QUEENSLAND’S GREATEST WINS AGAINST THE ODDS
QUEENSLAND teams have been here before.
Dane Gagai’s finger injury yesterday continued one of Queensland’s most unfortunate Origin preparations.
But the Maroons have been through any measure of adversity over the years.
No reserves, no worries. Queensland 16-12, Sydney, Game Two, 1989.
Allan Langer (broken ankle), Mal Meninga (broken cheekbone) and Paul Vautin (dislocated elbow) were out of the game within half an hour.
With 20 minutes left, Michael Hancock (shoulder) had to give it away and Bob Lindner played for 15 minutes with a broken bone in his leg.
But Wally Lewis’s most famous Origin try and some tenacious defence clinched the series anyway.
No Super League players, no worries. Queensland 24-16, Brisbane, Game Three, 1995.
The Game One upset, a 2-0 shutout, was the biggest Origin boilover, with NSW coach Phil Gould blaming complacency in his side of ARL-aligned stars.
A dead rubber for Game Three was no reason for skipper Trevor Gillmeister to accept that he should stay hospitalised with a serious blood infection on game day. In 2014, he told of his discussion with his father Ron about the risks of playing in such health. “If you die, you die,” replied Gilly’s dad.
Ten behind with eight minutes to go. Queensland 16-14, Melbourne, Game Three, 2006.
It was not just about the brazen heist that was the opportunistic Darren Lockyer try from a NSW handling mistake to grab Queensland’s first series win since 2001. Nor was it the bloody mindedness needed to keep trying despite two refereeing howlers in the second half that denied them a try and gave the Blues one.
Injuries saw Greg Inglis, Justin Hodges and Karmichael Hunt ruled out of Game Three.
Remind you of anything?
Four losses in a row. Queensland 12-6, Sydney, Game Two, 1987.
The Maroons had lost the 1985 series, been whitewashed 3-0 in 1986 and gone one game down in 1987 after a gut-wrenching last-minute Blues try. One more loss and Wayne Bennett knew he would lose the Maroons coaching job and have many Origin playing careers terminated with him.