While The Gurgler hasn’t been afraid to point out Victoria’s general apathy for The Greatest Game of All, we have to give credit where it’s due: Victorians love their big events, be it the Boxing Day Tests, the Stars v Renegades BBL derby, the AFL Grand Final, big Soccer/Football Internationals, and State of Origin.
There was a lot of hype over Melbourne opening this year’s Origin at the MCG, with expensive tickets being snapped up a few months prior. Sadly, the pesky COVID-19 took it away, forcing a reshuffle to Townsville: another blow for Victorians starved of live sports (with the final of the women’s T20 World Cup in March last year the last massive event for now). While Perth is likely to host the “neutral” Origin next year, surely Melbourne will get another chance in 2023?
GAME TWO, 1990: OLYMPIC PARK
New South Wales 12 (Ricky Stuart, Brad Mackay tries; Rod Wishart 2 goals)
Queensland 6 (Les Kiss try; Mal Meninga goal)
It all started at Olympic Park in 1990, with a sold out crowd of 25,800 watching NSW secure the series 2-0. In a tight contest, NSW led 8-6 before a late try to Mackay sealed the series for NSW.
GAME TWO, 1994: MCG
New South Wales 14 (Glenn Lazarus, Paul McGregor tries; Tim Brasher 3 goals)
Queensland 0
Four years later, Origin returned to Melbourne, with NSW desperate to atone after Mark Coyne’s “miracle try” stole a win for Queensland at the SFS. While over 87,000 attended the MCG, the game didn’t live up to the hype, with the Blues winning easily in a clinical performance.
GAME TWO, 1995: MCG
Queensland 20 (Brett Dallas, Mark Coyne, Adrian Lam tries; Wayne Bartrim 4 goals)
New South Wales 12 (Brett Rodwell, Jim Serdaris tries; Rod Wishart 2 goals)
A year later, Origin returned to the ‘G. While the game was in turmoil (with Super League-aligned players banned from playing Origin), the 1995 series was famous for “Fatty’s Nevilles”, as the no-name Queenslanders somehow beat a star-studded NSW side 3-0. While the crowd was lower (just over 50,000), this game was a higher quality, highlighted by a good old-fashioned brawl. In the actual footy, Queensland led 14-12 with a minute left when Tim Brasher’s try was called back for a forward pass. Then Brett Dallas scored a 90-metre try to seal the game and series for the Maroons.
GAME TWO, 1997: MCG
New South Wales 15 (Jim Dymock, Ken McGuinness, Nik Kosef tries; John Simon goal; John Simon field goal)
Queensland 14 (Brett Dallas, Robbie O’Davis, Matt Sing tries; Julian O’Neill goal)
The MCG hosted their third straight Origin in four years, and it was another thriller. This time it was the ARL-only Origin series, and NSW were too strong, winning 3-0 (not even Fatty – in his third series – could pull off another miracle). The poor crowd of 25,000 indicated the trouble the Greatest Game of All was in, with two competitions and a lot of bad blood. Despite this, NSW raced to a 14-0 lead, survived a Queensland comeback, and sealed the series with a Simon field goal.
GAME THREE, 2006: DOCKLANDS STADIUM
Queensland 16 (Adam Mogg, Brent Tate, Darren Lockyer tries; Clinton Schifcofske 2 goals)
New South Wales 14 (Eric Grothe, Jr. 2, Matt King tries; Brett Hodgson goal)
This was the match the started Queensland’s invincible streak, with over 54,000 Victorians watching Darren Lockyer steal the series for Queensland with a late try off a bad Brett Hodgson pass. What was even sweeter for Queenslanders was hearing NSW Origin coaching legend Phil Gould yell “NO” when Lockyer scored: was it genuine shock? Some pantomime to help Nein’s ratings? Or sour grapes? While we can only guess, Gus’ cries of “No, no, no, no, no!” have become a part of Origin history.
GAME ONE, 2009: DOCKLANDS STADIUM
Queensland 28 (Greg Inglis 2, Billy Slater, Johnathan Thurston, Darius Boyd tries; Johnathan Thurston 4 goals)
New South Wales 18 (Ben Creagh, Craig Wing, Jarryd Hayne tries; Kurt Gidley 3 goals)
For the first time in Origin history, Melbourne opened the series, with a crowd of over 50,000. Queensland’s dynasty was starting to hum, and they opened the 2009 series with a relatively comfortable win. The Melbourne Storm’s Greg Inglis scored a double as Queensland raced to a 24-6 early in the second half. While NSW pegged it back to 24-18, a late try to Boyd sealed the win.
GAME ONE 2012: DOCKLANDS STADIUM
Queensland 18 (Darius Boyd 2, Greg Inglis tries; Johnathan Thurston 3 goals)
New South Wales 10 (Akulia Uate, Michael Jennings tries; Todd Carney goal)
Three years later, Docklands again opened the Origin series, and it was one of the closest since Queensland’s domination had begun, with a field goal to the Storm’s Cooper Cronk sealing the Lang Park decider for Queensland. Before that, the Maroons raced to 12-4 lead infront of over 56,000 at Docklands, with Michael Jennings closing the gap to 12-10 early in the second half. It took until the 73rd minute for Queensland to seal the win through Inglis.
GAME TWO, 2015: MCG
New South Wales 26 (Michael Jennings, Josh Morris, Aaron Woods, Josh Dugan tries; Trent Hodkinson 5 goals)
Queensland 18 (Matt Scott, Greg Inglis, Matt Gillett tries; Johnathan Thurston 3 goals)
Origin footy returned to the MCG after 18 years, with NSW scoring a rare win during Queensland’s decade of dominance. While the Melbourne Storm had established themselves as the most consistent team in the NRL (surviving a salary cap crisis that would destroy most other teams) and providing the nucleus Queensland’s Origin sides, the majority of Victorians didn’t seem to care too much. Though they made up for it here, with over 91,000 (the largest crowd in Origin history so far) attending to watch the Blues level the series. It didn’t last long though, with Queensland returning to Lang Park for game three and putting 50 on the poor old Blues.
GAME ONE, 2018: MCG
New South Wales 22 (James Tedesco, Latrell Mitchell, Tom Trbojevic, Josh Addo-Carr tries; James Maloney 3 goals)
Queensland 12 (Valentine Holmes, Dane Gagai tries; Valentine Holmes 2 goals)
After winning 10 of the last 11 series, Queensland’s dominance was finally broken, with NSW winning the 2018 series 2-1, and outscoring the Maroons four tries to two at the MCG, with one of the tries to “local hero” Josh Addo-Carr.
