Origin Memories

[CaptainHook]

Another great moment of mine, the field goal by Cooper Cronk in Game 3, 2012.

Awesome moment. What a kick! Cooper Cronk has been outstanding for Queensland. It was no easy feat being Lockyer's successor in the halves but he has handled it well. I thought he really stamped himself as an Origin player in the second game that year. After returning from the sin bin he was magnificent in a beaten side.

 

[CaptainHook]

Ps loved the Boyd clip, Super Freak. Watching Inglis steamroll Gasnier never gets old...

How many wingers have got doubles on debut? Boyd, Mogg, Inglis. Maybe Slater?

 

[CaptainHook]

Was thinking about Origin driving to work today. How good was Matt Rogers? Had some real speed. I remember he scored a good try from a scrum after Ikin (maybe Lam) kicked ahead on the first tackle. I wish he had stayed with League. He would've racked up a heap of appearances for Queensland.

 

[Super Freak]

Ps loved the Boyd clip, Super Freak. Watching Inglis steamroll Gasnier never gets old...

How many wingers have got doubles on debut? Boyd, Mogg, Inglis. Maybe Slater?

Only 7.

Eric Grothe Snr - 1981
Ziggy Niszczot - Game 1, 1982
Michael Hancock - Game 1, 1989
Greg Inglis - Game 1, 2006
Adam Mogg - Game 2, 2006
Anthony Quinn - Game 1, 2008
Darius Boyd - Game 2, 2008

Other players like Michael O'Connor, Anthony Minichiello, Chris Walker, Mark Gasnier, Matthew Gidley also scored doubles on debut.

 

[CaptainHook]

Game 1 of 1998 deserves a mention in this thread. It was an epic in every sense of the word. A real see-sawing game, where the lead kept changing. QLD drew first blood then the Blues got a handy lead. The Maroons fought back in the second half then NSW seemingly had the game in the bag until big TC scored with a few seconds to go. A Lockyer conversion meant the Maroons snatched the victory from certain defeat.

A few interesting things to note from the game:

NSW scored 5 tries to 4 but were beaten. Goal kicking was a factor with Johns having an unhappy night with the boot and Lockyer landing all four of his goal kicks.

Walters and Langer were outstanding for Queensland. They both scored tries that night. Three of our four tries were from Langer grubber kicks. Bennett wrote in his book how the Broncos players didn't seem to produce their best for their state. As the Qld coach, he was determined to change that this series. They both scored tries in the decider that year as well.

Steve Price got a try in that game. What a warrior he turned out to be for Qld.

Who could forget Martin Lang's chase on Rod Wishart? It was actually Matt Sing that ended up making the tackle but that was an amazing play. I wish it got more recognition as it typified the 'never say die' attitude of the Queenslanders. For mine it was up there with Tallis throwing Hodgson over the sideline.

How could a side with Fittler, Johns and Daley lose?

Great game and a great series. Definitely one to remember.

 

[pennywisealfie]

Game 3, 2001. Nothing will ever beat that.

 

[Broncoman]

Game 1 of 1998 deserves a mention in this thread. It was an epic in every sense of the word. A real see-sawing game, where the lead kept changing. QLD drew first blood then the Blues got a handy lead. The Maroons fought back in the second half then NSW seemingly had the game in the bag until big TC scored with a few seconds to go. A Lockyer conversion meant the Maroons snatched the victory from certain defeat.

A few interesting things to note from the game:

NSW scored 5 tries to 4 but were beaten. Goal kicking was a factor with Johns having an unhappy night with the boot and Lockyer landing all four of his goal kicks.

Walters and Langer were outstanding for Queensland. They both scored tries that night. Three of our four tries were from Langer grubber kicks. Bennett wrote in his book how the Broncos players didn't seem to produce their best for their state. As the Qld coach, he was determined to change that this series. They both scored tries in the decider that year as well.

Steve Price got a try in that game. What a warrior he turned out to be for Qld.

Who could forget Martin Lang's chase on Rod Wishart? It was actually Matt Sing that ended up making the tackle but that was an amazing play. I wish it got more recognition as it typified the 'never say die' attitude of the Queenslanders. For mine it was up there with Tallis throwing Hodgson over the sideline.

How could a side with Fittler, Johns and Daley lose?

Great game and a great series. Definitely one to remember.

Very good nomination and a good recap as well. That 1998 series did a lot of good for the game and help mend the scars and turmoil left by the Super League war.

 

[Super Freak]

 

[Big Pete]

Origin 2005
A strange ol' series looking back on it.

At the time, I thought it was as good as time as any to win it and was pretty confident about doing so until the opening 20 minutes of the decider where Mini took a grubber and nearly ran the length of the field. I was caught off guard and couldn't believe the script didn't go the way I expected it to.

Looking back, I'm not too surprised. JT was a rookie while both Lockyer, Smith & Slater were off their best. Factor in a pretty ordinary backline, the loss of Price and to me it's a total no-brainer.

Origin I was a classic game and for the longest time was the last 'classic' game in my view. It just had so many moments that got fans talking, plenty of drama and some great action. For me, it was the game that confirmed Kimmorley was a good but not a great player.

Origin II was all about Joey's performance. At the time, I thought it was the typical deal where he got his big performance out of the way in Sydney and when it really mattered he'd disappear but it didn't turn out that way. Not a whole lot to this one, other than it's a bit more competitive than most would remember.

Origin III was a disaster for me. First Origin game I went to live and I was convinced I would be there to see Queensland win the shield for the first time in years and ended up leaving wondering when Queensland would ever be able to win again.

I still remember some old codger on the bus passionately declaring that we'll get them next year and the year after that and so on and thinking he had too much XXXX. Little did I know...

Origin 2006
Oh hell yeah. Sweetest win of them all.

Despite the doom and gloom that plagued the aftermath of 2005, things actually looked pretty bright in 2006. Queensland were arguably stronger while NSW sans Minichiello, Johns and Kennedy were weaker. It was always going to be tight, but things were looking bright.

Then Origin I knocked me and the rest of Queensland on their ass. I couldn't believe that after all that build up, Queensland dished up one of the weakest performances I'd seen. The Blues played well, don't get me wrong, but Queensland just seemed so unsure about themselves and were making some real basic errors that it was really hard to stomach. History showed the Maroons only lost by 1 but it may as well been 20 and it was scary to be looking down the barrel of four straight defeats.

That was until Origin II which was the most enjoyable win since Alfie's return in 2001. Just so satisfying to see the Maroons turn it on and have it all go right on the occasion. My faith had well and truly been restored.

But then the build up to Origin III brought me down a peg. The Maroons would now be without Hunt, Hodges & Bell meaning only Tate was the original survivor and Hannay would come in from Queensland Cup. I was still quietly confident largely because the Blues were dumb enough to pick Gasnier at five eigth but I'd been burnt so many times I had zero expectations.

That game had to be one of the biggest emotional rollercoasters I'd been on. The first half had been pretty tense and fairly evenly poised at 4 all. But of course, I felt like I had heart ripped from my chest in that opening ten minutes. From TC being denied a fair try to NSW scoring two controversial tries, including one that was flat-out wrong I thought we'd gotten screwed and felt disillusioned with the sport. I think Queensland felt the same way too and despite attempt after attempt, it just seemed like it wasn't the Maroons night. When Wesser threw Smith a forward pass, I thought it was game over and basically sat on LU while some joker from NSW started singing We Are The Champions which hurt because I wanted to belt out that song and had been dying to do so for so long.

Then the pieces started coming together.

Tahu suffered an injury which caused him to come off.

Schifcofske then ran the ball from dummy half, spun in the tackle found JT who stepped past the defence before finding Tate who in familiar fashion ran down the right hand touchline before slamming the ball down under the post to give Queensland one last sniff. I tell ya, watching Tate slam that ball down was one of the most stressful moments as a supporter, I felt a Walker moment coming on and had it happened there I think I would have had a aneurysm.

We were back but time was against us and I had no idea where the points were going to come from and then...it all just fell into place. The Blues were slow to get back, intercepted by Locky, he'll score and in a moment that really summed it up Rabs screamed "You can't take it off him, you won't take it off him" and for the first time in 4 years we were starring down the barrel of a series win.

Despite some anxious moments, the ball would suddenly go dead and Queensland despite everything that could have possibly gone wrong took it and I had never been prouder to be a fan than I was that evening.

You better believe I had Freddy playing to the wee hours of the morning, just so elated with what I'd seen.

Lockyer's speech was great too. We'd waited 4 years but for the next 12 months, it was ours.

Little did he know...

 

[Super Freak]

 

[CaptainHook]

Excellent summary, Pete. Loved every word - wish I had a memory like yours. A few comments I'll add:

Origin 2005
A strange ol' series looking back on it.

At the time, I thought it was as good as time as any to win it and was pretty confident about doing so until the opening 20 minutes of the decider where Mini took a grubber and nearly ran the length of the field. I was caught off guard and couldn't believe the script didn't go the way I expected it to.

I have a theory that we were unable to put the loss in Game 2 behind us. We won a thriller in Game 1 and were leading 12-8 at one stage in Game 2 and should have gone on with the job. I think it's the reason why 2000 was so disastrous. We were well ahead in Game 1 that year and should have won. Referee errors and crumbling under pressure really hurt us.

I still remember some old codger on the bus passionately declaring that we'll get them next year and the year after that and so on and thinking he had too much XXXX. Little did I know...

Lol I love it! What a prophet he turned out to be!

Schifcofske then ran the ball from dummy half, spun in the tackle found JT who stepped past the defence before finding Tate who in familiar fashion ran down the right hand touchline before slamming the ball down under the post to give Queensland one last sniff.

I remember that run from Schifcofske. What a crucial play. He also kicked the goal from Locky's try too. How good did Tate look in open space? Tremendous speed. Age and injuries have made their mark but that was an amazing try.

Excellent post, Pete. Keep 'em comin'!

 

[Mr Fourex]

I still remember some old codger on the bus passionately declaring that we'll get them next year and the year after that and so on and thinking he had too much XXXX. Little did I know...

I don't think I ever did thank you for helping me out of the bus that night Pete ......

Cheers :beer:

 

[Big Pete]

I have a theory that we were unable to put the loss in Game 2 behind us. We won a thriller in Game 1 and were leading 12-8 at one stage in Game 2 and should have gone on with the job. I think it's the reason why 2000 was so disastrous. We were well ahead in Game 1 that year and should have won. Referee errors and crumbling under pressure really hurt us.

I agree actually. At the time, I thought the turning point was the opening 20 minutes in the decider but I actually think it was the opening minutes of the second half. If you can recall, Queensland made a HUGE play to tackle one of the Blues over the sideline only to be controversially penalised. Moments later, Joey kicks a 40/20 and they basically dominate from that point on. If Queensland had have had the first bite of the cherry and extended their lead things may have been different.

I remember that run from Schifcofske. What a crucial play. He also kicked the goal from Locky's try too. How good did Tate look in open space? Tremendous speed. Age and injuries have made their mark but that was an amazing try.

Ol' Clint was one of my favourite non-Broncos players. Largely because of a segment on The Footy Show where they had him meet this kid who idolised him and the kid is quietly telling Clint that he can't wait to see him play for the Blues. Clint politely but bluntly reminds him that he's actually a Maroon and all the poor kid could say was oh...

From that moment on, I liked him and I thought he was one of the more underrated players of the 00s. Whenever there was an injury to our backline, I wanted him in and was so glad to see him selected for Origin III and even prouder to see him play well.

He's a name that will get lost in time but I can't wait to eventually read some feature on him and how he ended up being the difference in the game that started our dynasty.

The cool thing about Tate's try is that it was eerily similar to one he scored against Manly just a few weeks prior. It's easy to forget, but Tate was one of the quicker players in his day and could even stand up the likes of Stewart at times. But yeah, I like little dress rehersal moments like that - similar thing happened with Hodges/Berrigan in the lead up to their famous 2006 try.

 

[gordjw]

Yeah Big Pete, being in Canberra, I went to a lot of Raiders games with my mates at school/uni (I even went in with them for a season membership a couple of times... don't tell anyone here ;). Clinton was my favourite Raiders player, tremendous in open space, or with a broken line, but honestly average the rest of the time, due to his wiry build. Very exciting to watch though, and boy could he kick the goals!

Also, he was a queenslander "trapped" down South, just like me. Was so happy for him that he got a go in Origin, and I thought he was really solid, but it was probably a level too high for the bloke.

Loved that he left for the Reds, I always thought he'd be more suited to the broken field style play of union. But I kind of lost touch with his career after that, as it's too hard to follow union without the FTA coverage that league gets.

He actually runs a sports management company now, and I think he gets some airtime commentating for grandstand on the sidelines every now and again. Hope it goes well for the guy, he always seemed like a very nice, down to earth guy.

 

[Ghibli]

There have been great origin moments over the years, some I remember vividly, some I don't. However, the thing that I will remember for a long time will be the Darren Lockyer intercept in game 3 of 2006. Such a pivotal moment in the context of state of origin, one would say on par with the game in 1980...

 

[Super Freak]

 

[Broncoman]

The Brett Hodgson loss pass that Locky picks up is in my head forever and I will never forget it. To me it's a shame that's how everyone remembers Brett Hodgson. He was a very good fullback with a lot of heart and played a major role in Parramatta's awesome 2001 season, the Tigers premiership and was a valuable member of every team he played with.

 

[Super Freak]