Corey Parker recalls 2015 record breaker
- FOGS
- 5 hours ago
- 4 min read
It is 10 years since a Queensland team taunted as “Dad’s Army” smashed NSW in the State of Origin decider with an all-time record winning margin.
The 52-6 victory at Suncorp Stadium in game three of the 2015 series also sent coach Mal Meninga out a winner with his ninth series win out of 10 attempts.
It was a team triumph for the ages and also farewelled Maroons legend Justin Hodges in style in his 24th and final game for Queensland.
For Maroons lock Corey Parker it was also a memorable night as he won the prestigious Wally Lewis Medal as player of the series.
NSW had won the 2014 series and levelled in 2015 at 1-all after a 26-18 win in Melbourne. The Blues were cocky about themselves starting a dynasty.
Putting Blues in their place
“They were saying we had got ambushed but that was a fallacy. They didn’t blow us off the park in Melbourne,” Parker recalled.
“They were chirping like canaries and we bottled it and took it on board.
“People were doubting us in terms of our age. There was a back page of the paper in Sydney with a Dad’s Army picture of all us older blokes.
“You started reading how they were going to go on a streak of their own. We used it as motivation absolutely. We had paper clippings in the team room and it was a driving force.”
From start to finish the Maroons were on fire in the decider. It was carnage.
“That is what happens when you have got 17 Origin players and everyone playing a nine out of 10 game,” Parker said.
“The noise on the night was the loudest I have been a part of. There was a pivotal point that I wrote about in my (autobiography) about Cameron Smith as a leader.
“We were up by 30 and he got us together and said, ‘let’s not get carried away with this. Let’s go after it and put the foot down’. We continued to plough over them and it was one of those games you didn’t want to end. It was a special occasion.”
There was a memorable sledge in the match from Johnathan Thurston directed at NSW’s Mitchell Pearce.
“You may as well get a photo with the Wally Lewis statue because that’s the closest you are going to get to holding the shield,” Thurston said.
Pearce had called Thurston “too old” in game two and it was like a red rag to a bull.
Parker’s crowning achievement
It was Parker’s best series in his career and he was recognised appropriately.
“After the game I remember one of the NRL people saying I was going to win the Wally Lewis Medal and it was very special when you consider who has won it before,” he said.
“Particularly with the team that we had, first and foremost it was a star studded lineup. Secondly to that it just solidified for me something I had been working so hard for. You don’t play games to get medals but it was one of those series.
Hodges gets a fitting farewell
Hodges’ last act on a field for the Maroons was to land a conversion. It was the first and last goal of his stellar Origin career. Parker had played with Hodges since under 12s, lined up in junior rep footy and signed at the Broncos together before co-captaining the side as a duo.
“Me and Hodgo did a lot of “firsts” together. Then to do some “lasts” together was special,” Parker said.
“Obviously the last game Hodgo played for the Broncos (in the 2015 grand final) was a memorable game but not the way we wanted to finish. The Origin finish was a fitting match for him to win and then kick the goal.
“He still talks about it. One from one. You know what he is like. It wasn’t the best looking kick, but it went over.
“One thing I was never concerned about was Hodgo’s hatred of NSW and passion for the Queensland and it was in an aggressive way. If you watched Justin play you always knew he would try and intimidate and hurt and that flowed on. He was super influential.”
Caxton St Party Time
The celebrations afterwards were memorable
“What stands out was when we drove the bus up Caxton St afterwards,” Parker said.
“Smithy, JT and most of us were still in our kit. It was about 1am and is one of those memories that will always stay with me.
“I wasn’t part of the days when the bus would drive down Caxton St to the game but driving up afterwards with the shield in the front seat and people running out of bars was special, given the fact we had won the decider.”
Parker looks back on his 19 Origin games and success with Queensland with fondness.
“To play and train with those guys and have chin wags, beers, coffees, go through the ups and downs with injuries, first babies, second babies and marriages it is a bit more than just a game.
“Winning an Origin series is one of those feelings you wish every footballer could experience. It is up there with grand finals.”