimidating tactics, claiming New South Wales hard man Peter Kelly was allowed to get away with illegal tackling by Queensland referee David Manson.
The day before the game, some NSW players entered Jack Gibson's hotel room to talk to him and were reportedly shocked to find their coach entertaining the enemy. In the room, long-time friends Gibson and Maroons coach Arthur Beetson were enjoying a drink and playing cards. The same situation had happened in reverse before Game 1 in Brisbane with Wally Lewis, Gene Miles and Paul Vautin entering Beetson's hotel room the night before the game only to find their coach playing cards with Gibson.[6]
Despite the 36-6 thrashing in Game 1, the NSW public got behind their team which resulted in a capacity crowd of 40,000 attending Game 2 at the Sydney Football Stadium. To date this was the second largest Sydney crowd in Origin history after the 42,048 that had attended Game 2 of the 1987 series at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
The first points came after Queensland hookerKerrod Walters made a break from dummy half within his own half and passed on to his winger Alan McIndoe to run forty metres to score. Australian test winger Dale Shearer, who had moved from the bench to starting in the centres replacing the injured Mal Meninga and also took over the goal kicking duties despite the 1988 NSWRL season's top point scorer Gary Belcher playing at fullback, missed the sideline conversion attempt so the score remained 4 nil in favour of the Maroons. After collecting the ball from a scrum win within ten metres of Queensland's line, Blues halfback Greg Alexander dashed forth before passing it to his halves partner Des Hasler who dived over next to the uprights to equalize. Michael O'Connor made no mistake with the conversion and New South Wales were in front 6 - 4. The Maroons hit back when they got the ball after a Blues mistake and from over forty metres out, Michael Hagan kicked downfield for Shearer to beat the defence to and score in the left corner. Shearer missed this conversion as well so Queensland led 8 - 6. New South Wales responded with another try after lock forward Brad Mackay made a break about twenty metres out from Queensland's line before offloading in a tackle to Eastern Suburbs hooker David Trewhella coming through in support to score behind the posts. O'Connor's successful conversion put the score at 12 - 8 in favour of the Blues. New South Wales then crossed twice but were called back both times so the score remained unchanged for the half-time break.
Queensland opened the scoring in the second half when Kerrod Walters again made a break from dummy half, running about forty metres before getting the ball out to support players, who passed on to a flying Michael Hancock to dive over in the left corner. Shearer's third conversion attempt was successful so Queensland had regained the lead at 14 - 12. Garry Jack fumbled as he stooped to pick up a Wally Lewis grubber and Walters dived on the loose ball to score the Maroons' next try. Shearer kicked the extras, giving Queensland a 20 - 12 lead. The Maroons' next try came after playing the ball over twenty metres out and keeping it alive, three players passing from tackles until it went to Gary Belcher who broke for the try-line and scored near the uprights.[7] Shearer's kick was successful so Queensland led 26 - 12. The points kept coming for Queensland who started another movement from within their own half, putting the ball through the hands to players coming through in support until it made its way out to Tony Currie to dive over in the left corner. They didn't stop there though, with Shearer at dummy-half and in an attacking position passing the ball to Lewis before running around him to re-collect it and race through almost untouched to score again. Shearer then converted his own try and the score was 36 - 12.
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.
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.
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 1994 State of Origin series saw the 13th year 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. Mark Coyne's completion of a miraculous team effort by Queensland to snatch victory in the dying seconds of Game I has become a featured moment in Origin folklore. In Game II a crowd of 87,000 flocked to the MCG setting a new Australian rugby league crowd record. In Game III New South Wales won their first ever Lang Park decider, spoiling Mal Meninga's farewell Origin match.
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 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 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 2008 State of Origin series was the 27th year that the annual best-of-three series of interstate rugby league football matches between the Queensland and New South Wales representative teams was contested entirely under 'state of origin' selection rules. At its commencement each side had won twelve Origin series with two series drawn.
The 1982 State of Origin series was the first annual three-match series for rugby league 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 1990 Kangaroo Tour was the seventeenth Kangaroo Tour, where the Australian national rugby league team travelled to Europe and played eighteen matches against British and French club and representative rugby league teams, in addition to three Test matches against Great Britain and two Tests against the French. It followed the tour of 1986 and the next was staged in 1994.
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.
The 1993 Trans-Tasman Test series was an international rugby league test series played in Australia between Australia and New Zealand. The series, which started on 20 June in Auckland and finished on 30 June in Brisbane, consisted of three test matches. The three Tests attracted a total of 74,494 fans.
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Queensland (6th series title)
