Backs to the Wall – Remembering Origin’s most unlikely victories

by Nick Fray, Origin Online and Over the Line Sports

New South Wales, 1985

It’s no secret the early years of State of Origin belonged to Queensland. Victors of the stand-alone games of 1980 and 81, Queensland went on to win the first three complete series in the subsequent years and had quickly established that aura of invincibility that Queensland have possessed at various times through Origin history.

Game 3 of the 1984 series may have been a dead rubber, but it ultimately proved one of the most significant games in New South Wales’s Origin history, as newly-installed captain Steve Mortimer led a rejuvenated side to a face-saving win at ‘the cauldron’ of Lang Park. Mortimer was retained as captain for the 1985 opener, again played at Lang Park, and with debutants and future Blues legends Benny Elias, Michael O’Connor and John Ferguson playing starring roles the Blues came away with a famous 18-2 victory in torrential rain, giving them a golden opportunity to secure their first series win at the SCG two weeks later.

The Blues shot out to an early lead and the crowd could sense their time was near, however Queensland fought their way back into the match and were trailing by just a single point going into the final ten minutes. State of Origin is all about those heroic, inspirational plays, and with history in the reckoning Mortimer produced a moment of magic etched in Blues folklore, charging down a potentially match-tying field goal from Maroons great Wally Lewis to preserve the lead and when Brett Kenny crossed for the match-winning try in the dying stages the entire state of New South Wales erupted in jubilation. The image of Mortimer being chaired from the ground remains one of the game’s most enduring.

Steve Mortimer finally breaks the Blues’ drought Source: The Herald Sun

New South Wales, 1990

By 1990, the Blues’ glory years of 1985 and 86 had been long-forgotten, with Queensland going on to win the next three consecutive series including back-to-back series whitewashes in 88 and 89. Once again, New South Wales’s passion for the Origin concept was called into question and the state’s pride was on the line.

Enter Benny Elias. One of the heroes of the Blues’ wins in the mid-80s, Elias was by now a senior member of the New South Wales squad and produced one of the most wholehearted performances seen at Origin level to guide his side to an 8-0 shutout at the Sydney Football Stadium in Game One.

Game Two was the first Origin match played in Melbourne, and the Victorians were treated to an absolute epic as both sides duelled it out in a gripping arm-wrestle. So often Queensland’s hero, a rare lapse in judgement from halfback Allan Langer gifted New South Wales the ascendancy, as Rod Wishart potted a penalty goal to give the Blues the lead. Moments later, Brad Mackay took an intercept all the way to seal another memorable win for the Blues just when they needed it most. State of Origin was alive and kicking once again.

Rod Wishart was one of the Blues’ heroes in the 1990 series Source: Triple M

Queensland, 1995

The State of Origin landscape had changed considerably by the time the 1995 series rolled around. New South Wales had entered into an era of dominance, coming into the series on the back of three straight series wins, and with the Super League war splitting the game, Queensland were given little hope of even being competitive in the 95 series with the majority of their likely squad being aligned with Super League clubs Brisbane, Canterbury and Canberra.

Queensland’s squad for Game One became forever known as ‘Fatty’s Nevilles’. The squad featured a total of nine debutants, including honest toilers Tony Hearn and Wayne Bartrim, fringe first graders Craig Teevan and Terry Cook, and an absolute unknown named Ben Ikin, who coach Paul Vautin famously didn’t even recognise when he turned up to the Maroons’ first training camp.

Going into Game One as the heaviest of underdogs, an unbelievable defensive effort propelled Queensland to a 2-0 victory with a single Bartrim penalty goal proving decisive. Game Two was expected to restore order for a Blues side featuring stars such as Brad Fittler, Steve Menzies, Paul Harragon and Tim Brasher, but the Maroons showed they could match it with the Blues in a more wide-open affair in Melbourne. New South Wales had what they thought was the match-winning try just minutes from full time however the final pass was ruled forward, and Brett Dallas flew away for the series-clinching try moments later to forever etch this Queensland side in Origin folklore.

Incredibly, even a dead rubber in Game Three wasn’t enough to stop the Maroons, winning 24-16 to complete the most remarkable Origin clean sweep ever seen.

‘Fatty’s Nevilles’ celebrate their unexpected 1995 triumph Source: The Brisbane Times

Queensland 2001

After a period of back-and-forth fortunes for both sides in the late 90s, 2000 appeared to herald a new era of dominance for New South Wales as they swept the series, culminating in an infamous 56-16 hiding in Game Three marked by elaborate post-try celebrations.

With their pride at stake coming into the 2001 series, Queensland named an incredible 10 debutants including the relatively obscure Cowboys pair of John Buttigieg and John Doyle. Both scored a try in Game One along with fellow rookies Carl Webb and Chris walker en route to a stunning 34-16 win in a game they were given little chance of winning. New South Wales struck back in Game Two, however, with a comprehensive 26-8 triumph that restored their momentum going into the decider at Brisbane’s ANZ Stadium. Unbeknownst to the Blues, the Queenslanders had an unexpected ace up their sleeve.

With skipper Gorden Tallis unavailable once again for Game Three, Maroons coach Wayne Bennett realised the Maroons needed an experienced hand to guide the side to an unlikely series victory, pulling off perhaps the most shocking selection in Origin history by naming Allan Langer at halfback despite the veteran halfback having moved to the English Super League after retiring from the NRL in 1999. The move proved a masterstroke, with Langer producing one of his finest Origin performances along with Man of the Match Daren Lockyer to pilot the Maroons to a memorable 40-14 triumph that breathed fire into the Origin concept once again.

Langer scores his unforgettable try in 2001 Source: The Courier Mail

Queensland, 2006

With New South Wales winning three straight series heading into 2006, there was a widespread expectation that an Origin dynasty was in the making. Those expectations eventually proved correct, however it was not the dynasty that most expected.

Game One was one of Origin’s wildest battles, with New South Wales relinquishing a 14-0 lead to be left deadlocked at 16-all with just minutes remaining. However, when fourth-choice halfback Brett Finch slotted the match-winning field goal, New South Wales again looked on their way to another series win, with Blues legend Ben Elias proclaiming their dominance to be so pronounced that the Origin concept was on its way out.

Elias’s words were made to look at the very least premature three weeks later, when the Maroons regrouped to secure a convincing 30-6 win on their home turf to send the series to a decider in Melbourne. A string of controversial refereeing decisions saw the Blues all but home, leading 14-4 with time winding down.

What followed was perhaps the most significant ten minutes in Origin history. First, Brent Tate crossed for a try with eight minutes remaining which gave Queensland a sniff of hope. The Blues, however, had defended well throughout the game and still had a four-point advantage as they worked the ball out of their own end moments later. A loose pass from dummy half by fullback Brett Hodgson then changed the course of Origin history, with Maroons champion Darren Lockyer coming from nowhere to swoop on the ball, brush off three would-be tacklers and send Queensland to the first of what currently stands at eight consecutive Origin titles going into the 2014 series.