State of Origin 1980
The 1980 State of Origin game was the first edition of the State of Origin rugby league tournament . Games between national teams from the states of Queensland and New South Wales have existed before, but this game was the first to take place under state-of-origin rules. This meant that a player would no longer compete for the state in whose league he played, but for the one in which he was born or had started his career. Before the game, there had already been two other games between Queensland and New South Wales that did not take place according to state-of-origin rules and both were won by New South Wales. The game took place on July 8th at Lang Park in Brisbane and was won by Queensland 20:10.
History and reaction
The game was initially heavily ridiculed by Sydney's media. For example, the Daily Mirror's Ron Casey wrote in a column that the game might have meaning for the "backwoodsmen in Prime Minister Joh's Banana Country," but it was just another meaningless game for the people of Sydney. One of the few supporters in Sydney was Ray Warren of the Daily Telegraph , who wrote that Queensland and the rural areas of New South Wales needed an urgent rugby league revitalization and that this game would only be good for development “north of the Border". One of the toughest opponents of such a game was Bob Fulton , the then coach of the Eastern Suburbs Roosters , who ironically would later become a longtime Origin Selector for New South Wales.
Before the game, Kevin Humphreys , then President of the New South Wales Rugby League , met with representatives from the 12 NSWRL clubs. At the meeting, it was voted on whether a game should take place according to state-of-origin rules. The vote ended 9-3 for one game. The three clubs that voted against a game were the South Sydney Rabbitohs , Eastern Suburbs Roosters and St. George Dragons .
Since the New South Wales Rugby League insisted on a neutral referee, the Englishman Billy Thompson was flown in for the game.
The game was sold out; Among the audience were a few prominent guests such as then Secretary of Defense Jim Killen and journalist Hugh Lunn . Before the game, Ron McAuliffe, the President of the Queensland Rugby League , who was instrumental in the development of the State of Origin concept, entered the locker room and gave a speech. It ended with the words: "The future of the game is in our hands. [...] We have to win."
The reactions to the game were consistently positive, also from those who had taken positions against such a game. For example, Alan Clarkson, a journalist for the Sydney Morning Herald, wrote: "I was strictly against such a game, but last night's riveting battle showed that such a game would be a good addition to the current program."
The game
| 8th of July |
 Queensland Maroons
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20:10 |
 New South Wales Blues
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Lang Park , Brisbane Spectators: 33,210 Referee: Billy Thompson |
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Attempts: Boustead , Close Elevations: Meninga (2/2) Penalty kicks: Meninga (5/5) |
(9: 5) Report |
Tries : Brentnall , Raudonikis Raids : Cronin (2/2) |
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