Armchair Playmaker » Queensland

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:

One Way to Settle the League vs. Union Debate

admin — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 16:07:09 +0000

Armchair Playmaker’s focus is on celebrating both rugby codes, so we prefer to celebrate them both and not get drawn in to the debate over which is better if we can help it. However, others would sooner look to settle it by determining the superior code once and for all.

While scouring the Internet for the best news and clips to share with you, we tracked done a unique method used to answer the old rugby union vs. rugby league question. We know that computer simulation is used to solve a lot of real-life problems, but this is a new one. A YouTube user called McCrackon has created a video of a rugby match created on EA Rugby 08 (or possibly an earlier version of the game) pitting an all-star cast of union players (as the Barbarians) against a Queensland Maroons all-time greats side (as the Queensland Reds).

What was the result? See for yourself (but be warned that the game footage is filmed directly from a monitor, so it flickers and may bother some viewers):

We’re not sure what this solves given that (among other things) the Maroons’ players would have been custom-created for the match and would therefore have whatever attributes the player wanted, but the idea is an interesting one and it looks like a lot of effort went into setting up the digital showdown. If you’ve got a rugby video game, try out your own contests and let us know the results!

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:

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 II Looms and Hunt Moves–Announcers Beware

admin — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 17:41:00 +0000

Although Armchair Playmaker had been excited about the possibility of Darren Lockyer returning to the Queensland side for tomorrow’s second match of the State of Origin series, that possibility was snuffed out a few days back. After losing the first match of the three-match series 18-10, Queensland will introduce a new playmaker combination. Scott Prince will come into the side at halfback, Jonathan Thurston will slide from halfback to five-eighth, and Karmichael Hunt slides from five-eighth all the way to the bench despite capable at a number of other positions.

Hunt must be disappointed at having to watch at least some of the match from the bench, having recently noted that he finds watching rugby league boring. The good news is for the announcers, who will have less chance of an embarrassing slip-up over his name, as this clip from last year’s series appears to show. Did Ray “Rabbits” Warren really say what it sounds like he said? You be the judge (Caution: clip contains apparent accidental profanity):

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: