Armchair Playmaker » New South Wales

Three Decades of Origin Continue Today

admin — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 07:12:44 +0000

The third and final match of the 2010 State of Origin series kicks off in a few hours now, and it promises thrills. Even though Queensland clinched the series in the first two matches, we saw last year that clinching the series early doesn’t mean the end of the drama.

Considering that rugby union is much more popular around the globe, some who come across this site might not have much interest in rugby league or the State of Origin series. If you are a union fan who thinks you’ve got no room for league in your interests, I suggest you set aside some time to sit through this one-hour television special titled “Thirty Years of Origin: A Celebration” and see whether you still feel that way:

Queensland Win Great State of Origin Series

admin — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 01:42:00 +0000

Yesterday, Queensland came away with a 16-10 win in the deciding match of the 2008 State of Origin series. Featuring high-flying antics from man of the match Israel Folau, It was an exciting match and a gripping series, as you can see from the highlights below:

12 Hours to Origin Decider

admin — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 22:00:00 +0000

With the 2008 State of Origin series level at one match each, Queensland and New South Wales will battle in the decider in exactly twelve hours. The below ad for this year’s series should give some idea of what the series means to those contesting it:

Raging Willie

admin — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 17:25:00 +0000

After Willie Mason called Queensland Maroons fans “nutbag, redneck supporters,” Queensland retaliated with a 30-0 whitewash of Mason’s New South Wales side in the second match of the 2008 State of Origin series. The third deciding match is still two weeks away, but Mason has already offered more of his characteristically diplomatic commentary, warning that the third match will be “the biggest game in his life” and adding, “I genuinely hate Queenslanders.”

Why is Willie Mason so eager to get inflammatory quotes in the press? One recent opinion piece suggests that the rants may be intended to distract from mediocre Origin performances.

Whatever the reason, Big Willie keeps managing to turn up in the press a lot, as is chronicled in this song from Mick Meredith (Caution: Some rude innuendo/imagery):

Origin II Highlights

admin — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 16:38:00 +0000

When we first discussed Queensland’s 30-0 whitewash of New South Wales in the second match of the 2008 State of Origin series, it was too early to catch hold of some highlight clips to post. Now that they’re available, have a look at a very thorough highlight clip:

If you’d rather feel like you were there, here is a clip of highlights filmed from a seat in the crowd at Suncorp Stadium:

a 30-0 scoreline is pretty amazing in the hotly contested interstate series. As you can see, a win like that has people dreaming of playing for Queensland:

Must be Boyd’s Year

admin — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 12:14:00 +0000

The third match of the State of Origin series will be the decider after Queensland put a 30-0 whitewash on New South Wales to level the series. Among the big Queensland performers was the Brisbane Broncos’ Darius Boyd, who scored two first-half tries on the wing. Boyd is having a happy year straight from the beginning, as he scored a hat-trick of tries against the Penrith Panthers in the first match of the 2008 National Rugby League season after scoring another hat-trick in a preseason trial match against the Canberra Raiders.

Given that it’s too early for highlights from the Origin match, here’s a clip of Boyd scoring a fantastic team try that stretched nearly the length of the field against the Gold Coast Titans in Round Six of the 2008 NRL season:

Origin Sledging Not Just for NSW

admin — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 03:29:00 +0000

Although the latest salvo was from New South Wales‘ Willie Mason (see Armchair Playmaker’s earlier post), NSW doesn’t have a monopoly on sledging. This short video from the 2007 State of Origin series, which features Maroons center Justin Hodges gently suggesting that teammate Cameron Smith is the top hooker in the game while opponent Danny Buderus is “#2″ speaks for itself:

No danger of a repeat display, of course, as Hodges is currently suspended from the second Origin Match next week after a dangerous throw in a tackle.

Why, Big Willie, Why?

admin — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 18:34:00 +0000

Whenever you get to thinking Big Willie Mason has run out of things to say, look at the news again. Now, the less-than-beloved Sydney Roosters, New South Wales, and Australia forward is predicting that Darren Lockyer’s return to the Queensland State of Origin side for the series’ second match next week will have Queensland’s “nutbag, redneck” supporters excited.

Armchair Playmaker is reminded of an earlier occasion when Big Willie ran his mouth about the opposition:

NSW Hears the Footsteps of Lockyer

admin — Fri, 30 May 2008 19:30:00 +0000

Yesterday, we mentioned that Darren Lockyer’s return to the Brisbane Broncos could bode well for Queensland in the 2008 State of Origin series. Now that Lockyer has put in a magic performance for Brisbane by setting up the match-winner against the Parramatta Eels, one has to wonder if we might see more of his heroics in the Origin over the next few weeks. He’s certainly had a few over recent years in the #6 shirt for the Maroons, as the below video shows (though it’s a bit grainy) at around 2:45-2:50, 4:28-4:32, 5:40-5:45, 6:07-6:10, and 7:20-7:30:

Mixed Feelings for Broncos

admin — Wed, 21 May 2008 16:31:00 +0000

The Brisbane Broncos, long a major contributor to Queensland’s State of Origin side, must have had mixed feelings. On the one hand, Queensland went down to New South Wales 18-10 in the first match of the 2008 State of Origin series. On the other hand, Broncos halfback Peter Wallace had a blinder for NSW in his Origin debut. The Broncos are used to having to lose a few good men to the mid-season series, but it can’t be easy to have one playing so well against Queensland!