It’s generally accepted that the State of Origin series means a lot more to Queenslanders than it does to those south of the border.

And you don’t need to look any further than the interstate series that preceded Origin for the reason for that passion.

In the old interstate series, players were selected based on their state of residence rather than where they came from, and this led to many Queenslanders playing for NSW against their home state.

The NSW vs Queensland rivalry dates back as far as 1908, the year that rugby league kicked off in Australia, with NSW walloping the northerners 43-0 in the first match and going on to win the inaugural interstate series 2-0.

It took Queensland another 14 years to finally win a series, and they enjoyed the experience so much they kept on winning until NSW bounced back in 1927.

Queensland remained competitive over the next 30 years or so, winning some series and drawing others, but the NSW team took a stranglehold on the series from 1961 onwards remaining undefeated until the series was eventually scrapped in favour of the Origin format in 1982.

Now as if losing to NSW wasn’t bad enough, Queensland had lost some of tjheir best players to the attraction of the higher profile and more lucrative Sydney competition, and many NSW-based Maroons were then selected by their adopted state to turn out in blue jerseys.

So not only were Queenslanders deprived of some of their best home-grown talent, but they had to watch some of them help NSW continue their dominance year after year.

Many of the Queenslanders who represented NSW were the absolute cream of the crop, internationals, greats of the game, and among NSW’s best-performed players.

The calibre of these players, and the extent of the problem for Queensland, is highlighted in the following team made up of home-grown talent who ended up playing for NSW in the interstate series.

1. Johnny Rhodes – Born in Brisbane, the speedy and elusive Rhodes moved from Wests Brisbane to Canterbury-Bankstown in 1968, and his brilliant form saw him play three games for NSW that year. NSW won the interstate series 2-1 and Rhodes was selected to represent Australia at the 1968 World Cup. He later returned to QLD to play for Wynnum Manly and then Fortitude Valley and went on to play five matches for Queensland in the 1975 and 1976 interstate series.

2. Lionel Williamson – Born in Innisfail, the powerful Williamson played seven games for QLD across the 1964, 1967 and 1968 interstate series, all of which were won by NSW. He was selected in the 1968 World Cup squad and then joined Newtown in 1969, where he spent the next six seasons. During his time in Sydney he played two games for NSW in 1971, and once in 1974.

3. John McDonald – Hailing from Toowoomba where he played for Valleys, McDonald was well established in both the Queensland and Australian teams by the time he made the move to Manly in 1969 where he spent the next three seasons. A complete outside back who was blessed with a ton of pace, McDonald played nine times for Queensland between 1965 and 1968, and three times for NSW across the 1969 and 1970 series. After returning home in 1972 he turned his hand to coaching and was Queensland coach in the inaugural Origin game in 1980.

4. Graham Quinn – Born in Brisbane, the powerfully built centre was playing for the Brothers club when he was selected to represent his state in two games in the 1976 interstate series. He transferred to St George the following year and won premierships with them in both 1977 and 1979. He was selected for NSW in game two of the 1980 interstate series, which was run in addition to the Origin fixture and finally got to represent Queensland again when selected for the second match in the 1982 Origin series.

Kerry Boustead on the run for Queensland in the early days of Origin.

5. Kerry Boustead – Boustead was plucked from the Souths (Innisfail) team as an 18-year-old to represent Queensland in the 1978 interstate series, playing all three games and scoring three tries along the way. A courageous defender and an elusive runner, he was quickly snapped up by Eastern Suburbs for the next four seasons before later joining Manly. While residing in Sydney, he played six games for NSW, before being selected for Queensland in the first Origin game in 1980. He went on to play five more times for his state across the 1982 and 1984 series. Boustead is the only player to represent both NSW and Queensland in 1981 and 1982.

6. Graham Laird – Originally from Mackay, Laird was selected from the Toowoomba competition to represent Queensland in games 2, 3 and 4 of the 1955 interstate series which finished in a 2-2 draw. He was then selected in both the second and third Tests against France that year, partnering Keith Holman in the halves. He joined Parramatta in 1956 and went on to play one match for NSW that year. He returned to Mackay in 1958 and was killed in a farming accident that year.

7. Duncan Thompson – Born in Warwick, Thompson was selected at age 20 in 1915 to represent his state in two matches, and following service in WWI during which he was badly wounded, he played four more games for Queensland in 1919. After moving to Sydney to play with North Sydney and helping them to their only premiership victories in 1921 and 1922, he was selected for NSW on three occasions across the 1921 and 1922 seasons. He returned to play for Toowoomba in 1924 and was soon back in the Queensland team, playing five more games for his state across the 1924 and 1925 seasons. One of the greats of the game.

8. Kevin Ryan – He was born in Ipswich and played Rugby for the Brisbane Brothers club as well as representing both Queensland and Australia in the 15-player game before switching to league with the all-conquering St George team in 1960. A rugged individual who wasn’t someone to mess with, Ryan played eight games for NSW during his time at the Dragons.

9. Noel Kelly – He was born in Goodna and played his early football in Ipswich and Ayr. He played five games for Queensland in the 1959 and 1960 seasons, winning all but one. A deservedly feared front-rower, Kelly made the move to the Western Suburbs Magpies in 1961 and played with them for nine seasons, during which he played five games for NSW.

10. Arthur Beetson – Born in Roma, Beetson first made a name for himself while playing for Redcliffe in the 1964 and 1965 seasons, winning a premiership with them in 1965. He linked with Balmain in 1966 for five seasons, and then really hit his peak with Eastern Suburbs across the 1971 to 1978 seasons before finishing his Sydney career with Paramatta and then heading home to Redcliffe in 1981 for his last season. While in Sydney, he was one of NSW’s best players, turning out 17 times for the Blues. The rugby league immortal was Queensland captain in the first Origin match and also captained them in the final interstate series in 1981, before going on to become their most successful Origin coach.

Rugby league Immortal Arthur Beetson.

11. Elton Rasmussen – Hailing from Maryborough, Rasmussen was playing in Toowoomba when he made his debut for Queensland in 1959, playing in all four games for his state that year and going on to win the series. He then played all eight games in the 1960 and 1961 seasons before following the well-worn path to the St George Dragons in 1962 where he played the next seven seasons. During his stay in Sydney he was selected seven times for NSW. He returned north in 1969 to play with Souths (Brisbane) and was selected to play a swansong match for Queensland that year.

12. Harry Bath – The Brisbane-born forward made his first grade debut as a 16 year-old with the Souths (Brisbane) club in 1940, playing with them until 1945. He played twice for Queensland in 1945 before joining the Balmain Tigers for two seasons in 1946. While in Sydney he was one of the first players picked in the NSW side, playing five matches for his adopted state.

13. Rod Reddy – Originally from Rockhampton, Reddy joined the St George Dragons as a teenager and stayed for 12 years. Regarded as one of the best players in the world at his peak, Reddy played a dozen games for NSW between 1973 and 1980 without experiencing a loss, and finally got to play for his home state in the inaugural Origin match in 1980.

14. John Lang – Lang became an institution at Easts (Brisbane) during his 11 year career with them, winning 3 premierships along the way. He was first selected for QLD in 1972 and ended up playing for his state on 18 occasions, tasting victory only once. He made the move to Sydney in 1980 for a single season with Eastern Suburbs and was selected for NSW in game two of the interstate series. His final representative game was in the Queensland engine room for the first Origin game in July 1980.

15. John Wittenberg – Born in Wide Bay, the big front-rower represented Queensland on five occasions between 1962 and 1966 while playing for Wynnum Manly and then Theodore. He joined St George in for three seasons 1968, and during this time played five games for NSW.

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16. Kel O’Shea – Born in Ayr, O’Shea was playing for his home town when selected for Queensland in 1953 and went on to play eight games for his state from 1953-55. He made the move to the Western Suburbs Magpies in Sydney where he starred for the next eight seasons. During this time he played eight games for his adopted state.

17. Rod Morris – Born in Ipswich, Morris was part of the 1977 and 1978 premiership-winning teams for Easts (Brisbane). By the time he headed to the Balmain Tigers in 1979, he had already represented Queensland on seven occasions, losing every game. While he was with Balmain, he represented NSW six times , winning on each occasion. He represented his home state in the first Origin match in 1980 and went on to play three more Origins for Queensland.

Honourable mentions to Bob Hagan, Steve Hage, Ray Higgs, John Ribot, Paul McCabe, Paul Khan, Mick Veivers and Bruce Walker who also began their careers in Queensland before heading to Sydney and then selection for NSW in the interstate series. This is by no means an exhaustive list though, and apologies to those I have omitted.

Whichever way you look at it, that’s an awful lot of talent to be playing for the wrong team and I wonder how much better Queensland would have fared with these players available to them rather than for the opposition? I also wonder how NSW would have performed not only without these players, but also if a similar number of NSW players of the same calibre were playing for Queensland rather than the Blues?

Queenslanders have understandably loved the Origin concept from day one because it finally gave them a chance to see their own players wearing maroon jerseys rather than blue. More than that though, it has given them the opportunity to well and truly end the NSW dominance of interstate football.