ON the stage proclaimed as the biggest game in State of Origin history, Queensland produced one of its finest hours to destroy NSW 22-6 in Game Three at Suncorp Stadium and give the Maroons an 11th series win in 12 years. Fittingly, in front of the biggest crowd to ever watch an Origin match at
A SUCCESSFUL spine transplant from the NRL’s leading club could underpin Queensland’s quest for glory in the third and deciding State of Origin match at Suncorp Stadium on July 12. The Maroons announced a 17-man squad, listed alphabetically, for Origin III with only two changes – forced by the injuries to five-eighth Johnathan Thurston and
ULTIMATELY, the only surprising thing about Queensland’s epic win in State of Origin II was that it was considered a surprise at all. How many times have we seen this script play out in nearly 40 years of Origin football? The Maroons: on the rack, past their prime, ripe for the picking. The Blues: On
COREY Oates is State of Origin’s hard-luck kid after being squeezed out of a Queensland team looking for redemption in Game II in Sydney. Oates scored Queensland’s only try in Origin I and barely put a foot wrong, but he was the man in the wrong jersey at the wrong time as Maroons selectors overhauled
XXXX Queensland Maroons Game II team Maroons coach Kevin Walters has today unveiled a new-look team to play the NSW Blues in Game II of the Holden State of Origin series at ANZ Stadium. Tim Glasby, Coen Hess, Valentine Holmes and Jarrod Wallace have been selected to make their Origin debuts, while Billy Slater, Johnathan
QUEENSLAND will go back to the drawing board to try to salvage a series and save a dynasty after being blown off Suncorp Stadium by the reborn Blues in State of Origin I. What was supposed to be a night of celebration around skipper Cameron Smith becoming the first man to play in 40 Origin
PASSION, pride and loyalty have been the foundation stones that Queensland has built its State of Origin house on since 1980, and Maroons coach Kevin Walters showed that nothing has changed when he named his team for the first game of this year’s series. Walters nearly broke down into tears when trying to explain the
QUEENSLAND’S State of Origin future has become a premature reality after Johnathan Thurston joined fellow greats Matt Scott and Greg Inglis on a worrying Maroons injured list ahead of this year’s series. Thurston, who overcame a calf tear to play in Australia’s 30-12 Anzac Test thumping of New Zealand, suffered a suspected tear in his
THERE was a time, not so long ago, when Dale Copley’s ascension to the Queensland Origin side seemed inevitable. Most members of Queensland’s Emerging Origin squad silently pray they are just one bumper season away from a call-up to the Maroons’ senior team. Copley has been part of the Emerging Origin squad for the past
ANDREW McCullough has waited long enough to play State of Origin, so he can cope with another two years living in the shadow of Maroons skipper Cameron Smith. Since bursting onto the scene as an 18-year-old at the Broncos in 2008, the good judges have been whispering about McCullough. Next big thing. Future Origin hooker.
