1980 State of Origin game

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The 1980 State of Origin game between the Queensland Maroons and the New South Wales Blues was the inaugural match 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. Only a single experimental match took place in 1980 (after two matches using the traditional residential selection rules), unlike today where a three-match series is played.

[edit] Match summary

In the first two matches of the annual 3-match series of representative games between New South Wales and Queensland, the Blues players could only be sourced from clubs south of the border and the Maroons only from north of it. Game one was played in Brisbane and won by NSW 35-3. In game two the Maroons put up more of a fight but were defeated again, this time in Sydney, 17 - 7.

Prior to the experimental match, the State of Origin concept was derided by the Sydney Media.^[1]

8 July^[2]	Queensland	20–10	New South Wales	Lang Park, Brisbane Attendance: 33,210^[3] Referee/s: Billy Thompson Man of the Match: Chris Close
8 July^[2]	Mal Meninga (14) Kerry Boustead (3) Chris Close (3)	(Report)	(4) Mick Cronin (3) Greg Brentnall (3) Tommy Raudonikis

In front of an over-capacity Brisbane crowd, which included State of Origin's instigator, senator Ron McAulliffe, Defence Minister Jim Killen, and journalist Hugh Lunn, Queensland were led out by former Kangaroos skipper, Arthur Beetson, playing for Queensland for the first time.^[4]

After a match involving intense all-in brawling, the Maroons won the first ever state of origin game 20-10. the first points were scored by Mal Meninga's penalty kick - the first of several over the match. New South Wales' Greg Brentnall had the honour of scoring the first Origin try. After an all-in brawl in the first half^[5] and leading 9-5 at the break, Queensland took over the game, with Chris Close named man of the match.

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]

[edit] Teams

[edit] New South Wales

Position	Name	Club
Fullback	Graham Eadie	Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
Wing	Chris Anderson	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
Centre	Mick Cronin	Parramatta Eels
Centre	Steve Rogers	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
Wing	Greg Brentnall	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
Five-Eighth	Alan Thompson	Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
Halfback	Tommy Raudonikis (c)	Newtown Jets
Prop	Gary Hambly	South Sydney Rabbitohs
Hooker	Steve Edge	Parramatta Eels
Prop	Craig Young	St. George Dragons
Second Row	Bob Cooper	Western Suburbs Magpies
Second Row	Graeme Wynn	Parramatta Eels
Lock	Jim Leis	Western Suburbs Magpies
Interchange	Robert Stone	St. George Dragons
Interchange	Steve Martin	Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
Coach	Ted Glossop	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs

[edit] Queensland

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

Position	Name	Club
Fullback	Colin Scott	Wynnum-Manly Seagulls
Wing	Kerry Boustead	Eastern Suburbs Roosters
Centre	Mal Meninga	Souths Magpies
Centre	Chris Close	Redcliffe Dolphins
Wing	Brad Backer	Eastern Suburbs Tigers
Five-Eighth	Alan Smith	North Sydney Bears
Halfback	Greg Oliphant	Balmain Tigers
Prop	Rod Morris	Balmain Tigers
Hooker	John Lang	Eastern Suburbs Tigers
Prop	Arthur Beetson (c)	Parramatta Eels
Second Row	Rohan Hancock	Toowoomba Clydesdales
Second Row	Rod Reddy	St. George Dragons
Lock	Wally Lewis	Fortitude Valley Diehards
Interchange	Norm Carr^*	Western Suburbs Panthers
Interchange	Bruce Astill^*	Souths Magpies
Coach	John McDonald