Wednesday night once again saw Queensland defy the odds to win the State of Origin series in front of their adoring fans at Lang Park. In 43 years of Origin, New South Wales has only won the decider at Lang Park on two occasions.

One may think that Origin was proposed due to New South Wales being dominant in the late 1970s. That is only half the truth.

After failing to score a point in any of the three interstate games in 1973, Queensland drew two of the three matches of the 1974 series. They won the first game in 1975, and went down 9-8 in the decider. The Maroons were again competitive in 1977 until Tom Raudonikis came off the bench to inspire the Blues to a memorable victory.

Things got out of hand at the end of the 1978 series. Queenslanders Kerry Boustead, Rod Morris and Greg Oliphant were selected for the end of season Kangaroo Tour, and all three signed with Sydney clubs for the 1979 season.

The Sydney clubs, awash with money from their poker machine filled leagues clubs, simply had too much lure compared to Brisbane. The defection of teenage winger Kerry Boustead in particular seemed to be the last straw.

The Queensland Rugby League had been pushing the concept of State of Origin for a few years before its inception in 1980. Watching Arthur Beetson, Rod Reddy, John Ribot and others play for New South Wales was bad enough, but the 1979 defections put the Origin concept into practice.

Before Origin, Queensland had their moments in the interstate series. They were dominant in the 1920s, and won their share of games in the years after the Second World War. In the 1970s Sydney fans got to see some of the emerging stars such as Rohan Hancock, Mal Meninga, Chris Close and Bryan Niebling in the mid-week Amco Cup.

As we sit in awe at yet another awesome Origin series this week, let’s remember the players who paved the way. Before Origin.