Originally, New South Wales were to host two home matches this year, however the ARLC Commission announced in November 2012 a new five-year cycle which would see Queensland instead host two home matches this year, as well as in 2017, the Blues to host two home matches in 2016 and the remaining match in 2015 to be hosted at a neutral venue (later named to be the 100,024 capacity Melbourne Cricket Ground).[1]
Former Canberra, Queensland and Australian captain Mal Meninga remained as coach of the Queensland side, having won all eight previous editions dating back to 2006. New South Wales were coached by former Canberra, NSW and Australia captain Laurie Daley for a second consecutive year.
Consecutive victories over Queensland in the first and second games with respective scores of 12–8 and 6–4 have enabled New South Wales to finally conclude their opposition's eight year domination of uninterrupted Origin series victories. Additionally, with the exception of Luke Lewis, every player to have so far featured in this year's New South Wales squad have achieved their first ever series win. The Blues had the chance to record their first series clean sweep since 2000, however the Maroons won the final game 32–8 to reduce the final series margin to 2–1 in New South Wales' favour.
Game I
Breaking usual tradition, the Queensland squad was announced before New South Wales. Changes to the team were largely minor with Matt Gillett earning his first promotion to the starting side to replace the injured Sam Thaiday in the second-row whilst Aidan Guerra from the Sydney Roosters makes his debut from the bench. The halves combination for New South Wales were once again modified, with Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs pairing Josh Reynolds and Trent Hodkinson (making his debut) replacing the Roosters and incumbent halves pairing of James Maloney and Mitchell Pearce. Pearce, who played in every game as halfback since the second match of the 2010 series and held the record for consecutive matches in the position, was omitted largely due to him being arrested at a Kings Cross nightclub for drunken misbehaviour. After missing out from the second and third games from last year due to injury, Jarryd Hayne returned to the side to reclaim his fullback role over Josh Dugan. Daniel Tupou will be the second debutant in the side to partner his Roosters team mate Michael Jennings on the left edge, with Brett Morris switching to the other side to be alongside his twin brother Josh. Beau Scott was recalled into the side in the starting second-row after being overlooked from last year's series. Joining the bench, fellow forward Tony Williams was also recalled due to improved form and likely combinations with his club team mate halves. Notable forced omissions from the squad were Greg Bird (suspension), Andrew Fifita (injury) and Boyd Cordner (injury).
Queensland opened the scoring for the series with a try to winger Darius Boyd in the fifth minute. The attempted conversion from Johnathan Thurston, who only needed four points to surpass Mal Meninga as the highest pointscorer in Origin history, was unsuccessful; leaving the score 4–0 to the Maroons.
Shortly after, halfback Cooper Cronk left the field with a broken arm, and did not return for the match. This meant that interchange player Daly Cherry-Evans was brought on to replace Cronk, thus unsettling the Maroons' attacking structure. At 19 minutes, winger Brett Morris scored the Blues' first try, but appeared to suffer a shoulder injury in doing so. Another try to the Blues, through fullback Jarryd Hayne, saw the Blues lead the Maroons 10–4 at halftime.
Boyd scored the only try of the second half in the 57th minute, and was denied a third when former Dragons team-mate Morris tackled him just short of the try-line with five minutes remaining. Queensland continued to attack the New South Wales line in the final minutes; they had one last play after a penalty in the last few seconds, but desperate defence from the Blues ensured that they would win their first match in Brisbane since 2009 and first Game I in the city since 2003.
The Blues' victory set a new television viewership record for an opening State of Origin match, with 2.596 million metro viewers watching the match,[2] with 1.23 million watching in Sydney alone.[3] Total national viewership was 4.056 million.[4]
In the aftermath of the Blues' victory, five-eighth Josh Reynolds was charged with a dangerous tackle on the Maroons' Brent Tate, but earned a successful downgrade at the judiciary, freeing him to play in Game II, while Brett Morris was later diagnosed with a fractured shoulder which has ruled him out for the entire series. Maroons halfback Cooper Cronk's arm injury resulted in a prognosis of up to twelve weeks, meaning his Origin series was already over.[5]
Game II
Heading into the second match of the series, Queensland had a host of injury concerns with Billy Slater, Greg Inglis and Daly Cherry-Evans all in significant doubt, whilst the man Cherry-Evans deputised for, Cooper Cronk, was suspected to be ruled out of the remainder of the series with a broken arm he suffered in the first game. As a result, Mal Meninga chose to carry 22 man squad into game two, where he would name Will Chambers, Ben Hunt, Jacob Lillyman, Anthony Milford and Willie Tonga as his reserves. Sam Thaiday returned from injury that ruled him of the first game to rejoin the starting forward pack. To further complicate matters, forwards Josh Papalii and Corey Parker would later rule themselves out with injury, forcing Meninga to announce David Taylor as another reserve. On game day, Slater, Inglis and Cherry-Evans would pass fitness to reprise their positions, with Thaiday named at lock and Aidan Guerra into the starting second row. Changes on the bench saw Taylor and Lilyman joining the demoted Chris McQueen.
Laurie Daley would have his own share of injury headaches, as twins and right side wing-centre pairing Brett Morris and Josh Morris were ultimately ruled out with injuries sustained from game one. Daley would choose Will Hopoate and Josh Dugan as the respective replacements, both players of whom debuted in 2011 as centre and fullback but were instead selected to play in unfamiliar positions. Unavailable for the first game due to suspension, Greg Bird returns to the side as lock, shifting Paul Gallen to the front row whilst James Tamou replaced Tony Williams on the interchange.
The first half was played with high intensity displayed from both sides, with the only points in the first half coming from two penalty goals to Maroons five-eighth Johnathan Thurston; those two successful penalty conversions saw him overtake his coach Mal Meninga as the highest pointscorer in State of Origin history. Nearing halftime, Blues five-eighth Josh Reynolds prevented a certain Maroons try by kicking the ball away from the Maroons' tryline.
Sam Thaiday appeared to have scored the first try of the match for the Maroons in the 51st minute, only for the replay to show that he had lost possession of the ball whilst trying to ground the ball on the try-line thanks to a strong tackle from Jarryd Hayne. Following numerous handling mistakes from the Blues, halfback Trent Hodkinson then scored the only try of the match with seven minutes to go; his successful conversion seeing the team lead 6–4 entering the final five minutes. The game had controversy with the kick restart being declared by the referee to be out on the full providing NSW with a penalty from half way despite replays clearly showing the ball touching Aaron Woods which should have resulted in a NSW goal line drop out, providing QLD with an attacking opportunity.
Queensland were unable to score in the final five minutes, resulting in New South Wales clinching their first series victory since 2005 and sentencing Maroons coach Mal Meninga to his first and only Origin series defeat since taking over as coach of Queensland in 2006.[6] The match result of 6–4 also resulted as the Maroons' first tryless defeat since 1999. As a result of the victory, a fireworks display was held at the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
The game also again saw the Origin Record for TV Ratings broken, with 2.682 million metro viewers and a national total of 4.159 million watching the match.[7][8]
As had been the case in the first two matches, the first half was a defensive affair, with the first try not coming until just before half-time, when Cameron Smith pounced on a kick by Daly Cherry-Evans to score close to the posts with two minutes remaining. The successful conversion by Johnathan Thurston made the score 6–2 in favour of the Maroons at half-time.
At half-time, most of the former players who had taken part during Queensland's eight-year Origin reign were honoured.
The Maroons dominated in the second half, scoring four tries to one as they easily produced the best attacking performance of any state this series. Tries to Billy Slater, Darius Boyd, Aidan Guerra and Cooper Cronk pushed the final score out to 32–8. Josh Dugan scored the only try for the Blues, whose five-eighth Josh Reynolds was booked for a shoulder charge on Maroons winger Will Chambers in the second half.
Queensland's 32–8 Game III victory saw them outscore the Blues 44–26 across the three matches.[9] Queensland's win also made Cameron Smith the first player in State of Origin history to win 20 games.
After both states completed their lap of honour post-match, Paul Gallen then became the first New South Wales captain since Danny Buderus in 2005 to raise the State of Origin shield. Gallen was also named the Wally Lewis Medallist for being the best player in the series, whilst Corey Parker was named by Channel Nine as the man-of-the-match.
Teams
The 18th, 19th & 20th man are reserves to cover for any forthcoming injuries and, unless chosen, do not actually play.
1 - The number 11 jumper was rested in honour of Arthur Beetson in Game One, which marked the 100th State Of Origin game, with Chris McQueen wearing the number 18 jumper. Playing at prop forward, Beetson captained Queensland in the first ever State of Origin game at Lang Park in 1980 and wore the number 11 jumper.[10]
Malcolm Norman Meninga is an Australian professional rugby league coach who is the head coach of the Australian national team and a former professional rugby league footballer. Meninga is widely regarded as one of the finest players in the game's history. He enjoyed a long career in both Australia and England, playing mainly as a goal-kicking centre. After retiring, Meninga has enjoyed success as a coach, and is currently the head coach of Australia.
The State of Origin series is an annual best-of-three rugby league series between two Australian state representative sides, the New South Wales Blues and the Queensland Maroons.
The New South Wales rugby league team has represented the Australian state of New South Wales in rugby league football since the sport's beginnings there in 1907. Also known as the Blues due to their sky blue jerseys, the team competes in the annual State of Origin series against Queensland. As of 2024, the team is coached by Michael Maguire and captained by Jake Trbojevic.
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.
Justin Hodges is an Australian professional boxer and former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. A Queensland State of Origin and Australian international representative centre, Hodges started his career in the National Rugby League with the Brisbane Broncos before moving to the Sydney Roosters, with whom he won the 2002 NRL Premiership, before returning to the Broncos in 2005, and winning the 2006 NRL Premiership. He also captained the Broncos.
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 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 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 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.
Blake Ferguson is a former professional rugby league footballer.
Aidan Guerra is a former professional rugby league footballer who played for the Sydney Roosters, with whom he won the 2013 NRL Grand Final, and the Newcastle Knights in the NRL. He represented both Italy and Australia at international level and Queensland in the State of Origin series. His positions were second-row and lock.
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.
Josh Papali'i is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a prop for the Canberra Raiders in the National Rugby League (NRL). He has played for both Australia and Samoa at international level.
The 2012 State of Origin series was the 31st 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. For the fourth successive year a Queensland victory set a new record for consecutive State of Origin titles, reaching seven. Game I was played at Melbourne's sold out Etihad Stadium and won by Queensland; its television broadcast watched by more than 2.5 million viewers, rating it as the most-watched State of Origin broadcast since the introduction of OzTAM ratings in 1999. New South Wales' series-equalling win in Game II, played at Sydney's sold out ANZ Stadium, set a new TV ratings record for most-watched second game of any series in State of Origin history. The decider, Game III was played at Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium and was won by Queensland. This game set a new record for the highest television audience in Australia for a rugby league match since the introduction of the OzTam ratings system in 2001.
Daniel Tupou is a professional rugby league footballer who plays on the wing for the Sydney Roosters in the National Rugby League (NRL). He has played for Tonga and Australia at international level.
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 2015 State of Origin series was the 34th time the annual best-of-three series between the Queensland and New South Wales rugby league teams to be played entirely under 'state of origin' rules. It was the third series to be administered by the Australian Rugby League Commission which was created in a major restructure of the sport's administration in Australia.
Corey Allan is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a wing, fullback and centre for the St. George Illawarra Dragons in the National Rugby League (NRL).
Bradman Best is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a centre for the Newcastle Knights in the National Rugby League (NRL).
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
New South Wales (13th title)
Johnathan Thurston – 16
