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Message: [QUOTE="Broncoman, post: 2619112, member: 7803"] [B]State of Origin 1980[/B] I know Pete has already reviewed this game but I wanted to drop my 2 cents in and share my thoughts on a night that changed the game and kick started a magnificent contest that has captured the imagination of Australian sport and will continue to do so. Amid speculation from the NSW press and after a 9-3 vote in favour of the concept from the 12 NSWRL clubs State of Origin was born and the Maroons after years of being thrashed by their own in Blue jerseys finally had something to celebrate as they defeated the old enemy NSW 20-10 with a side containing 8 Sydney players and 7 Brisbane players. The game has changed completely from 1980 and like Pete did I found it very different from what I've seen my whole life but I still enjoyed the game and found it to be a pretty good exhibition of Rugby League. Queensland deserved their victory as they took any chances they could to score points with the young centre Mal Meninga having a field day with the boot landing 7/7 and contributing 14 points while NSW seemed more focused on scoring tries out of anything and turned over possession far to much and gave away penalties within kicking range and Meninga's accuracy killed them. Both of the halves followed the same story as Queensland worked hard with the ball, scored points when they could and remained patient while NSW seemed to panic and made to many errors that proved the difference along with Mal's kicking. [B]Notes [/B]- Immortal Arthur Beetson finally achieved his dream of leading Queensland into battle and for a 35 year old playing Sydney reserve grade for most of the year I thought he played very well and played a big role in the win leading the Maroons, getting involved in the play and popping offloads quite often. I had never seen a game with him in it before so I really enjoyed the great man's game and was excited to watch him. - Pete made note of this but it's quite strange to think 14 players who played that night only played 1 Origin game. The players were Alan Smith, Greg Oliphant, Rod Reddy, Arthur Beetson and John Lang. NSW players were Graham Eadie, Tommy Raudonikis, Jim Leis, Graeme Wynn, Bob Cooper, Steve Edge, Gary Hambly and Robert Stone. - The referee was a Pom named Billy Thompson - Queensland players that impressed me were Arthur Beetson, Choppy (who won MOM honours), Wally Lewis who had a promising game, Mal and Johnny Lang that stood out to me while the NSW players that stood out where Mick Cronin, Bob Cooper, Craig Young, Graham Eadie (I didn't think he was bad), Gary Hambly and Jim Leis - I found the game to be a lot closer than the 20-10 scoreline read as both sides scored 2 tries each and the Maroons won the penalties 11-9 but the difference was that NSW gave away penalties in kicking range and Meninga's accuracy gave Queensland the advantage - I sometimes wonder what might've happened if NSW won this game and if Origin would've took of the way it did as it was brought in to make Queensland competitive and revive the interstate series. I still believe the concept would've still taken off if NSW won this game but it's still something that makes me wonder from time to time. [B]Queensland 20: [/B]Tries by Kerry Boustead and Chris Close, 7 goals by Mal Meninga [B]New South Wales 10: [/B]Tries by Greg Brentnall and Tommy Raudonikis, 2 goals by Mick Cronin [B]Queensland [/B]1: Colin Scott 2: Kerry Boustead 3: Mal Meninga 4: Chris Close 5: Brad Backer 6: Alan Smith 7: Greg Oliphant 8: Wally Lewis 9: Rod Reddy 10: Rohan Hancock 11: Arthur Beetson (captain) 12: John Lang 13: Rod Morris 14: Norm Carr (not used) 15: Bruce Astill (not used) Coach: John McDonald [B]New South Wales [/B]1: Graham Eadie 2: Chris Anderson 3: Steve Rogers 4: Mick Cronin 5: Greg Brentnall 6: Alan Thompson 7: Tommy Raudonikis 8: Jim Leis 9: Greame Wynn 10: Bob Cooper 11: Craig Young 12: Steve Edge 13: Gary Hambly 14: Steve Martin 15: Robert Stone Coach: Ted Glossop [/QUOTE]

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