Opening-Night Origin Thrillers

Sean Fagan of RL1908.com

The pre-match anticipation and hubbub of Origin’s opening night builds enormous national and international attention. The media coverage and rising public interest gathers momentum towards match eve. Televisions are lit up across the nation, and the ground is packed from the front fence to the back row. Only six teams in Origin history have won the series after losing in “Game 1” – there is much at stake.

It puts into every NSW and Queensland player something more than merely nervous energy and anxiety. It’s the sort of stifling pressure that sees many sporting occasions ultimately turn horribly flat, with a disappointing contest falling short of the hype and expectation.

To State of Origin’s credit, the opposite is true – it invariably delivers a thrilling and enthralling opening night “cracker.” Since its beginning in 1982 just three opening matches have been a one-sided affair (as at end of 2009 series). Every other series-opener has provided an Origin contest “alive” well into the final fifteen minutes. Rarely, if ever, is it safe for one side to feel that they have their opponent “dead and buried.”

Most remarkably, and evidence of why Origin is such a sporting phenomena, 14 of the 28 series (as at end of 2009 series) have delivered a “Game 1” thriller – contests that have ended in scenes of joy and despair with the teams no more than a converted try apart, and the battle only halted by the gavel that is the final siren.

We’ve witnessed spectacular comebacks with a flourish of late tries, last second field goals, unexpected intercepts, referee controversies, as well as displays of unyielding defence and desperate last ditch tackles, as teams hope to hold their opponents at bay as the clock counts down.

Lang Park has been the scene of eight Origin thrillers, beginning with the first game of the inaugural series in 1982. With NSW cruising 17-6 inside the final 15 minutes, it looked a foregone win for the visitors, until Maroons’ block-busting centre Mal Meninga twice burst through the Blues line, setting up two tries in two minutes. Meninga’s blows left the score at 17-16, and sent the Lang Park mob into delirium.

NSW back Brad Izzard crashed over near the corner post to edge his team out to 20-16. For the final five minutes the Queenslanders threw all they had at the Blues, culminating with a massive “bomb” right on fulltime – Greg Brentnall, the NSW fullback soared high and caught the ball, securing NSW victory.

In 1986 a see-sawing match had the Maroons ahead 16-12, but they gave up two soft tries to fall behind 22-16. With three minutes to play, Wally Lewis cut through the Blues defence, and the Lang Park masses rose to their feet and roared, only to groan in despair when winger Chris Close grassed the ball with the line and glory beckoning.

A year on, and again it was Lewis hand-crafting a Maroons comeback. Behind 16-6 with ten to go, Lang Park’s favourite son engineered two Queensland tries to square the game at 16-all. Inside the final two minutes, NSW’s Peter Sterling sprayed a field goal attempt wide, but from a clearing Queensland kick, the Blues regained the ball. NSW winger Andrew Ettingshausen soon dashed down the wing, kicking the ball into the in-goal. Just as it seemed certain to roll dead, “ET’s” team mate Mark McGaw grounded the ball well enough for referee Mick Stone to award a match-winning try. It remains today one of Origin’s greatest ever moments.

In 1991 the Maroons led 6-0 with two minutes left. NSW’s Laurie Daley scored a try by kicking the ball past Queensland winger Willie Carne, but Michael O’Connor missed the conversion. With time all but up, the Maroons kicked-off….over the dead-ball line on the full! From the penalty on half-way, Greg Alexander attempted a long range goal to snare a draw, but the ball fell short of the posts.

The 1993 opener was an example of resolute defence winning the night. With NSW ahead 14-10, the Maroons enjoyed a mountain of possession, launching wave after wave of attacking raids towards the Blues goal line, but ultimately came up with nothing.

Low points-scoring matches in 1997 (NSW 8-6) and 1999 (Qld 9-8) kept the fans engrossed from start to finish. In the latter encounter, Maroons winger Mat Rogers scored four penalty goals to counter a NSW try from Anthony Mundine and two goals from Ryan Girdler. At 8-all inside the final minutes Andrew Johns (NSW) and Adrian Lam (Qld) missed field goals. The game was settled when Rogers banged over his career-first field goal. Rogers 9 - NSW 8.

Lang Park, re-built and re-born as Suncorp Stadium, provided its first “Game 1 thriller” in 2005. NSW, down 19-0 with 30 minutes left, climbed ahead 20-19 in the 78th minute. They then watched in despair as Queensland’s Johnathan Thurston nailed a field goal, forcing the game into Golden Point. Three minutes into overtime, Blues halfback Brett Kimmorley threw a wide pass that was picked off by Maroons speedster Matt Bowen, who raced away on a 30m sprint to the line and fame – Queensland won 24-20.

The Golden Point rule had also been invoked the winter before to split the teams deadlocked at 8-all at Sydney’s Stadium Australia Craig Gower missed two shots at field goal for the Blues, and 35m out from the posts the ball was suddenly thrown to Shaun Timmins - the unlikely hero piloted the leather over the crossbar from 35m out, giving NSW a stunning opening win to the 2004 series.

History seemed to repeat itself two years later at the same venue. Queensland were behind 14-0, and after mounting a Darren Lockyer orchestrated comeback, leveled the game at 16-all in the 78th minute with a Thurston touchline conversion. In the dying seconds NSW halfback Brett Finch, called into the Blues as a late replacement, received the ball 35m from the posts and dropped a mighty field goal, clinching the home team a 17-16 triumph.

Stadium Australia had hosted its first series opener in 2000. A match infamously remembered for Maroons Gorden Tallis being sent off. The fiery forward had dared to howl at referee Bill Harrigan: “You’re a f***ing cheat.” The scoreboard was 16-all when Tallis was dismissed, and it eventually fell NSW’s way with a 77th minute try to fullback David Peachey.

The Sydney Football Stadium held its last series opener in 1998. NSW were in the ascendancy 23-18 with barely two minutes to play, and the Maroons well inside their own territory.

From an Allan Langer pass, Queensland five-eighth Kevin Walters booted the ball upfield in a seemingly futile hope of “something, anything!” Chasing hard was team mate Ben Ikin, who somehow regained the ball. One tackle later, Maroons fans were jubilant as Tonie Carroll strode across for a try near the uprights. Lockyer coolly potted the conversion and the game was up – the Queenslanders had won 24-23 in a miracle finish.

In 1995 the Maroons and Blues battled it out in a highly entertaining affair that somehow finished at 2-0. A first-half goal from Wayne Bartrim had edged the Queenslanders in front, and they held the slim lead all the way home.

In the pantheon of classic Origin “great escapes,” the dramatic conclusion to the 1994 opener sits above all others.

Behind 12-4 with just five minutes left, Queensland’s Carne scored a converted try. Thirty seconds from fulltime, deep in their own end of the field, the Maroons launched one last foray at the Blues defence. In one frantic never-say-die chain-passing movement, they swept the ball from man-to-man upfield, culminating in centre Mark Coyne planting the leather over the line, despite the desperate clutches of Brad Fittler, Ricky Stuart and Benny Elias. The Maroons had conjured a 16-12 victory from the impossible.

ORIGIN SERIES OPENERS - DECIDED BY A CONVERTED TRY OR LESS
[as at end of 2009 series]

LANG PARK
1982: NSW 20 d QLD 16
1986: NSW 22 d QLD 16
1987: NSW 22 d QLD 16
1991: QLD 6 d NSW 4
1993: NSW 14 d QLD 10
1997: NSW 8 d QLD 6
1999: QLD 9 d NSW 8
2005: QLD 24 d NSW 20

SYDNEY FOOTBALL STADIUM
1994: QLD 16 d NSW 12
1995: QLD 2 d NSW 0
1998: QLD 24 d NSW 23

STADIUM AUSTRALIA, HOMEBUSH
2000: NSW 20 d QLD 16
2004: NSW 9 d QLD 8
2006: NSW 17 d QLD 16

The original version of this article was first published in the match program for Game 1 of the 2009 State of Origin series.