| 1984 State of Origin series | |
|---|---|
| Won by | Queensland (3rd series title) |
| Series margin | 2-1 |
| Points scored | 91 |
| Attendance | 79,309 (ave. 26,436 per match) |
| Top points scorer(s) | Ross Conlon (18) |
| Top try scorer(s) | Kerry Boustead (4) |
The 1984 State of Origin series was the 3rd annual series contested between the representative rugby league football teams of New South Wales and Queensland under "state of origin" selection rules. With Queensland wrapping up the series in the first two matches it produced the first dead-rubber finish and an infamous opening minute brawl in game II.
Contents |
The New South Wales attitude to State of Origin had changed somewhat for the 1984 series, with the Blues squad being excused from their club duties the weekend prior to the first match and undergoing an intensive training camp, signalling the NSWRL's commitment to taking the series seriously.[1]
| 29 May[2] | Queensland | 29–12 | New South Wales | Lang Park Attendance: 33,662 Referee/s: Kevin Roberts[3] Man of the Match: Wally Lewis |
| (12 - 3 t) Kerry Boustead (4 - 1 t) Paul Vautin (5 - 1 t, 1 fg) Wally Lewis (4 - 1 t) Gene Miles (4 - 2 g) Mal Meninga |
(Report) | Ross Conlon (8 - 4 g) Noel Cleal (4 - 1 t) |
Queensland were motivated by the announcement that New South Wales coach Frank Stanton had been appointed as Australian national coach for the upcoming Ashes series against Great Britain. Queensland's own coach and favoured Origin son, Arthur Beetson was being dumped in favour of Stanton and notwithstanding that Stanton was merely returning to the helm having previously steered the national side on two triumphant Kangaroo tours, the Maroons were keen to avenge the honour of Beetson.
The Maroons won the match 29-12 with Manly winger Kerry Boustead achieving the rare Origin honour of scoring three tries.
| 19 June[4] | Queensland | 14–2 | New South Wales | Sydney Cricket Ground Attendance: 29,088 Referee/s: Barry Gomersall[5] Man of the Match: Wally Lewis |
| (4 - 1 t) Greg Dowling (4 - 1 t) Gene Miles (6 - 3 g) Mal Meninga |
(Report) | Ross Conlon (2 - 1 g) |
Game II was played on a horribly cold and wet night that saw almost 30,000 cram into the Sydney Cricket Ground, signalling that finally the New South Wales public had embraced the Origin concept. The mud, rain and tolerant eye of referee Barry Gomersall combined to form an explosive mix. Progress was arduous in the SCG quagmire and handling almost impossible.
Blues prop Steve Roach triggered an all-in brawl in the second tackle of the match with players trading blows for more than a minute afterwards in three separate melees. The sight of Chris Close, his jumper torn off, going blow-for-blow with New South Wales lock Ray Price became an enduring Origin image. When order was finally restored, Gomersall merely awarded a penalty against the Blues and allowed play to continue.
Both sides dug in for a slogging defensive contest and not surprisingly, when Gomersall called a halt for half-time, neither side had scored. So bad were conditions, Blues second-rower Noel Cleal attempted a line drop out only for the ball to stick in the gluey mud and trickle a metre forward. The deadlock was only broken when Mal Meninga landed a penalty goal. shortly afterwardse Queensland prop Greg Dowling scored a memorable Origin try. Lewis had been peppering the New South wales line with his searching kicks and chipped ahead, aiming for the in-goal area. In a moment of good fortune for the Maroons the ball struck the cross-bar and Dowling who had been following through, took an extraordinary catch on his finger tips centimetres from the rain soaked ground and plunged across the line in a splash of mud to score and give Queensland an 8-0 lead.[6]
The Blues responded with a penalty goal to winger Ross Conlon reducing the Queensland lead to a converted try but when Maroon centre Gene Miles powered his way over the line from dummy half, the Queensland lead extended to 14-2 and there was no way back for the Blues.
With the series decided in Sydney, game III at Lang Park became a dead-rubber but was significant for the selection of Canterbury Bulldogs half-back Steve Mortimer as captain of New South Wales for the first time after Ray Price had elected to stand down from representative football following the third Ashes Test.
New South Wales selectors took the opportunity to blood a number of young players for the first time like Chris Mortimer, Pat Jarvis and Peter Wynn who along with Mortimer would play dominant roles in the Blues revival of 1985.
| 17 July[7] | New South Wales | 22–12 | Queensland | Lang Park Attendance: 16,559 Referee/s: Kevin Roberts[8] Man of the Match: Steve Mortimer |
| (10 - 5 g) Ross Conlon (8 - 2 t) Brian Johnston (4 - 1 t) Noel Cleal |
(Report) | Kerry Boustead (4 - 1 t) Bob Lindner (4 - 1 t) Mal Meninga (4 - 2 g) |
Mortimer inspired New South Wales to a 22-12 victory which avoided the embarrassment of a series whitewash and earned for himself the man of the match award.
| Position | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fullback | Garry Jack | |||||
| Wing | Eric Grothe, Sr. | Steve Morris | ||||
| Centre | Steve Ella | Andrew Farrar | Chris Mortimer | |||
| Centre | Brett Kenny | Brian Johnston | ||||
| Wing | Ross Conlon | |||||
| Five-Eighth | Alan Thompson | Terry Lamb | Brett Kenny | |||
| Halfback | Peter Sterling | Steve Mortimer | Steve Mortimer (c) | |||
| Prop | Steve Roach | |||||
| Hooker | Rex Wright | Royce Simmons | ||||
| Prop | Craig Young | Peter Tunks | Pat Jarvis | |||
| Second Row | Noel Cleal | |||||
| Second Row | Wayne Pearce | Chris Walsh | ||||
| Lock | Ray Price (c) | Peter Wynn | ||||
| Replacement | Brian Hetherington | Steve Ella | Mick Potter | |||
| Replacement | Pat Jarvis | Peter Tunks | ||||
| Coach | Frank Stanton | |||||
| Position | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fullback | Colin Scott | |||||
| Wing | Kerry Boustead | John Ribot | ||||
| Centre | Mal Meninga | Chris Close | Mal Meninga | |||
| Centre | Gene Miles | Brett French | ||||
| Wing | Chris Close | Mal Meninga | Kerry Boustead | |||
| Five-Eighth | Wally Lewis (c) | |||||
| Halfback | Mark Murray | Ross Henrick | ||||
| Prop | Greg Dowling | |||||
| Hooker | Greg Conescu | |||||
| Prop | Dave Brown | |||||
| Second Row | Bryan Niebling | Chris Phelan | ||||
| Second Row | Wally Fullerton-Smith | |||||
| Lock | Paul Vautin | Bob Lindner | ||||
| Replacement | Brett French | Bob Lindner | Bob Kellaway | |||
| Replacement | Bob Lindner | Tony Currie | ||||
| Coach | Arthur Beetson | |||||
|
|||||||||||