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Message: [QUOTE="Big Pete, post: 2645216, member: 1899"] [B]State of Origin Game III 1982 [/B]Sydney Cricket Ground, New South Wales [B]Queensland 10[/B] (Hancock, Lewis tries; Meninga 2/3 goals) defeated [B]New South Wales 5 [/B](Duke try; Cronin 1/2 goals) This was the worst decider I've ever seen. Neither team could hold onto the ball and the game itself was decided on the infamous Sigsworth to Duke error. Wikipedia tells me NSW were penalised incorrectly in the build up for feeding the scrum wrong, even though it was Mark Murray who fed the ball, so it just goes to show how scrappy the affair was. In saying, Queensland were deserved victors. They were the first to score points and were seemingly better in all facets as NSW struggled to gel. It's hardly surprising, as NSW made 9 changes to their side. In combination with their poor build-up (they only ever ran one session together) it's clear to see that the Blues biggest challenge was their own complacency. [B]New South Wales[/B] 1. Phil Sigworth* 2. Phil Duke* 3. Brad Izzard 4. Mick Cronin 5. Terry Fahey 6. Brett Kenny 7. Steve Mortimer 8. Ray Price 9. Les Boyd 10. Paul Merlo* 11. Don McKinnon* 12. Max Krillich (c) 13. Royce Ayliffe Reserves: 14. Alan Thompson 15. Craig Young Coach: Frank Stanton [B]Queensland[/B] 1. Mitch Brennan 2. John Ribot 3. Gene Miles 4. Mal Meninga 5. Kerry Boustead 6. Wally Lewis (c) 7. Mark Murray 8. Norm Carr 9. Paul McCabe 10. Rohan Hancock 11. Paul Khan 12. John Dowling 13. Rod Morris Reserves: 14. Paul Vautin 15. Tony Currie* Coach: Arthur Beetson [B]BP Man of the Match: [/B]Wally Lewis by default. Had a hand in both tries for the Maroons, throwing a lovely cut-out ball to Murray in the lead up to Hancock's try before scoring one himself. Not his best game by any means, struggled to get involved as Queensland kept turning possession over before he'd get a chance to do anything with the ball and got himself binned for a silly incident involving McKinnon. Lewis was getting up after being tackled on the last when McKinnon stepped over him and Wally threw the ball at him in disgust. McKinnon must have stepped on his hands, but the replay was inconclusive. [B]Farewell...[/B]Phil Duke, Terry Fahey, Don McKinnon, Royce Ayliffe, Paul Merlo (NSW) Norm Carr, Rohan Hancock, Paul Khan, John Dowling, Rod Morris. Duke is going to be remembered for the mistake in his own in-goal, but it was hardly his fault. It was a silly option from Sigworth and sadly it appears Duke copped the full brunt of the blame. Outside of that, I thought he was a stand-out, making good metres off kick returns and did well to finish off the Blues raid down their left hand side. I don't remember anything about Fahey which is never a good sign. I don't think he was particularly good in either game of his career and in a game as bad as this, that's a bad sign. McKinnon was a one and done player, which is unfortunate because I thought he was the Blues best. Everytime he had the ball, he'd just march through the Maroons defence and it took a lot of defenders to stop him. Ayliffe kept trying to keep the ball alive, but some of his passes were pretty short sighted. Despite playing two games prior, this was his first real opportunity as he started and I think he was guilty of being too impatient. Merlo is a contender for the worst NSW side. Made a lot of handling errors and don't remember anything positive about his game at all. Carr came in for Vautin after Queensland's poor performance in Game 1 and I thought he provided the Maroons more confidence in the middle. Didn't think he was particularly great here as he fumbled quite a bit, but a decent contributor to the Maroons early success. I could be wrong, but I believe Hancock was actually picked out of Queensland Country Rugby League and only ever played the one series. One of the smarter selections Beetson made was shifting Hancock to the backrow for Game 2, it did wonders for Hancock who was absolutely tireless in the middle and I believe he threw the final pass in the lead up to Vautin's try which wrapped Game 2 up for Queensland. Scored first points in the decider following Murray in support before suffering a cheekbone fracture only moments later. He'd rate up there in the Adam Mogg category for me. Khan was a very erratic player who could throw an awesome pass one moment, then do something really silly the next time. However, I respected his toughness in the middle. I remember him taking it to the Blues forwards a lot and it's hard not to appreciate those sort of plays in this arena. Dowling was another one series wonder. A veteran hooker who was playing for St. George at the time, Dowling was an uncompromising player who wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty. Morris was a tireless contributor for the Maroons who tried to make every single play of his count. At this point, I'd have him and Beetson as my front row as a GOAT Origin team. [/QUOTE]

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