SportRefs must act on Origin foul play: Fittler

From epic brawls to miraculous tries, Australia’s annual best-of-three rugby league series has offered some unforgettable moments over the years. We look at some of the most memorable ones from the popular tournament played between Queensland (the Maroons) and New South Wales (the Blues).

(Pictured) The Blues celebrate their series win in Brisbane, Australia, on July 11, 2018.

Coming off their defeats in the past five years, the Blues won the series 2-1 and ended the Maroons’ dominant run since the first game was played in 1980 at Lang Park. In one of the most famous images of NSW State of Origin, teammates lifted captain Steve Mortimer on their shoulders, celebrating their historic victory.

Refs ditch whistles in second half as Origin eventually entertains us

A bad week for the refs looked like going from bad to worse until Gerard Sutton and Ashley Klein put the whistles away to allow a free-flowing second-half.

Refs must act on Origin foul play : Fittler . James Anderson has shed fresh light on a calf injury he sustained while playing for Lancashire, confirming he is to undergo a scan in the coming week

Been playing it co-op with a buddy of mine, his is working just fine. WTF? Christ if my buddy didn't want to play this so bad co-op I'd never have gotten it. I have the exact issue - want to play co-op with friend but origin in-game overlay doesn't show up in Dead Space 3. It shows up in Battlefield 3 for me.

Aptly nicknamed “The King,” Queensland five-eighth Wally Lewis lived up to the moniker during the second game in 1989. As the game neared full-time, the Maroons were left with just 12 fit players due to injuries. Lewis received a pass, then set off on a boisterous 40-metre run, brushing off rival players with his speed. He scored the try and led his team to a 16-12 victory.

(Pictured) Lewis in action in May 1990.

Blues winger Michael O’Connor showed off his impressive skills by converting a kick into a goal on a wet pitch. During the second game, with just minutes left and the scores levelled, O’Connor kicked the ball from three metres in from the sideline, applying a perfect swing and slotted it. New South Wales won 14-12.

(Pictured) O'Connor in 2013.

With the 1991 series locked at one game apiece, the Blues ventured north to Maroons territory to try and seal the series at The Cauldron – Lang Park. The crowd were told 10 minutes before full-time that the Emperor of Lang Park himself, "King" Wally Lewis, would be playing his last game for Queensland that night as his daughter Jaime-Lee had been diagnosed with impaired hearing. The crowd of 33,226 lifted and Queensland won a tense encounter 14-12 to clinch the series.

Blues' Origin hero Tedesco has proved a lot of people wrong - Fittler

James Tedesco was the State of Origin hero for New South Wales Blues and earned effusive praise from coach Brad Fittler.

The Maroons will now only have pride to play for in Game 3, with the Blues sealing the series 2-0 in Sydney. NRL guru Phil Gould described the rollercoaster second game of the series one of the It was a memorable victory for a team that seems destined to be remembered as Brad Fittler ’s Baby Blues.

The appointment of Brad Fittler as NSW State of Origin coach has made the hairs on the back of Kevin Walters’s neck bristle. Fittler was appointed by the NSWRL last Friday to be the successor to Laurie Daley, who guided the Blues to victory in 2014 but lost four other series in his five-year tenure.

One of the most dramatic standoffs in Origin history ensued after Blues’ Mark Geyer apparently elbowed Steve Walters, with a bunch of Queensland and NSW players jumping in and turning it into a wild brawl. Although it was subdued by the referee, Maroons captain Wally Lewis and Geyer went at it again as the half ended, screaming at length into each other’s faces.

The Maroons were trailing through most part of the first game of 1994. In the last minute, as Queensland was two points down, the team made one last, desperate effort. The players passed the ball around with clinical precision and interchange back Mark Coyne beat two defenders and slid over to score. As the team won 16-12, commentator Ray Warren announced, “That's not a try - that's a miracle!”

(Pictured) Coyne in action in June 1997.

Brawls between the two sides aren’t uncommon in Origin games. However, the 1995 fight-out during the second game takes the cake. Only two minutes into the match, New South Wales hooker Jim Serdaris threw a punch at his opposite Wayne Bartrim during the opening scrum. As tempers flared quickly, almost every player on the field converged and brawls began. After the referees brought the situation under control, the game started and the Maroons won 20-12 to clinch the series.

'It feels a bit surreal': Pearce is finally on the right side of Origin history

This 80 minutes was meant to inform us about Mitchell Pearce in a way that 268 NRL appearances and 18 previous State of Origin matches never could. That somehow all that he has and will achieve will be seen through the prism of this one performance and somehow put it all into its proper perspective. Of course, it doesn’t work like that. The result, aside from determining where the shield went, would also determine what we made of Pearce. You can’t get a 20th call-up unless the ledger is at least partly redressed. The Newcastle captain’s record still makes his state wince but at least it registers a series win.

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Arguably the best tackle in Origin history was seen in the final game of the series. As Blues fullback Brett Hodgson tried to outmaneuver rival captain Gorden Tallis, he was held by the collar by Tallis and swung around, just like a rag doll, before getting thrown across the touchline. No wonder Tallis was nicknamed “The Raging Bull” by his fans. The game was drawn at 18-all thanks to a late try from Maroons forward Dane Carlaw.

The first game of 2004 saw the first-ever extra time in Origin history. After the scores were tied 8-all at full-time, the game took a tense turn as it became anybody’s game – the first to score the golden point will lead his team to victory. Keeping a cool head, New South Wales lock Shaun Timmins launched a field-goal attempt from 35 metres out and scored the winning point for his team.

New South Wales coach Phil Gould had a tough time selecting his roster before the second game. With most of the star players such as Shaun Timmins, Craig Gower, Matt Orford, Brett Kimmorley and Trent Barrett out with injury, he asked Brad Fittler to come out of his representative retirement. Although the Blues lost the second game 22-18, Fittler made a fitting comeback in the final game, scoring the last try and leading his team to a 36-14 victory and series win.

During the second half of the second game, Darren Lockyer kicked the ball over the Blues defense for wingman Billy Slater to pick up. He set off on an astounding run, kicking the ball again and needling through the defense on an angle across the field to score. An Origin legend was born, and Queensland won 22-18.

Legend's split over controversial sin bin

NRL greats Peter Sterling and Brad Fittler have questioned the controversial binning of Knights star James Gavet.

Brad Fittler has accused State of Origin referees Shayne Hayne and Ben Cummins of contributing to Wednesday night’s poor spectacle with their failure to keep the teams apart. Pressure continues to mount on the leading whistleblowers who are no certainties of refereeing Origin III next month after

NSW was struggling in Game 2 of the series, down 1-0 and with halfback Trent Barrett injured. The team looked to Andrew Johns for a miracle, who himself had just come off a long break from knee and jaw injuries. Johns set speculations around his performance to rest with an early try with Anthony Minichiello and displayed incredible passing and kicking skills, setting the stage for a 32-22 victory in the game and later a series win. All hail King Joey!

The series came down to a deciding game and it was Lockyer’s emphatic interception during the second half that sealed New South Wales’ defeat. With six minutes left on the clock, New South Wales fullback Brett Hodgson threw a pass that missed the mark. Lockyer burst through, picked up the ball and scored. The Maroons won 16-14 and kicked off their unprecedented eight-year run of series victories.

During his Origin debut match at the first game in 2007, New South Wales winger Jarryd Hayne showed his skills as one of the best players of the sport. Just before half-time, as Queensland winger Brent Tate tried to kick the ball past the half-way line, Hayne checked it, grabbed the ball and sprinted towards the goal. He evaded two tackles and crashed over to score a try. Even though his side lost 25-18, Hayne delivered the best moment of the game.

The 2012 series saw a close fight between New South Wales and Queensland, with both sides picking up a win each in the first two games. In the third game, with both tied at 20 points, Queensland halfback Cooper Cronk stunned the crowd with an amazing field goal of 45 metres, leading to a 21-20 win for his team.

(Pictured) Cronk (C) during the first game in 2012.

After the Blues had scored their first series victory in eight years in 2014, putting a stop at the Maroons’ winning streak, they came into 2015 with a lot of steam and even took the series to a decider. The Maroons, however, had something else in mind, saving their best for the last. The result: a record 52-6 rout of the Blues and their ninth series in 10 years, rounding up a decade of dominance (almost!).

The NSW team saw a record 11 debutants playing in the series opener, and it was considered their most inexperienced side in 34 years. But rolling the dice worked just fine for new coach Brad Fittler, and some serious electric plays by the “bunch of kids” helped Blues win the series.