Roosters rookie Rob Toia enters an exclusive club on Wednesday night when he runs onto Suncorp Stadium for his State of Origin debut.
The 20-year-old will be among the five least experienced players to ever take part in the blockbuster interstate showpiece of Australian rugby league.
Toia has only 10 first grade games to his name.
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He debuted in round one this season for the Chooks, finally making it to the big stage after years of injury trouble.
According to Nine’s league stats guru David Middleton, only two players in history had played less first grade when they made their Origin debuts.
Ben Ikin was famously a fresh-faced 18-year-old when he was called up to represent Queensland in 1995, while Willie Carne was five games into his career when the Maroons handed him a jersey in 1990.
Robert Toia training with his new Maroons teammates. Getty
Toia will more than likely be tasked with marking Blues wrecking ball Latrell Mitchell – arguably the toughest job on the field.
“What I have seen from Robert so far this season is pretty impressive. I will say that he is miles in front of where I was as a player at this stage of his career,” Ikin told AAP this week.
“I think in any industry if you are good enough you are old enough.
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“The other thing that gives me great confidence in Robert is that I have great confidence in Billy (Slater). Billy watches every game every week and knows exactly what kind of footy he wants this Origin team to play.
Ben Ikin in his Maroons days. Getty
“He knows what he stands for and spends his spare time watching those games and looking for those traits in the players he wants to select.
“So if Robert Toia is in a Billy Slater-coached team, you can bet your bottom dollar he has earned his spot”.
These are the four other least experienced Origin players in history, and how their careers panned out.
BEN IKIN
Picked for Queensland after four games in 1995
The lanky centre-winger was just four games into his first grade career with Gold Coast when he was called up to Queensland’s troubled 1995 Origin team.
He was so unknown that Maroons coach Paul Vautin didn’t even recognise him when he first arrived in camp, hilariously mistaking Ikin for an autograph hunter.
The 18-year-old played every game of that famous 1995 series off the bench. Ikin went on to represent Queensland 17 times.
At club level, he left Gold coast after just one season to join the North Sydney Bears, where he spent four years.
He joined Brisbane in 2000 and won the NRL premiership with the Broncos that year. He played 150 first grade games – and twice for Australia – before retiring in 2004.
Ikin is now the CEO of Queensland Rugby League.
WILLIE CARNE
Picked for Queensland after five games in 1990
Willie Carne for the Maroons. Sydney Morning Herald
The tough winger from Ipswich had played five games for the Broncos when he was picked for the Maroons in game three of the 1990 series.
He went on to play 12 Origin games for his state and was a one-club player for the Broncos for six years before injuries forced him into an early retirement.
Carne also had 10 caps for the Kangaroos.
The 56-year-old is now a self-employed IT specialist.
PAYNE HAAS
Picked for NSW after 10 games in 2019
Payne Haas in action for NSW Blues. Getty
He’s often been referred to as the best prop to grace a rugby league field since Glenn Lazarus, and the career of Haas is very much still in progress.
He burst onto the scene with Brisbane as a teenager and was picked for his Origin debut at 19 years old in 2019.
Remarkably he had been fasting for his first Ramadan right up until game day.
Haas also made his Australian debut in 2019 in what was an incredible debut year in top flight league.
On Wednesday night he will run out for his 15th game in the famous blue strip. He’s still just 25 years old.
DALE SHEARER
Picked for Queensland after 11 games in 1985
Dale Shearer for the Maroons. Sydney Morning Herald
The man known as Rowdy was playing for Mackay before packing his car and moving down to Manly in 1985, which fortuitously led to his debut for Queensland just 11 games later.
He went on to represent the Maroons 26 times, mostly on the wing but also at five-eighth and off the bench.
His 12 tries left him on top of the Origin tryscoring list for a decade after his retirement.
He also played 20 Tests for Australia and won a premiership with Manly, and is known by some as one of the best utility backs to play the game.
These days he is a director for Red Emu Wines.
