Match Review thread

[Broncoman]

2006 Tri-Nations final, Australia V New Zealand, Aussie Stadium, Sydney, 25th November 2006

Australia and New Zealand played out a classic final to the 2006 Tri-Nations series that ended with Darren Lockyer capping of probably the best season of his career with a try in golden point winning Australia the Tri-Nations title after lead Queensland and Brisbane to backs to the wall victories in Origin and the NRL premiership.

Teams

Australia:

1: Karmichael Hunt
2: Brent Tate
3: Mark Gasnier
4: Justin Hodges
5: Greg Inglis
6: Darren Lockyer (Captain)
7: Jonathen Thurston
8: Brent Kite
9: Cameron Smith
1-: Petero Civoniceva
11: Nathan Hindmarsh
12: Andrew Ryan
13: Luke O'Donnel

14: Willie Mason
15: Mark O'Meley
16: Shaun Berrigan
17: Anthony Tupou

Coach: Ricky Stuart

New Zealand
1: Brent Webb
2: Shonatype Hape
3: Iosia Solilola
4: Steve Matai
5: Manu Vatuvei
6: Nigel Vagana
7: Stacey Jones
8: Ruben Wiki (Captain)
9: Dene Halatua
10: Roy Asotasi
11: David Kidwell
12: Simon Mannering
13: David Fa'alogo

14: Motu Tony
15: Nathan Cayless
16: Adam Blair
17: Frank Pritchard

Coach: Brian McClennan

Thoughts on the game/Match Summary:

Magnificent contest that displayed all the qualities an international game should have. High quality football played by 2 teams fired up and ready to go, exciting tries, great forward battle, desperate defense, hard fought and a thrilling finish.

New Zealand had to dig deep in the first half and they were up to it as they survived many raids on their own line as Australia were dominating field position thanks to Civoniceva's strong carries, Smith's services and the JT and Locky combo. Thanks to the strong Kiwi defense Australia only scored 1 first half try which came from Brent Tate after Australia ran the ball on the last which Hindmarsh and Ryan cleverly passed to the right and Gasnier sent Tate on an unmarked run. The little general Jones set up the Kiwis first try just before the break as he chip kicked for himself the ball was regathered and Pritchard scored with his first touch.

The Kiwis levelled just after the break as Soliola scored but the missed conversion kept the scores level till Thurston got Australia ahead again. The Kangaroos lost their way and were forced to dig deep like New Zealand in the first half but a penalty that Jones converted levelled the scores with 10 to go. Both sides missed plenty of chances to score as Jones and Thurston failed with field goals. In the last 3 minutes a Locky attempt was charged down and NZ went up field giving themselves a chance which they failed to take. A charge from Mason brought him inside NZ's half and he kicked towards the ingoal with Inglis leading the race, he seemed to lose it but JT fell on the ball and claimed a try only to have it disallowed as replays showed Inglis knocked on, sending the game to extra time.

Nobody scored in the first 5 minutes of extra time but in the 87th minute of play JT dummied and went through the Kiwis and Lockyer was backing up to score the winner ending a magnificent test match.

Players who impressed me

Petero Civoniceva - Petero really impressed me with some strong carries that always had the Kiwis on the back foot. He was very productive in moving the play out of our half. Might have topped the running meters for our forwards

Brent Tate - Played superbly on the wing finishing the first try and was a handful all night long always looking for work and digging in. Made some very good breaks and came up with some neat tackles. Totally dominated Manu who had one of his bad days.

Cameron Smith -What more can you say about one of the greatest players ever. Came up with a brilliant 40/20 that gave Australia a chance of snatching the game in the closing minutes of regular time. Made some great darts out of dummy half and worked hard in defense.

Jonathan Thurston - Thought he was the difference between the teams (you'll see soon)

Darren Lockyer - Wasn't his best game but he did come up with some very good options with his kicking game that were very beneficial towards Australia. Also backed up and scored the winner.

Ruben Wiki - Just imagine how scary playing this dude would be, terrorized the Aussie forwards with some fearsome tackles and charges

David Fa'Aologo - Caused Australia problems playing hard and strong through the middle all night

Iosia Soliola - Was the best outside back for the Kiwis, played hard and fast all night long and gave Inglis and Gasnier a hard workout

Broncoman Man of the Match: Jonathan Thurston

Thurston in only his 5th test match gets the nod from me. In a tight game kicking becomes one of the most vital parts of the game and Thurston's kicking was on point. He landed all kicks at goal while Stacey Jones only kicked 2/4 whilst Thurston landed all 4. He was always probing looking for ways through the Kiwis and he was always solid in defense, and he also set up the winning try as it came from him taking the line on and setting it up from nowhere. You could make a case for Lockyer and Bulla but i'll give MOM to JT.

Random observations

- Was a real blast from the past seeing Anthony Tupou playing in a test. I do have a faint memory of him playing for NSW and Australia but it's still a surprise for me. Pretty surprised that he managed to play 11 tests and 4 Origin games. All apart from the 2008 World Cup game against England were from the bench.

- So much nostaligia hearing Gould talking about the 1st Ashes test that was being played at that time. So much wonderful memories for me that summer watching probably the most dominant sports team assemble destroy the hapless Poms. That 2nd test of that series is one of the greatest wins i've seen in any sport.

- There was no SBW or Benji playing for the Kiwis, [MENTION=1899]Big Pete[/MENTION], [MENTION=8536]Super Freak[/MENTION], where they injured or something?

- The field was full of divets and didn't look up to standard

- Ricky achieving success as a coach back in the day

Australia 16: Tries by Brent Tate and Darren Lockyer, 4 goals by Jonathan Thurston
New Zealand 12: Tries by Frank Pritchard and Iosia Soliola, 2 goals by Stacey Jones

 

[Big Pete]

That maybe the only Test game I own DVD. Like you, I've got a lot of memories about this series and remember one of my note-books (Maths?) was just covered with team-lists, stats etc. which I was transcribing while my Maths teacher droned on about how to use a calculator.

Benji had a shoulder reconstruction and missed half the season, denying the Tigers any opportunity of defending their premiership.

SBW ruled himself out for whatever reason.

Lots of memories around that series. Mason mouthing off during the haka, Gasnier providing Australia with the big escape, granny-gate, Blackpool > Bondi, the Poms beating Australia, Australia's revenge with the try of the series (which I missed!!!) and of course the awesome finale which maybe one of the best finals of all-time.

Can you believe Sticky omitted Steve Price from the Test squad? Bonkers. There were a bunch of real head-scratching selections in that squad.

 

[Alec]

Stuart dropped Thurston for Hornby at one point. Jesus Christ.

 

[Big Pete]

I've been sitting on this for awhile, but I just remembered I finally got around to watching the Round 24 Warriors v Broncos 2003 clash.

Any game between these two back in the day were well worth watching. The Warriors would treat the game as their Origin clash and had no thoughts of self preservation. Brisbane were usually lambs to the slaughter, but rarely folded. The only blow-out scoreline was the Round 5 '03 clash at ANZ where Faumuina (ning's favourite Warrior) threw that hail marry and somehow found Tuimavave trailing through. They were on fire that afternoon and playing unreal football.

The Broncos were in horrific shape at this point. They had only won one of their past eight games (the golden point victory against Melbourne) and had been beaten by the likes of Wests, Cronulla and Manly who were awful around this time. Their only hope of a revival was through Darren Lockyer who was making his return after suffering an injury in that aforementioned golden point victory.

Unfortunately the Broncos were far too down the hole at this point. A lot of their younger players - Webb, Meyers and Carlaw had been found out and the halves were abysmal. Even at his best, Ikin was a really flighty player who could conjure a great player one second, then make a brain-dead mistake the next. Two knee reconstructions only excacerbated the problem and by the end of the season he had to pull the pin. Broncos fans weren't pleased with this because it came after Prince's decision to leave. Everyone knew Prince's potential and knew all it would take was a turn in fortune for him to make an impact at the highest level. They were right, unfortunately it was for another club. Meanwhile Berro traded in his #6 for a #7. If nothing else, Berro was a Rugby League player with a great sense of anticipation but he had very little creativity and his tenure at halfback seemed like nothing more than a glorified stop-gap measure.

During this match, both were at their very worse and the Broncos last tackle plays were putrid. If Lockyer wasn't pulling something out, Berro would simply take the ball to the line and attempt a half-hearted grubber. No signs of pressure or anything.

The game itself was typical Warriors. At this stage, the Warriors had no issue with throwing caution to the wind and would throw offloads like nobody's business. That was Anderson's style of play. Play up-tempo, throw offloads and see what happens. The Warriors made something like 14 errors, which is a lot and a better team would have punished them but they got off lightly and were able to put together some lovely team tries. My favourite was a try to Vinnie Anderson who ran a perfect line through TC (!!!), stepped Lockyer and scored adjacent to the posts. It allowed the Warriors to drew level at 10 apiece and on their next set, they were in the clear again with rookie and future scumbag Leo-Latu scoring underneath the uprights. From that point, it was basically all Warriors as the Broncos continued to fumble around.

It was a pretty good victory for the Warriors considering. No Jones, no Marsh and for the most part it was up to an 18 year old Thomas Leuluai to steer them across the park. Young Leuluai showed a ton of potential and would go onto lead the Warriors around against the Roosters in a massive upset.

Brisbane meanwhile would continue to slump, losing very winnable games home games against Parra and St George. In the end, they had to rely on Penrith beating Parra to secure a finals berth, where they blew an 18-0 lead and really looked like a team in need of a massive make-over.

As with a lot of teams in a rut, the Broncos had very little luck. Early into the contest, they lost Webcke for a fair portion in the match as he got measured with a huge shoulder charge by Villasanti. It's one of those tackles that was perfectly legal back then, but if it happened now, would definitely see Villasanti serve significant time on the sideline and the Warriors may have possibly been down to 12.

Then in the most famous part of the match, four players were sin-binned for this...



While the Broncos received the penalty, they really struggled to make the most of the 11 on 11 equation as they didn't have a dummy half. I think Locky just about screamed his voice box out trying to get the ball.

It was around this time Tate got levelled with a career compromising big hit. Unfortunately this was just one of those accidents that happens during football. Meli went in for a big hit, Tate slipped and got hit at an awkward angle. It was nobody's fault and poor Tate had to deal with a nerve injury that nearly forced him to retire. In fact, it should have. I never really thought much of Tate around this time, but his determination won me over.

So you had all that happening as well as a number of half opportunities that would somehow benefit the Warriors. TC makes a break, has one to beat, somehow the ball goes to ground and now the Warriors have the ball on the 40 and they're on the front foot. Berrigan does the same thing, Locky does the same thing. It was a tease and another period where it really wasn't fun being a Broncos supporter under Bennett.

That's why I hold 04 in high regard. By rights, the Broncos really should have been a nothing team battling it out with the likes of Parramatta and Cronulla for relevancy. Instead, they finished 3rd, unearthed a superstar talent and put themselves on track to win a premiership. They should have won it in 05, that was their year but it wasn't to be. Fortunately there was enough resolve to take it in 06, even though it seemed for sure that they'd perish before the big dance.

 

[Big Pete]

NRL Round 8 2007
Brisbane Broncos vs South Sydney Rabbitohs

My curiosity got the best of me. I was thinking about some of the most memorable games I attended, which inevitably focused on some of the lowlights.

This could be the worst game I ever attended.

Both teams went into the game with the exact same gameplan. Grind out your sets, get to your kick and wait your opposition out. It's a very simple gameplan and any team in the competition can pull it off, especially the Broncos who turned it into an art-form under Bennett.

But not on this occasion.

Nope, both teams stunk it up playing the most boring brand of football and spoiling chance after chance after chance whenever they earned an opportunity at the line. It was so bad that it took until the 68th minute for the Broncos to get on the board and even then, it came on the back of a Rabbitohs mistake.

At 8-0, the Broncos could at least take solace in their clean sheet, but they weren't through shitting the bed. After bombing two tries, South Sydney nearly steal it with only a few minutes remaining. In the end, the Broncos had to rely on Johnny Sutton dislocating his shoulder as he was attempting to ground the ball to avoid defeat.

It was the most undeserved victory I've ever witnessed.

 

[Super Freak]

Hunt came close to costing us that game.

I remember the crowd booing when Broncos opted for the 2. It wasn't like the Broncos and it looked like even Locky wasn't happy with it. But they were so terrible, they had no choice.

It was one of those games where you weren't happy walking away from the stadium.. Because the only reason they won is because the opposition was just as fucking bad.

 

[Big Pete]

Hunt came close to costing us that game.

He was horrible in the final ten minutes.

Not only did his lackadaisical play in the in-goal nearly cost Brisbane the game, he also bombed a certain try in the final ten minutes. Had he scored, Brisbane go to 14-0 and would have had an opportunity to turn a forgettable evening into a positive.

In the end, the game typified the sort of season the Broncos were having. The players eventually fixed their attitude but by then it was all too late.

 

[Big Pete]

NRL Round 9, 2009
Brisbane Broncos vs Manly Sea Eagles

I've been going through this season as of late and I'm fascinated by the Broncos. They had the talent to go all the way that year, yet the inexperience of the players the coaching staff took their toll.

I've always felt sorry for Ivan Henjak. He was thrown into a role with far too many assistants and was expected to build on everything Bennett had built. It was never going to work out and everyone was made worse by the arrangement.

As for the game itself, it was a game Manly had to win, and while they did it the hard way, they accomplished their mission. Trailing by 16 points mid-way through the first half, Manly turned to experience back Jamie Lyon to get out of trouble. The controversial centre led the way for his team, producing a masterclass to steer his team to victory.

On the other side of the coin, the game exposed the mental fragility of the Broncos. Going in at HT, they led 16-6 and were well on top of Manly. However, all it took was a controversial try to centre Jamie Lyon to ruin their composure. Suddenly it was the Broncos who were struggling to make ground and build pressure. Manly recognised this and had the Broncos measure from that point on.

It was a game Manly should never had won. They weren't there mentally and constantly invited the Broncos back into the contest. However, the Broncos struggled to find their rhythm committing mistake after mistake leaving it to individuals to come up with a big play.

The biggest problem with the 2009 Broncos was their inability to engage in the physical contest. There were periods through out the season where they didn't want to get their hands dirty and just wanted to come up with the big play. That approach worked against a lot of sides, but against the top guns, the Broncos were usually left red-faced. Things only went from bad to worse when they were without their stars. Whenever Bennett was without his key players, the young guns typically stood up to fill the role. However, under Henjak the players were simply out of their depth and the senior players did little to alleviate the issue. It was a problem that stayed with Henjak until his final few games where the Eels, the Knights, the Warriors and the Raiders all coasted to easy victories.

Now with all that said, the main reason I checked out this game wasn't to critique the players but the referee. I remember this being one of the more frustrating games I ever attended where the referees influenced the result. While I can see where I was coming from, I definitely let the emotion of the afternoon affect my judgement. Yes, the Jamie Lyon torso try was a joke but under the rules it was a try. I'm willing to eat crow on that and enjoy the two controversial tries Queensland scored in Origin. Even the tap ahead was fine, it was just annoying it happened in concert only weeks after Hayne committed a similar act against the Cowboys. I thought some of the penalties were a bit iffy and it didn't help that Manly scored off two of them, but those calls are made in every single game. The only difference is, teams like Manly and Melbourne rarely concede more penalties since the referee rarely has the gall to blow the count out. So whenever Manly would give away a penalty, they would actually work over the ball-carrier more to test the referee. 9/10, they get the benefit and the ball-carrying team is left frustrated.

Overall, I think this game puts the Broncos strengths and flaws on display. If you get the opportunity to watch the game, I'd suggest you'd do so since it really sums the team up nicely. It just sucks that the Broncos happened to play Manly into form (something the Broncos had a habit of doing - 2008, 2011 being two good examples).

 

[Big Pete]

NRL Round 4 2000
Cronulla Sharks vs Brisbane Broncos

Cronulla
David Peachey, Matt Rogers, Andrew Ettingshausen, Colin Best, Brett Howland
Adam Dykes, Blaine Stanley
Adam Pierce, Dean Triester, Martin Lang, Nathan Long, Chris McKenna, Nick Graham
Interchange: Tim Maddinson, Sam Isemonger, Paul Mellor, Shannon Donato, Paul McNicholas

Brisbane
Darren Lockyer, Lote Tuqiri, Ben Ikin, Michael De Vere, Wendell Sailor
Kevin Walters, Ben Walker
Shane Webcke, Luke Priddis, Petero Civoniceiva, Gorden Tallis, Brad Thorn, Kevin Campion
Interchange: Michael Hancock, Dane Carlaw, Shane Walker, Tonie Carroll, Harvey Howard, Shaun Berrigan

Brisbane came from no where to steal a 18-14 win at Toyota Park.

Nothing seemed to go right for the visitors and once Brett Howland latched onto a loose pass from Walker and raced 90m it appeared as if the Sharks were home and hosed.

However, with their galaxy of stars the Broncos weren't prepared to go down without a fight and once Brad Thorn broke into the clear in the 72nd minute, it appeared as if the fightback had started. However, in one of the biggest footy bloopers of all time, Brad Thorn delayed the put-down and spilled the football in an effort to put it down before the dead-ball line.

Ordinarily that would be the last roll of the dice for most sides, but the Broncos would not be denied. Off the back of a lazy penalty, North Sydney recruit Ben Ikin showed his skills beating David Peachey to a shallow grubber kick from Ben Walker and planting the loose ball down in one motion. That try made it 14-12 Sharks with only four minutes left.

Young Sharks five-eighth Adam Dykes was tasked with the last tackle kick, but his team-mates would have been unhappy with his effort as Dykes' wayward kick went out on the full, giving the Broncos one last crack at the Sharks line.

The Broncos didn't look like scoring until the aforementioned Brad Thorn got his hands on the football. He would have been the last player Wayne Bennett would have wanted to kick on the last, but Thorn stepped up to the plate and while it wasn't the flashest kick a wonderful chase by Wendell Sailor proved effective. Sailor jumped above the pack, batting the ball back to Lockyer who flung the ball to Ben Ikin who summed up the situation and gave it to his support in Sailor to score a remarkable try.

BRISBANE BRONCOS 18 (Carroll, Ikin, Sailor tries; B. Walker 3/3 goals) defeated CRONULLA SHARKS 14 (Howland 2, Stanley tries; Rogers 1/3 goals)

It was a real get out of jail performance for the Broncos. Despite the obvious difference in talent, the Sharks held their own and frustrated the Broncos with their relentless style of football. They just kept hanging in and hanging in and eventually it got the better of the Broncos star players who were forcing passes to try and break free. Invariably those passes wouldn't stick and the Broncos would have to play catch-up and hope that a Locky or a Wendell could bail them out.

At times, watching these old 2000's games feels like I'm watching a different sport. Just a different approach and mind-set to the game with players standing deeper, a lot less dummy half running and of course back then you had the unlimited interchange where coaches were making up to 50 changes in a single game.

Like most Cronulla games, this wasn't pretty to watch but some of the highlights from Lockyer were sensational. That pass at the death maybe one of the best in Broncos history - 3 players swarming on him and he somehow finds a way to deliver the perfect pass. Just unreal stuff.

 

[Broncoman]

How do watch these old games Pete?

 

[Big Pete]

Fox IQ

 

[Broncoman]

State of Origin Game 1 1985

Inspired by the inspirational Steve Mortimer and the sensational debut of Michael O'Connor NSW stun the Lang Park crowd beating the Maroons 18-2 to go 1 up in the 1985 series

Teams

Gene Miles and Kerry Boustead were absent for the entire series so teenager Dale Shearer was called up to debut. The Maroons had a new coach with Des Morris replacing Arthur Beetson who stood down to focus on club coaching.

NSW retained 8 players from the team who won Game 3 of 1984 22-12 and recalled Eric Grothe, Wayne Pearce and Steve Ella. Ex QLD union international Michael O'Connor debuted alongside John Ferguson and Benny Elias. The Blues also had a new coach in Terry Fearnley who was determined to break QLD's stranglehold on Origin after stints at club, state and international level.

Queensland

1: Colin Scott
2: John Ribot
3: Mal Meninga
4: Chris Close
5: Dale Shearer
6: Wally Lewis (Captain)
7: Mark Murray
8: Bob Linder'
9: Paul McCabe
10: Paul Vautin
11: Dave Brown
12: Greg Conescu
13: Greg Dowling

14: Brett French
15: Ian French

Coach: Des Morris

New South Wales

1: Garry Jack
2: Eric Grothe
3: Michel O'Connor
4: Chris Mortimer
5: John Ferguson
6: Brett Kenny
7: Steve Mortimer (Captain)
8: Wayne Pearce
9: Peter Wynn
10: Noel Cleal
11: Steve Roach
12: Ben Elias
13: Pat Jarvis

14: Steve Ella
15: Peter Tunks

Coach: Terry Fearnley

Game summary

Rainy weather combined with a muddy slippery surface made for a tough forward battle and that's how the game panned out. QLD played for territory in the first half with kicking from Lewis prominent. It was effective to an extent as the Maroons created chances but the Blues defense held firm. The first half was a forward and half battle for territory but neither side could score a try but 2 goals by Michael O'Connor and a goal by Meninga meant the game wasn't scoreless and the Blues went to halftime ahead 4-2.

10 minutes after halftime NSW scored the first try after Pearce offloaded the ball to Kenny who found C.Mortimer on the right who handed the ball onto O'Connor who stepped left and took Lewis and Vautin over to score, he kicked the goal and the Blues were 10 ahead. The try opened the play and the Maroons used their backline of Close, Meninga and Ribot who made strong runs to get Queensland moving but they couldn't finish off any of their chances. QLD's mistakes backfired as a knock on by McCabe 20 out from his own line with 8 minutes to play gifted the ball to Kenny who broke away and found O'Connor who scored an easy try to seal the game. O'Connor missed the conversion but added another goal in the last minute as NSW played it safe and finished 18-2 winners.

Thoughts on the play

Very hard physical contest. Play was very tight in the first half as the teams struggled to adapt to the conditions and hard defence combined with a slippery ball made mistakes plentiful. Play was opened up a bit after halftime as the Maroons made some breaks from inside their half and did create chances but were unable to capitalise on their chances whilst NSW did have the better of play and made the most out of what thy got. Not a classic game by any means but still a bit to talk about after.

Broncoman man of the match

Michael O'Connor

Official honours went to Peter Wynn but O'Connor gets the nod from me. For a NSW player on debut at Lang Park to score 18 points and land goals from over the park and score 2 tries is still unbelievable and would be the talk of the league world today. Didn't think there were to many standouts but the entire NSW forward pack put in a big effort defensively and Wayne Pearce was very massive on both sides of the ball but because of O'Connor's great performance for a first timer in the biggest Rugby League arena he is a worthy winner.

Notes

- NSW might have won 18-2 but I don't think there was really that much in it. As I said above QLD created chances but failed to take them whilst the Blues made the most out of it. I imagine possession would've been close but I thought NSW had the better of territory for a good share of the game

- Was interesting hearing the commentary team say Steve Mortimer was a controversial figure to QLD fans. If it was because of his captaincy that is hilarious.

- Michael O'Connor had one of the most sensational Origin debuts of all time. Kicking 5/6 goals and scoring 2 tries giving him all of NSW's points. Some of his goals were very impressive as well when you think about the heavy ball and rainy conditions,

- John Ferguson also had a very good debut looking dangerous every time he came into play. The QLD fans were even getting excited when he got the ball.

- Was interesting seeing Wally Lewis kick so regularly, because QLD were beaten up front Wally didn't get much chance to really attack but he did the best he could to get the Maroons back in it.

- Only 1 interchange was used the whole game, Peter Tunks from NSW. The other NSW bench player Steve Ella and the QLD bench players Brett and Ian French didn't see game time.

New South Wales 18: 2 tries and 5 goals by Michael O'Connor
Queensland 2: Goal by Mal Meninga

Lang Park Brisbane, 28 May 1985
Referee: Kevin Roberts
Crowd: 33,011

 

[Broncoman]

State of Origin Game 2 1985

NSW breakthrough for their first series win in Origin football with a 21-14 victory in front of a jam packed SCG sparking jubilation and euphoria from the NSW players and crowd

Teams

Selector from both sides kept the faith and named almost identical teams from the Lang Park encounter. For the first time in Origin a NSW team was unchanged from the previous game. QLD made only 1 forced change with McCabe getting the axe and Wally Fullerton-Smith was recalled, Brett French withdrew with injury and Tony Currie was called up.

New South Wales

1: Garry Jack
2: Eric Grothe
3: Michel O'Connor
4: Chris Mortimer
5: John Ferguson
6: Brett Kenny
7: Steve Mortimer (Captain)
8: Wayne Pearce
9: Peter Wynn
10: Noel Cleal
11: Steve Roach
12: Ben Elias
13: Pat Jarvis

14: Steve Ella
15: Peter Tunks

Coach: Terry Fearnley

Queensland

1: Colin Scott
2: John Ribot
3: Mal Meninga
4: Chris Close
5: Dale Shearer
6: Wally Lewis (Captain)
7: Mark Murray
8: Bob Linder'
9: Wally Fullerton-Smith
10: Paul Vautin
11: Dave Brown
12: Greg Conescu
13: Greg Dowling

14: Tony Currie
15: Ian French

Coach: Des Morris

Game summary

After QLD missed an early chance to score first as Meninga fumbled over the line when tackled by Cleal and Jack NSW made the Maroons pay and the first try came in exhilarating style. A break from Ferguson down the touchline got NSW on the attack and after spreading the ball from one side to the other twin Steve Mortimer bombs were caught firstly by Kenny and the second by his brother Chris who scored the first try. A bust from Mortimer continued the NSW surge and Elias scooted from dummy half, dummied and went over untouched behind the posts. O'Connor converted both tries and NSW lead 12-0. QLD fought their way back into the contest and got on the board courtesy of a bullocking Chris Close who made a bust and combined with Murray who sent Linder over to get the Maroons back in the game. QLD continued to play strongly but missed chances to score but a simple kick by Meninga got the margin back to 4 points at halftime.

After being sin-binned Dowling came back on and sent Ian French over to score and after Meninga landed the goal the Maroons had came back from a 12-0 depict to lead 14-12. NSW started to come back and after Ferguson had put on some foot work dazzling the Maroons NSW were camped inside the QLD 20. NSW got a penalty but O'Connor sliced the kick. Mortimer soon after attempted a chip kick into the in goal and as taken out by Close when attempting to chase it gifting the Blues 2 points which O'Connor landed. The Blues were robbed of a try as Grothe went storming down the sideline and when taken by Vautin flung the ball back in for Jarvis who went over untouched but the play was ruled back as the sideline official ruled that Grothe had gone into touch but the replay showed he passed before going out, The Maroons couldn't get out of their half and O'Connor broke the deadlock with a field goal to put the Blues in front with 10 to go. Lewis attempted a field goal from 10 out in front a couple of minutes later but Elias smothered his attempt and Mortimer won the race to the ball. Momentum was back with the Blues as they advanced up field, the Maroons tried everything to keep the series alive but it was to no avail. In the last minutes Mortimer passed to Kenny who slipped through the Maroons defence and planted the ball over the line sealing a historic NSW victory ending QLD's grasp on the shield and sparking scenes of jubilation as Mortimer cried tears of joy, pounded his fists into the ground and was chaired of the ground in one of Origin's greatest moments. O'Connor converted for a final score of 21-14.

Thoughts on the play

Far better game than the first game. In fine conditions both sides played some thrilling attacking footy and scored some great tries so the fans certainly got their money's worth. Topsy turvey game, NSW shot out of the blocks, QLD fought back from behind, the Blues battled for the lead back and got it, QLD missed their chance to take it and the Blues sealed it at the end. Queensland deserve credit for coming back but after the game was levelled NSW always looked the better team in the last quarter of the game and could've had a couple more tries on the board but they were hard done by with the Jarvis no try. Very entertaining game.

Broncoman man of the match

Steve Mortimer

The guy who brought unspeakable passion to the NSW team was superb in what turned out to be his final representative match. Mortimer was involved in everything, In attack he laid on the first try, in the second try he made the bust that got Elias in position and passed the ball to Kenny who scored at the end and was probing all night. He also made some great tackles and his leadership was sensational as even when he was down he was barking orders and egging his team on. Might seem sentimental but Mortimer was a deserving winner for mine.

The official honour went to Wally Lewis which I don't understand. Wally showed some great vision and his kicking game was on show but I thought guys like Close and Dowling had a bit more to do with the comeback than Wally. Wally did give everything and lead his team around superbly but it just seems weird for him to it.

Notes

- NSW won under the grasshopper for the first time. My sister was drawing ANIME characters next to me before the game and when Gommersal turned up on screen she laughed and said he looked like the Beatles

- Steve Mortimer played his 9th and final game for NSW in Origin. Mortimer to me is iconic with the early days of Origin from a NSW perspective, he was an inspirational leader and I can see why he is regarded as one of the best playmakers of his time. Great runner of the ball of the mark, great defender around the ankles and a superb leader. Was a great player as well across his 9 game Origin career.

- Loved the song they played over the TV coverage when they replayed the NSW tries "Watch out Queensland"

- People say that the old Grasshopper was bias to the Maroons but I thought he refereed this game quite fairly. The only real howler that went against the Blues was the Jarvis no try but that was the touchies fault not Barry. The Blues also won under him for the first time in this game.

New South Wales 21: Tries by Peter Mortimer, Benny Elias and Brett Kenny, 4 goals and a field goal by Michael O'Connor
Queensland 14: Tries by Bob Linder and Ian French, 3 goals by Mal Meninga

SCG, Sydney, 11th June
Referee: Barry Gommersall
Crowd: 39,068

 

[Big Pete]

STATE OF ORIGIN
GAME III, 1984
Lang Park
​

NEW SOUTH WALES 22 (Johnston 2, Cleal tries; Conlon 5/7 goals) defeated QUEENSLAND 12 (Lindner, Boustead tries; Meninga 2/4 goals)

QUEENSLAND
Colin Scott, John Ribot, Mal Meninga, Brett French, Kerry Boustead
Wally Lewis, Ross Henrick
Greg Dowling, Greg Conescu, Dave Brown, Chris Phelan, Wally Fullerton-Smith, Bob Lindner
Reserves: Bob Kellaway, Tony Currie

NEW SOUTH WALES
Garry Jack, Steve Morris*, Chris Mortimer*, Brian Johnston*, Ross Conlon
Brett Kenny, Steve Mortimer
Steve Roach, Royce Simmons, Pat Jarvis, Noel Cleal, Chris Walsh*, Peter Wynn*
Reserves: Mick Potter*, Peter Tunks

After a spiteful encounter on a boggy SCG pitch, New South Wales made their way to Lang Park searching for redemption. They knew they let Game II slip away from them. They had been the better team for the majority of the first half, but mistakes and missed opportunities enabled Queensland to pull off a famous win to capture a remarkable third successive series win.

Nearly a month had passed since Game II, and while the build-up failed to match that of Games I and II, both teams looked forward to another grueling contest on a wet Lang Park surface.

FIRST HALF
After a series of Maroons infringements, sharpshooter Ross Conlon bagged two penalty goals, gifting New South Wales an early 4-0 lead. It didn’t take long for the Maroons to respond, Lewis floated a pass to Big Mal who put Boustead into space before Kerry found rangy forward Bobby Lindner trailing on the inside. Meninga knocked over the conversion, making it 6-4 Queensland.

Then in the shadows of half-time New South Wales cracked the Maroons. A good defensive set provided Mortimer and Kenny the impetus to launch an impressive counter attack down the Blues right hand edge. Turvey took advantage of a gap right behind the Maroons ruck and once again combined with Kenny to send Johnston over to restore the Blues lead. At half-time it was New South Wales 8; Queensland 6.

SECOND HALF
After knocking over their third penalty goal of the night, New South Wales continued their assault of the Maroons line. Colin Scott dropped a difficult catch underneath the uprights after a towering bomb from Noel Cleal. Cleal beat everyone to the ball, diving on it to extend the Blues lead 16-6. The Maroons tried valiantly to get themselves back into the contest, but a determined NSW defensive line forced them into error over and over again. It took it’s toll mid-way through the second half when Brian Johnston bagged a second following an uncharacteristic mistake from Wally Lewis. The Maroons eventually hit back through Kerry Boustead inside the final ten minutes but New South Wales were always in control. As the final siren sounded, New South Wales emerged victorious, taking a relieving 22-12 victory inside enemy territory.

 

[Big Pete]

If you're a New South Wales fan, Game III 84 should be one of the most memorable victories in NSWRL Origin history. Despite injuries to both teams, poor weather and sub-par crowd (16K at Lang Park, a record low for the stadium), NSW found themselves that night. Since the inception of Origin, NSW had found ways to beat themselves and were learning the hard way that they couldn't do that - not against the might of the Queensland outfit. They had to get serious about their footy, play what was infront of them and take the sting out of the Maroons. They found it on that miserable July night at Suncorp and it served as the basis of their 85 and 86 successive victories.

The result was important for NSW. Had they lost, they would have continued searching for answers in the wrong places. They had the cattle to beat Queensland, they just needed direction and a common cause.

In 85, we'll see the likes of Jack, Kenny, Mortimer, Blocker, Jarvis, Cleal come into their own. With Elias and O'Connor joining the fray, the Blues were about to return serve and in a big way.

 

[Broncoman]

I was going to say that earlier. That win is one of the most crucial in NSW origin history and really served as a launching pad for the 85 and 86 series wins. I haven't seen this game yet but it's one I need to look at.

How good was Michael Potter in this game Pete? I've heard from some people that he is one of the best players only to play 1 origin.

 

[Big Pete]

Hmmm...

When they say that, are they referring to his NSWRL career?

Not saying he was bad or anything, but his stint for NSW was nothing more than a cameo. The Blues were up 16-6, possibly even 22-6 when he came on and replaced Steve Mortimer at five-eighth.

I thought most of the Blues played well. Conlon may have been the weakest link, but he still scored 10 of 22 points for the Blues. His goal-kicking was top notch and it had to be otherwise he would have been useless.

 

[Broncoman]

Hmmm...

When they say that, are they referring to his NSWRL career?

Not saying he was bad or anything, but his stint for NSW was nothing more than a cameo. The Blues were up 16-6, possibly even 22-6 when he came on and replaced Steve Mortimer at five-eighth.

I thought most of the Blues played well. Conlon may have been the weakest link, but he still scored 10 of 22 points for the Blues. His goal-kicking was top notch and it had to be otherwise he would have been useless.

I guess they are referring to his career in general. I've just come across some comments on forums and people in general seeming surprised that he only played the 1 game.

I don't know enough about Michael Potter apart that he was player of the year twice, fullback of the year 3 times and captain of the year once. Seems like he was good but there were just better players around at the time. Would've had to replace Garry Jack, Ettinghausen, Alexander and Brasher.