Origin 1 for the 2023 season is now just a matter of weeks away, and so close you can almost smell the liniment, hear the winner’s chest thumping, and predict the excuses from the loser’s.
There have been some great encounters since that memorable first game way back in 1980, and while Queensland currently holds the bragging rights with 22 series wins compared to NSW’s 16, both states have had their periods of dominance.
The Maroons have taken to Origin like a cane toad to a soggy cane field and seem to have that happy knack of causing more than the occasional upset, particularly when they are the underdogs.
Does Paul Gallen’s “worst Queensland side in 40 years” claim in 2020 ring a bell? For mine though, their greatest ever origin achievement came well before that, when they stole the 1995 series right from under NSW coach Phil Gould’s battered nose.
To describe their position going into the 1995 series as tenuous would be a gross understatement.
Queensland celebrate their 1995 State of Origin triumph. (Photo: Getty Images)
They were coming off back-to-back series losses to the Blues in 1992, 1993 and 1994. Mal Meninga, their captain and one of the greatest origin players of all time, retired at the end of 1994, and newly appointed coach Wayne Bennett pulled out due to a conflict of interest when the QRL announced no Super League player would be selected.
This announcement also saw the following 11 players who had worn the maroon jersey in 1994 out of their 1995 squad: Julian O’Neill, Michael Hancock, Steve Renouf, Willie Carne, Kevin Walters, Allan Langer, Andrew Gee, Darren Smith, Steve Walters, Gorden Tallis and Kerrod Walters. Effectively, their entire 1994 backline and half of their forwards.
Things were looking grim and most pundits south of the border had a little snigger to themselves as they looked forward to another series win, and some sniggers soon turned to laughter when the QRL surprised everyone by appointing Paul Vautin to replace Wayne Bennett as coach.
Vautin had a stellar rugby league career, playing 259 first grade games, winning a premiership with Manly, and turning out 21 times for the Maroons and in 13 Tests for Australia, but his coaching experience was limited to just a handful of games coaching the Brisbane Capitols to victory in Queensland’s 1992 Winfield State League Championship.
He was much better known as both a Channel 9 football commentator and the would-be funny man who was hosting the fledgling Footy Show, and thanks to his weekly antics in the name of entertainment, few took him seriously.
With their rookie coach in place, the selectors scoured the team lists on both sides of the Tweed for talent, and came up with the following squad for game 1 (player’s age and representative football experience shown):
1. Robbie O’Davis – age 22, debut
2. Brett Dallas – age 20, 1 Origin
3. Mark Coyne – age 27, 11 Origins
4. Danny Moore – age 23, debut
5. Mat Sing – age 20, debut
6. Dale Shearer – age 29, 25 Origins, 21 Tests
7. Adrian Lam age 24, debut, 3 tests for PNG
8. Tony Hearn – age 25, debut
9. Wayne Bartrim – age 23, debut
10. Gavin Allen – age 30, 5 Origins
11. Gary Larson – age 28, 12 Origins
12. Trevor Gillmeister (C) – age 31, 18 Origins
13. Billy Moore – age 23, 8 Origins
14. Terry Cook – age 29, debut
15. Ben Ikin – age 18, debut
16. Mark Hohn – age 31, 6 Origins, 1 Test
17. Craig Teevan – age 25, debut
Meanwhile, NSW coach Phil Gould must have been licking his lips and anticipating his fourth consecutive series win, and although he too lost a number of key players as a result of the Super League ruling, he had far more players to choose from.
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NSW lost the likes of Bradley Clyde, Brett Mullins, Laurie Daley. Ricky Stuart, Ken Nagas, Glenn Lazarus, Chris Johns and Andrew Ettingshausen from their 1994 squad, but were still able to come up with a very strong team:
1. Tim Brasher – age 24, 7 Origins, 4 Tests
2. Rod Wishart – age 26, 12 Origins, 10 Tests
3. Terry Hill – age 23, 1 Origin
4. Paul McGregor – age 27, 8 Origins, 1 Test
5. Craig Hancock – age 25, debut
6. Matthew Johns – age 23, debut
7. Andrew Johns – age 21, debut
8. Paul Harragon – age 26, 9 Origins, 10 Tests
9. Jim Serdaris – age 23, debut
10. Mark Carroll – age 27, debut, 1 Test
11. Brad Mackay – age 26, 15 Origins 12 Tests
12. Steve Menzies – age 21, debut
13. Brad Fittler (c) – age 23, 12 Origins, 15 Tests
14. Greg Florimo – age 27, 1 Origin, 3 Tests
15. David Fairleigh – age 24, 4 Origins, 4 Tests
16. Matt Seers – age 20, debut
17. Adam Muir – age 24, debut
So there they were, Queensland had four players with any real Origin experience in Coyne, Shearer, Larson and Gillmeister, three players who had played Tests, and 9 debutants while NSW had a far stronger and more experienced squad, with 60 Tests and 69 Origin games between them. What could go wrong for NSW?
Despite his TV persona, Vautin was no clown and was a very passionate Queenslander. He made this clear at the very first team meeting when he said “What you see on television, that’s what I do for a living and I get paid well to do it … this is different. I would gladly pay money for the chance to coach Queensland.”
Vautin had the ability to invoke pride, passion and commitment in his young and inexperienced side, and they all bought-in from the outset.
Tempers flare during the 1995 State of Origin contest. (Photo: Getty Images)
They went into game 1 in Sydney at very long odds, and nearly 40,000 fans turned up for the seemingly inevitable outcome. The Maroons surprised everyone though, perhaps even themselves, and with Moore leading the way with his now famous “Queenslander” cry, put on an exhibition of guts and determination that may never be surpassed. They took the lead in the 13th minute with a penalty goal by Bartrim, and then grimly held on for the rest of the game to win 2-0 in the lowest scoring origin clash ever.
Queensland made only one change for game 2 in Melbourne, with Jason Smith coming in for the injured Shearer and ultimately being named man of the match, while NSW added John Hopoate, Dean Pay, David Barnhill and Brett Rodwell to their side, in place of Carroll, Hancock, Seers and Johns.
Most thought that the result in Sydney was some sort of aberration, and the Blues went into game 2 as red-hot favourites to level the series. The game got off to a typical Origin start with a brawl in the early minutes, and with Queensland leading 8-0 just before half-time, another flare-up saw Harragon and Allen sent to the sin bin.
The Maroons led 14-12 late in the game when NSW fullback Brasher’s try beside the uprights was called back by referee Eddie Ward for a forward pass, and then right on full-time, Maroons speedster Brett Dallas ran the length of the field to score under the posts to take the final score 20-12 and seal both the game and the series for underdogs.
With the series now safely in the bag, a capacity crowd of delirious Queensland fans greeted the teams at Lang Park for game 3. The Maroons team was unchanged, with captain Gillmeister leaving a hospital bed to lead his team, while NSW once again fiddled with their squad.
Geoff Toovey, Matthew Johns, David Hall, Carroll and Seers came into the side in place of Hopoate, Andrew Johns, Pay, Mackay and the injured Rodwell.
The experts strangely had NSW down as favourites to earn some redemption in game 3, but Queensland held firm, delighting their fans with a series whitewash after a late try by 18-year-old Ben Ikin sealed their victory.
After the game Gillmeister returned to hospital to continue treatment on his infected knee, the Maroons partied like it was 1995, while the Blues headed to the airport.
Realistically, they shouldn’t have won a game in 1995, let alone the series, and their clean sweep was an unlikely victory for the ages that showed just what can be achieved when a team has an inspirational coach who can get his team to commit 100% to the task at hand and play with pride in their jersey.
Vautin had taken a squad of “Neville Nobodies”, injected them with passion and self-belief, and pulled off the greatest Origin heist of them all.