COULD THIS TEAM
Slater, Tallis head up the best NQ Origin team in history
FOR years North Queensland has proven the region can punch well above its weight on the sporting field.
We have produced plenty of champions across the sporting world, but none more so than in rugby league.
North Queensland has left an indelible imprint on the rugby league landscape, something that will be both recognised and celebrated in tonight’s historic State of Origin showdown in Townsville.
The Origin legends of the past will be part of that spectacle, forming a guard of honour on the surface of Queensland Country Bank Stadium.
But what about their ability on the field.
Could a solely North Queensland Origin team take down the best of the Blues?
We reckon the team we have compiled, along with the help of North Queensland rugby league historian Tony Price and our readers, would stand more than a chance.
You voted and here is the best North Queensland Origin team of history.
1. BILLY SLATER ber one reason Matt Bowen didn’t play more Origins. Slater is arguably one of the best fullbacks to lace the boots having revolutionised the role with his ability to join the line as a ballplayer. Slater came up through the junior ranks at Brothers Innisfail and was always a Cowboys fan before chasing his career south of the border. Slater is a Dally M medallist and three-time Dally M fullback of the year. He won two Wally Lewis Medals for player of the Origin series and was a key part of Queensland’s dominance in the late 2000s.
2. WENDELL SAILOR ORIGINS: 14
One of the game’s great characters, Sailor had the perfect mix of speed and explosiveness. He was one of the game changers when it came to the modern day winger with his size and strength allowing Sailor to take the heavy carries through the middle when needed. Sailor forced his way into first grade at the Broncos and after strong performances became one of a few players to make his Test debut before his State of Origin debut in 1994. Sailor became the NRL’S most hyped talent and was part of Brisbane’s 1997 and 2000 premiership campaigns. In that time he played four straight series for Queensland, but only managed one try.
3. GENE MILES
Origins: 19
Townsville centreturned- forward, Miles was a destructive ball runner for his state and country. Miles began his career with W y n n u m - Manly in 1980 and made his State of
Origin debut the following year. Miles became a mainstay of the Maroons centres throughout the 1980s with his power and speed proving a handful for the Blues, scoring nine tries. At 102kg, his strong bursts coupled with his characteristic one-handed ‘basketball’ pass, saw him successfully switch to the forwards in 1987 (winning Brisbane’s Rothmans Medal in the process). Miles also made 15 appearances for Australia, winning 13 times in the green and gold.
4. DANE GAGAI ORIGINS: 16
Gagai will run out onto Queensland Country Bank Stadium for his 17th Origin appearance tonight, a representative career that has been highly successful. Gagai has played the majority of his representative career on the wing and has proven to be one of the Maroons best finishers since the start of Origin in the 1980s. Despite playing for a struggling Knights outfit, Gagai had a sustained run in the representative arena due to his ability and sheer determination. On his day, Gagai can be one of the more destructive runners in the game, who has benefited from an impressive Queensland line-up behind him. Gagai has scored 11 tries at Origin level and has enjoyed a career resurgence since coming back under Bennett at the Rabbitohs.
5. DALE SHEARER ORIGINS: 26
A versatile outside back from the heart of cane country, Shearer made 26 appearances in State of Origin with the lion’s share of those coming on the wing. He also represented his state at fullback, five-eighth and off the bench across a decade-long Origin career. Shearer was one of the great finishers of his era and scored in six consecutive Origin games including one in each game of Queensland’s 1987 series victory. Shearer spent the early part of his career at Manly but after 86 appearances over five seasons he became a ‘ gun for hire’ of sorts, moving between the Broncos,
Gold Coast, newcomers South Queensland Crushers and Sydney Roosters before finishing his career back home in North Queensland in 1998. He won a premiership with Manly in 1987.
6. MICHAEL MORGAN ORIGINS: 12
The former Cowboys captain, who was forced into retirement earlier this year, has been a unique prospect at Origin level. Morgan has predominantly played off the bench for the Maroons in a utility role that saw him slot into the halves, the centres and as a mobile lock forward. Morgan became the Maroons Mr Fix-it over the past six seasons after making his Origin debut in 2015, the same year he helped the Cowboys to the NRL premiership. He was a crucial part of the series, scoring a try and setting up two others in Queensland’s 52-6 obliteration of the Blues in the decider. Morgan retained the utility role for the Maroons for the following two series before he was shifted into the centres where he also flourished.
7. DALY CHERRY-EVANS ORIGINS: 13
The incumbent Queensland halfback and captain, Cherry-evans is one of the game’s best thinkers and man managers. Despite exploding onto the scene in his rookie season in 2011, which culminated in a Kangaroos call-up at the end of the year, the Manly halfback had to bide his time to get a taste of Origin. He was included on the bench as a utility player in the 2013 series helping Queensland to win and retained the spot the following year. He got his first crack at starting halfback after an injury to Cooper Cronk in 2014, but did not cement the role until the retirement of legend Johnathan Thurston. CherryEvans assumed the captaincy of Maroons on his return from the Origin wilderness in 2019 and has been a mainstay of the past two series.
8. GREG DOWLING ORIGINS: 13
Dowling was a prop who took no prisoners on the football field, a trait which was born in working class Townsville. It was also a trait that helped foster a production line of hard-nosed forwards from the North. Dowling started his career with Wynnum-manly before graduating to State of Origin level in 1984. He scored a memorable try in the SCG mud off a Wally Lewis kick that rebounded off the crossbar in 1984 and was a cornerstone in Queensland’s State of Origin successes in the mid-1980s. Dowling went on to make 13 appearances for the Maroons and scored five tries in the middle.
9. JAMIE GODDARD ORIGINS: 4
The hardworking Mount Isa junior played seven seasons in the Gold Coast system and made the step up to the Origin arena during the height of the Super League wars in 1997. He played all three games of the losing series for Queensland, and was recalled to the Origin furnace when the game was reunited the following year. A tough-as-nails character, Goddard will be best remembered by Maroons fans for doing the one thing we have all wanted to do – knocking the snot out of rugby league immortal Andrew Johns in the 1997 series. Goddard made 160 top league appearances over an 11 year career.
10. CARL WEBB ORIGINS: 12
One of rugby league’s ultimate hardmen, the Mount Isa product was a staple of the Queensland Maroons throughout the mid-2000s. Webb played for Toowoomba Clydesdales in the Queensland Rugby League where he was picked in the Aborigines squad for their clashes with Papua New Guinea in 1999. The following year he made his NRL debut and in 2001, the year he won the Broncos Rookie of the Year, he was called up to the Maroons for the first time. Webb scored a try on debut for the Maroons and remained on the bench for the rest of the series. He played one game in 2002 and then did not make his return to Origin until after he joined the Cowboys in 2005. Webb was a standout for the Maroons in the following se