A State of Origin competition is a type of sporting event between players representing their state or territory, popularised by the rugby leagueState of Origin series. State of Origin began in Australian rules football on 8 October 1977 between Western Australia (WA) and Victoria, at Subiaco Oval in Perth, the initial brainchild of Leon Larkin.^[1][2] The selection criteria for Australian football have varied, but they are generally applied to players who have played most of their juniors games in a particular state or territory, hence the name 'State of Origin'. In Rugby league the criteria are different, where players are selected for where they either first played senior Rugby league or where they played in the majority of senior competitions. The annual rugby State of Origin series is one of Australia's most popular sporting events. The name is also used in Australia for small sporting events which generally involve domestic representative teams.

It was devised to address the drift of most talented Australian rules players to the Victorian Football League (VFL) and the effect that this had on interstate matches. A similar situation existed in regard to the New South Wales Rugby League which attracted the best players from the Queensland Rugby League because of its far stronger and financially attractive competition. The latter was due to the increased funds of the New South Wales clubs, due to poker machines, which Queensland laws prohibited.^{[citation needed]}

• 1History

History[edit]

The first recorded call for 'state of origin' selection rules for interstate football was made in 1900. A journalist known as 'The Cynic' writing for a rugby football periodical called The Referee, suggested that Stephen Spragg, who had moved to Queensland, should be able to play for his state of birth, New South Wales.^[3] The change did not eventuate, with residential selection rules prevailing both before and after the split into rugby league and rugby union until the concept was later resurrected for league. However, in rugby union the concept has never been used, as the Queensland and New South Wales teams ceased to be representative, instead becoming more like clubs.

North Queensland Cowboys (9) Parramatta Eels (43) Penrith Panthers (6) South Sydney Rabbitohs (36) St. George Illawarra Dragons (16) Sydney Roosters (26) Wests Tigers (34) Filter By Stock; In Stock (283) Filter By Price Range; $9 or below; $9 to $46; $46 to $83; $83 to $120; $120 to $157; $157 or above; Filter By Price Range. State of Origin Queensland Maroons coach Kevin Walters named a fairly predictable line up for his side ahead of the opening Origin game on the 6th of June. However there were a few contentious spots.

The Australia rugby union^[4] first came up with the concept and at the same time the Blue and Maroon Jersey was born back in 1899, it was then when the first Rugby Union test match was played. The opponent at the time were actually the touring British Isles team and a three tests series was played — two in Sydney and one in Brisbane. Because there was no national jersey, the team wore the jersey of the state in which they were playing, but with the Australian Coat of Arms in place of the state emblem or logo.

Therefore, for the first and third tests in Sydney, the jersey was blue with the coat of arms and for the second test in Brisbane the jersey was maroon. This was also an indication of the makeup of the team which was dominated by New South Wales for the tests played in Sydney and by Queensland players for the tests played in Brisbane.

Rugby league (Australia)[edit]

Traditionally, the basis for selecting players in representative international sides (i.e. their country of origin) did not extend to interstate sides in Australian rugby league. Instead players represented the state in which they played their club football as per the 'residency rule', in which they played for the club which represented the district they lived in. This gave a significant advantage to New South Wales as the movement of players south was far greater than the movement north.

Former Queensland captain and Australian vice-captain Jack Reardon, who had later become a journalist, was the first to suggest that Sydney-based Queenslanders should be available for selection to represent their state.^[5] This would not eventuate until decades later however, when New South Wales and Queensland played their first 'state of origin' match on 8 July 1980. The Australian rules experience was echoed, with Queenslanders showing enormous interest in the game at Lang Park, Brisbane, although NSW-based players and journalists described it as 'the non-event of the century'. Queensland defeated New South Wales in that match, and State of Origin has grown into Australia's greatest sporting rivalry.

The popularity of State of Origin matches since then has not waned and they remain one of Australia's (and indeed the region's) biggest sporting events. A record crowd of 88,336 attended a game at Stadium Australia in 1999. The record for the annual three game series was set in 2004, when a total of 203,309 people attended. The 2005 series saw an attendance record for a series with two matches in Queensland, with 187,374.^[6] The record television audience was set during game 1 of the 2009 series and stands at 3.48 million.^[7] Queensland has won 18 series from 1982–2013, and NSW has won 13, with 2 drawn. Queensland have won the most series in a row. (8 Series 2006–2013).

Australian international teams are often selected based on performance in the State of Origin series.

New South Wales play in sky blue jerseys and are known as 'the Blues', a term dating from 1974 when a journalist used the name in an article. The Blues won that series, leading coach Jack Gibson to comment 'I thought they went pretty well for a bunch of cockroaches'. The Queensland team plays in a maroon jersey, and are called 'the Maroons'. Both teams also have unbecoming nicknames — New South Wales: 'the Cockroaches'; Queensland: 'the Cane Toads'.

Australian football[edit]

The first 'state of origin' game was an Australian Football game between Western Australia (WA) and Victoria, at Subiaco Oval in Perth on 8 October 1977.^[8]Leon Larkin^[9], marketing manager of the Subiaco Football Club in the West Australian Football League (WAFL), negotiated with the VFL for two years, before arrangements for the game were finalised.^[8] In the words of football historian John Devaney:

A Western Australian team comprised entirely of home-based players had, on 25 June, taken on a Victorian team containing many of the same players who would return to Perth ... for the state of origin clash. The respective scores of the two matches offered a persuasive argument, if such were needed, of the extent to which the VFL had denuded the WAFL of its elite talent:

• On 25 June 1977 Victoria 23.16 (154) defeated Western Australia 13.13 (91) — a margin of 63 points
• On 8 October 1977 Western Australia 23.13 (151) defeated Victoria 8.9 (57) — a margin of 94 points, representing an overall turn around of 157 points

Western Australia's previous biggest winning margin against a Victorian state team had been a mere 38 points in 1948. Almost overnight, an inferiority complex was dismantled: Victoria, it seemed, was not intrinsically superior, only wealthier.

Games involving each of the other states soon followed. In 1989, a crowd of 91,960 people — a record for interstate games in Australian rules — attended a game between Victoria and South Australia at the MCG.^[10]

However, attendance and interest declined during the 1990s, due to a variety of factors, such as the VFL's ongoing conversion into a national club competition,^[11] the Australian Football League (AFL). The last official state of origin game involving AFL players was held in 1999.^[12] However, an annual veterans' game is still held.

A one-off AFL Hall of Fame Tribute Match between a Victorian state of origin side and the Dream Team representing the other states, was staged on 10 May 2008 to celebrate 150 years of Australian Football.

Rugby league (England)[edit]

The success of the State of Origin series in Australian rugby league resulted in the revival of England's inter-county games in 2001, under the name Origin Series. However, the revival was scrapped in 2003 amid increasing fixture congestion and general apathy from league supporters.

The International Origin Match, held from 2011 to 2013, was more of an all-star game, as it pitted the England national team against Australian and New Zealand stars in the largely English-based Super League.

Other State of Origin events[edit]

Due to the success of the larger State of Origin events, many sporting clubs and or association have started their own annual State of Origin series across Australia and New Zealand. Rivalry is high in sports and its proven to be a great concept. Predominantly the sporting organization or associations adopt their Team Colours as uniforms, its team building and holds significant passion for there event.

In Australia, sprint car racing often uses a State of Origin format in registering car numbers. Each driver's car number is preceded in official results sheets by their home state. Foreign drivers are also designated in the State of Origin format. In some instances, a team's state of origin will be used instead of a driver.

A1 – Current national sprint car champion
ACT – Australian Capital Territory (Canberra, et al.)
NSW (or N) – New South Wales
NQ – North Queensland
NT – Northern Territory
Q (or QLD) – Queensland
S (or SA) – South Australia
T – Tasmania
V – Victoria
W – Western Australia

Foreign drivers are also given a State of Origin code:

State Of Origin Qld 2016

NZ – New Zealand
US – United States

In addition, during the 2016–17 season, Valvoline Raceway in Clyde, NSW, on January 12, will institute the inaugural State of Origin for sprint car racing. The State of Origin contest will also feature a 'guest' foreign team of drivers, as it is held in January.^[13]

References[edit]

1. ^'Barry Cable Ruling in 1970 sowed seed State of Origin Seed'.
2. ^'Architect of Origin Recalls Subi Highlights'.
3. ^rl1908.com - The Origin of State of OriginArchived 21 October 2006 at the Wayback Machine
4. ^http://www.rugby.com.au/aruhq.aspx
5. ^Gallaway, Jack (2002). Origin: Rugby League's greatest contest 1980-2002. Australia: University of Queensland Press. pp. xi. ISBN0-7022-3383-8.
6. ^Rugby League Tables - State of OriginArchived 28 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine
7. ^Masters, Roy (6 June 2009). 'NRL splits assets in search of TV gold'. The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
8. ^ ^abcJohn Devaney. 'West Coast — Part One: 1981 to 1985'. Retrieved 11 October 2006.
9. ^'Think you know who inspired the series, think again'.
10. ^MCC.orgArchived 19 August 2006 at the Wayback Machine
11. ^Full Points Footy
12. ^Sam Edmund (16 September 2006). 'Football survey: Return to the Origin species'. Herald Sun. Retrieved 22 May 2007.
13. ^http://valvolineraceway.com.au/release.asp?NewsId=53967

External links[edit]

• fullpointsfooty.net West Coast — Part One: 1881 to 1985 (Background to Australian rules matches.)

The 1980 State of Origin game was the first game between the Queensland Maroons and the New South Wales Blues rugby league teams to be played under 'state of origin' selection rules. It was the third match of 1980's annual interstate series between the Blues and the Maroons, and was only allowed to go ahead because the first two matches (and the title) were already won by New South Wales. It was played on 8 July 1980 under the newly configured rules by which a player would represent his 'state of origin', i.e. the state in which he was born or in which he started playing registered first grade rugby league football.

The first two matches had been played under the existing residential selection rules - i.e. Blues players could only be sourced from clubs south of the border and the Maroons only from north of it before the single experimental match took place. This was often a source of angst for Queensland as the old State of Residence rules had long seen some of Queensland's top players actually representing NSW as players could earn better money in the Sydney premiership thanks to clubs cashed up with Poker machine money. As poker machines were illegal in Queensland, most of the clubs could not hope to match the money on offer to their star players, with a steady stream of players leaving to play for Sydney clubs. The list of players who had headed south in the 1960s and 1970s had included Arthur Beetson, John Lang, Rod Reddy, Rod Morris, Mitch Brennan and Kerry Boustead.

After a match involving intense all-in brawling, the Maroons won the first state of origin game 20-10.

• 3Teams

Background[edit]

The first match of the annual best-of-three interstate series was played at Lang Park in Brisbane and won by NSW 35-3. In the second game at Leichhardt Oval in Sydney (described by Qld HalfbackWally Lewis as being played on a Tuesday night in front of two men and their dog, with the dog going home at half-time. The official paid attendance was just 1,368 compared to the 25,000 crowd for Game 1 in Brisbane), the Maroons put up more of a fight against a NSW side that was missing a number of players through injury, but were defeated again, this time 17-7. The first State of Origin game very nearly didn't go ahead in 1980. The Queenslanders had put in a spirited and much improved performance in the second game at Leichhardt Oval, with officials confirming that had they actually won the game then the third game of the series would have been played under the State of Residency rules and Origin as it has become might have died then and there. Queenslanders Kerry Boustead, Rod Reddy, Rod Morris, John Lang and Graham Quinn had actually played for NSW in the first two games of the 1980 Interstate series, with all bar Quinn being selected to represent Queensland in the Origin game.

Prior to the experimental match, the State of Origin concept was derided by the Sydney Media.^[1]The Daily Mirror'sRon Casey showed his opposition to the game, and his bias towards Sydney as a whole when he called it a 'Phoney Promotion' and wrote in his newspaper column: 'To the Queensland hillbillies in PremierJoh's Bananaland, the State of Origin match might be a big deal, but to those in the land of the living, here in Sydney, its just another match without much meaning'. One member of the Sydney media who welcomed the game was Ray 'Rabbits' Warren, who wrote in the Sunday Telegraph: 'I know a lot of people are upset at the go-ahead of the State of Origin game, but I congratulate those who pushed it through. Queensland and NSW Country areas need an injection of life and this match can do nothing but good for the game north of the border.'

Former Australian test captain and at the time coach of Eastern SuburbsBob Fulton, who would later go on to be a successful Australian coach and ironically become a long-term NSW Origin selector, was also against the concept. He wrote in The Daily Mirror that 'Rugby league's non-event of the century will be staged in Brisbane next month, a totally useless State of Origin clash between NSW and Queensland. Only the AU$30,000 gate could make it acceptable to administrators ... No Sydney club could possibly want the match but no doubt it will go ahead. As far as I'm concerned it's strictly a non-event and will achieve absolutely nothing'.

Prior to the game getting the go ahead, the President of the NSWRLKevin Humphreys, had called a meeting with league delegates from the 12 Sydney based clubs and allowed all to put forward their views on having the Origin style match. In the end, a vote was held with the vote 9-3 in favour of it going ahead (and proving Fulton wrong in the process). Only South Sydney, Eastern Suburbs and St. George opposed the game. Following the meeting, Humphreys rang his QRL counterpart, SenatorRon McAuliffe, with the good news.

Queensland players such as captain-coach Arthur Beetson and Kangaroos back rower Rod Reddy were enthused to be able to represent their home state while some, such as Australian winger Kerry Boustead, believed that players should represent the state in which they lived (at the time Boustead was playing for Sydney club Eastern Suburbs). However, the test winger offered no objections to his selection for the Maroons and went on to become the first Qld player to score a try in Origin football.

Match summary[edit]

The NSWRL demanded a neutral referee for the game. As a consequence, respected British referee Billy Thompson was flown out from England to control the game. Queensland went into the game not having won a match since 1975. Before the game, QRL President McAuliffe entered the Maroons dressing room to make a personal plea to the players. He said: 'The future of the game is in your hands. We have taken this bold step. If we are beaten we cannot retreat to any other position. We must win'.

In front of a capacity Lang Park crowd of 33,210, which included State of Origin's instigator, senator Ron McAulliffe, Federal Defence MinisterJim Killen, and journalist Hugh Lunn, the Maroons were led out by former Kangaroos skipper, 35-year-old Arthur Beetson who was playing for Queensland for the first time. Beetson, after starring for Redcliffe in Brisbane in 1964 and 1965, had been told by the QRL that if he stayed in Brisbane he would be in line for state selection in 1966. However, he received an offer he couldn't refuse from Sydney club Balmain and ended up playing 18 games for NSW between 1966 and 1977 under the old state of residency rule.^[4] Beetson was actually playing Reserve Grade for the Parramatta Eels in Sydney at the time that Ron McAulliffe approached him and offered him the chance to finally play for his home state.

The first points scored in Origin Football was a penalty goal by heavyweight Queensland centre Mal Meninga - the first of seven goals from seven attempts he would kick in the match (on his 20th birthday no less), while New South Wales' winger Greg Brentnall had the honour of scoring the first try in State of Origin football following good lead up work by Kangaroos pair Graham Eadie and Mick Cronin. After an all-in brawl in the first half^[5] and leading 9-5 at the break, Queensland took over the game and with Mal Meninga kicking 7/7 goals defeated NSW 20-10, the first time the Maroons had won a state game over NSW since 1975. Queensland centre Chris Close was the standout player from both sides, scoring a try in the second half and was a clear choice as Man of the Match. From a standing start, Close received the ball only 25m out from Meninga. He then simply accelerated through a big hole in the NSW defense and evaded fullback Graham Eadie to put the ball down next to the goal posts without a NSW player touching him.

Alan Clarkson, a journalist for The Sydney Morning Herald wrote of the State of Origin experiment, 'I was strongly against such a match, but last night's gripping clash showed that such a fixture would be a welcome addition to the League program.'^[6]

Although they had already represented Queensland in under the old residency rules, the win by the Maroons brought Queensland's new generation players such as heavyweight centres Chris Close and Mal Meninga, as well as lock forward Wally Lewis into the spotlight. The trio, along with other Queensland-based players such as Colin Scott, Gene Miles, Brad Backer, Mark Murray, Bryan Niebling, Wally Fullerton-Smith and Greg Conescu would dominate Origin football over the next 4 years.

Teams[edit]

Of the twenty-six players taking the field in the first State of Origin match, twenty were selected from New South Wales Rugby Football League Premiership clubs while six were from Brisbane Rugby League Premiership clubs.

New South Wales[edit]

Queensland[edit]

With Queenslanders playing for New South Welsh clubs now available for selection, seven of the Maroons' starting thirteen were selected from Sydney clubs.

^* Didn't play^[7]

See also[edit]

Qld State Of Origin

Footnotes[edit]

1. ^Curran, Brian (1 July 1980). 'What a confounded state to be in!'. The Sydney Morning Herald. John Fairfax and Sons Ltd. p. 36. Retrieved 6 October 2009.
2. ^1980 State of Origin game at nrlstats.com
3. ^State Of Origin - Game 1, 1980 at stats.rleague.com
4. ^Hugh, Lunn (2001). The best ever Australian Sports Writing. Australia: Black Inc. p. 345-250. ISBN1-86395-266-7. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
5. ^Gallaway, Jack (2003). Origin: Rugby League's greatest contest 1980-2002. Australia: University of Queensland Press. p. 17. ISBN978-0-7022-3383-8.
6. ^Clarkson, Alan (10 July 1980). 'Football lessons by Maroons'. The Sydney Morning Herald. John Fairfax and Sons Ltd. p. 48. Retrieved 6 October 2009.
7. ^Ricketts, Steve (15 May 2008). 'Lionel Morgan's SOS call: Sack our selectors'. The Courier-Mail. Retrieved 30 May 2011.

External links[edit]

• First State of Origin at eraofthebiff.com
• State of Origin 1980 at rugbyleagueproject.org

Qld Origin News