It was before my time but 1981 would be my pick. You had the Parramatta contingent wreaking havoc in the first half and taking NSW to a 15-0 lead. Only for Queensland to comeback on the back of a huge break which saw Choppy back-hand Grothe Sr. Queensland ended up making an epic comeback to win 22-15 and if you didn't know the name Lewis, you knew it now. I feel like Origin was made on the names like Lewis, Meninga, Choppy, Grothe, Sterlo, Cronin etc. and they were all on show.
As a fan coming through my go-to pick is Game III 2002. Not only was it the decider, but it was a game that had been years in the making. You had the rematch of Johns vs. Langer - Langer got the better of him in their last series in 1998 but Johns was an immortal in waiting so you had that classic master vs. the pupil dynamic. You also have the previous series where Queensland underwent an incredible overhaul and managed to pull off one of their finest series victories. However, NSW had only grown stronger in defeat and they were bringing back their greatest ever coach and their best player to seek revenge. So the build-up was fantastic.
Then you had the game itself with the lead constantly changing hands, some vintage plays like the ragdoll tackle from Tallis, Lockyer sliding on the ground to take a screamer of a grubber kick, Barrett charging at the line and bursting through and just so many quality talents on the show. Then of course there's the controversy where Lockyer was denied what would have been a classic try. Then NSW score one right at the death with Barrett once again playing a key role. Only for Carlaw taking a floated pass from Alfie to stick out the big fend on Moodie and charge through the line to score. There was also the drama with Tallis and the grubby NSW fan who had a sign about his mum in the stands.
There was just so much to dig into but at the end of the day it's what Origin should be. Big plays, big tackles, games going down to the wire and unlikely heroes etching their name into folklore. I didn't care if he played like 'Jane' Carlaw for the rest of his career, Dane was a made man after that.
