May 28, 2025. Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane. The “Crab man” and I were watching the clock run down in SOO1. The scoreboard read NSW 18, QLD, 6. The scoreboard flattered QLD. It felt much worse than that. NSW had dominated the game. It could have been 40 nil. They were much too good that night. With a couple of minutes to go, some QLD supporters in the row in front of us decided to make an early exit. The Blues supporter in the row behind us suggested that they should sit down and take their medicine and watch the rest of the game. “This is the start of another Dynasty I suppose,” said the defiant, departing Queenslander. I thought it was a good comeback, but deep down I thought he may have been close to the truth.
I headed to Perth with the PBTS for game 2, more interested in checking out the West than seeing what unfolded at Optus Stadium. What did unfold was, even in my eyes, a minor miracle. The Maroons held on to a big halftime lead to win narrowly, courtesy of some missed goal kicks by Lomax, not Cleary? By game 3, QLD were dominant, scoring an easy win. It was the exact opposite of Game 1. The Blues looked completely clueless. Things happen in SOO that you just cannot explain. I could only imagine how the Blues supporter from Suncorp was enjoying his medicine.
It seems as though every NSW game win or series win sparks talk of a new Blues Dynasty. True, they have had periods of domination, most notably in the 1990s, when they had six series wins and a drawn series. Strangely, or perhaps not so strangely, this came during a decade where the Broncos were the dominant club team in the NRL. Even more strangely, QLD won the 95 series with the “Neville Nobodies”. QLD have won 25 series, NSW,17, with 2 drawn series. The only real dynasty was QLD with 8 straight, NSW have never mustered more than 3 on the bounce.
However, even as SOO heads towards its 50th year, there remains this idea, south of the Tweed, that NSW is the dominant state and that, sooner or later, this spluttering blue juggernaut will kick into gear and obliterate the Maroons, year after year after year. It just hasn’t happened yet. Why not? “NSW just don’t GET Origin” is often quoted. 46 years, not for me. The QLD spirit is often mentioned. Yes, that is real. My only theory is that they suffer terribly from the weight of expectation, like the English soccer team. They play very conservatively. Complete, kick, wait for something to happen. Next thing they know, they are behind. So, who wants to be the one that takes a risk? They know, (most of them), that one substandard performance and they will be banished, never to be seen again. Mind you, on occasions when they have been comfortably in front, and start playing with the “fear of failure” removed, they have dealt out some fearful hammerings. 2021 in Townsville for example. Having an embarrassment of riches in the player department is as much a curse as it is a blessing. It means that if you lose, there is someone else ready to take your place, and they probably will. There is also a ruthless press contingent waiting to attack. Talk back radio the day after a NSW defeat is something to behold. Everyone cops it. Why did they pick Tedesco over Edwards, etc, etc. They always seem to pick a poor bench. There is always someone who plays a handful of minutes, often out of position. Nicoh Hynes played in the centres, missed one tackle, and copped it deluxe. He has not been seen since. He has plenty of mates in that regard.
Did you hear anyone in QLD calling for Cameron Munster to be sacked due to his poor club form this year? No, not a peep. There is no lineup of quality players knocking the door down. When the teams were named last week, my immediate thought was NSW 3 nil. They look much stronger on paper. Then again, they always do. I always approach Origin with an “expect the worst, hope for the best” mentality. Fortunately, I am often surprised on the upside. By the time this hits the Almanac, game One will be in the books. I am hoping for the best, as always.
Last week should have been a timely reminder to me that sport and politics should not mix. However, I am a slow learner. I have named two teams for an ALP v Coalition clash. The selection criteria were the 4 P’s; politician, player, position, party. Quite difficult. Let me know who I have left out. There would be dozens of them. The ALP team is captained by Hawke, Bob/Johnny, and the Coalition team is captained by Menzies, Robert and Steven.
ALP Maroons
- Bowen Chris/Matty
- Wells, Anika/Harry
- Beattie, Peter/Pigskin
- Hawke, Bob/Johnny (c)
- Chalmers, Jim/Tony
- Daly, Fred/Laurie
- Cleary, Michael, Nathan
- Gillard, Julia/ Regan (Campbell)
- Keating, Paul/ Kris
- Ryan, Susan/ Kevin
- Young, Mick/ Craig,
- Wong, Penny/Siua
- Hughes, Billy/ Graeme
Coach: Richardson, Graeme/ Geoff/ Russ.
Coalition Blues
- Taylor, Angus/ Paul
- Peacock. Andrew/Danny
- Petersen (Bjelke), Joh, Matt,
- Abbot, Tony/John/ Hubie
- Dutton, Peter/Peter
- Bishop, Julie/Tommy
- Howard, John/Harvey
- Hewson, John/Steve
- Nelson Asofa Solomona, Brendan
- Menzies, Robert, Steve (c)
- Morrison, Scott, Glenn
- Canavan, Matt/ Joe
Coach: Elliott, John, Adam, and Millie.
Referee: Tim Mander.
To be honest, readers, I do not know if it would be a match worth watching. I imagine it would be like watching the U8s play, everyone pushing each other out of the way to get the ball. No room for the Independent member for Calare, Andrew Gee, the “brick with eyes” or the man with the shortest political career in history, Immortal Mal. Johnny Hawke played for St George from 1949 to 1952 and made seven appearances for Australia in ‘48, ‘49 and ‘51. I must admit, I had not heard of him prior to undertaking this somewhat pointless exercise. For anyone not familiar with the old BRL days, Joe Canavan, Peter Dutton, John Abbott, and Geoff Richardson were stars in the Brisbane competition. Steve Hewson was a half back who played two games for NSW in 1975 against Qld for a win and a loss.
That is it for another week, readers. Will this be the start of a new Blues Dynasty or will they be scratching their heads about what went wrong, AGAIN. Go QLD.
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