2009 State of Origin series

2009 State of Origin series
2009 State of Origin series
	Queensland (14th title)
Series margin	2–1
Points scored	128
Attendance	183,865 (ave. 61,288 per match)
Top points scorer(s)	Johnathan Thurston (24)
Top try scorer(s)	Greg Inglis (3); Ben Creagh (3); Jarryd Hayne (3)
	← 2008; State of Origin series; 2010 →;

The 2009 State of Origin series was the 28th time that the

Wally Lewis Medal

as player of the series.

Game I

For the first time game one of the series was played in Melbourne. The stakes were high for

game I of 2008. The new faces were McManus, Jennings, Stewart, Campese, Farah, Creagh, Weyman and Poore.^[1]

With abundant talent and experience to choose from, Queensland selectors opted for the international backline who had represented

Maroon fullback Hunt

to the interchange bench. The entire Queensland squad had previous Origin experience with thirteen of them having represented on six or more occasions.

Wednesday, 3 June 2009^[2]

Queensland	28 – 18	New South Wales
Tries Inglis (15', 43') 2 Slater (10') 1 Thurston (18') 1 Boyd (80') 1 Goals Thurston 4/5	(Report) (Game stats)	Tries 1 (33') Creagh 1 (61') Wing 1 (69') Hayne Goals 3/4 Gidley

Etihad Stadium, Melbourne^[2]
Attendance: 50,967^[3]
Referee: Shayne Hayne, Tony Archer^[4]
Player of the Match: Johnathan Thurston

New South Wales took a 2–0 lead after an early penalty goal but then in the eighth minute a try to their winger Hayne was disallowed after a long video-referee deliberation. Hayne's right boot was ruled to have brushed the touch line on his way to score, overruling the on field decision of the touch judge. This decision appeared to rock the confidence of the young Blues squad and soon after Queensland took a commanding lead with a succession of tries to Slater, Inglis and then Thurston. Creagh crossed for the Blues before half-time picking up a pass from Hayne after he had chased a kick. The scoreline was 18–6 at the break.

As the second half kicked off, Inglis struck quickly with a spectacular try from long range to take the score to 24–6 and his tally to two. New South Wales from that point found some structure and the game played more like the traditional origin arm wrestle till

Steve Price and into the hands of Farah which was then passed to Hayne, resulted in Hayne's second try and a 24–18 scoreline with 10 minutes to go. However, in the 78th minute, following a handling error from Blues fullback Kurt Gidley, Darius Boyd

crossed in the corner after the scrum, to seal Queensland a 28–18 victory and first blood in the series.

The game was watched by a national audience of 3.48 million people which was a record.[5]

Game II

Although the media speculated immediately after game I that New South Wales selectors would stick firm with the initial squad, by the time the game II team was announced on 15 June a number of injuries paved the way for numerous changes including the selection of shadow players to cover some players in doubt:

Josh Morris to cover injuries doubts over Michael Jennings, Jamie Lyon and Craig Wing. Ultimately, Monaghan and Morris came into the side for Jennings and Wing respectively who failed to overcome injury.^[6]

Despite seven players being struck by a virus 24 hours before kick-off, for Queensland the only change was

NRL

provided a player for State of Origin.

Wednesday, 24 June 2009^[2]

New South Wales	14 – 24	Queensland
Tries Williams (62') 1 Goals Gidley 1/3	(Report) (Game stats)	Tries 1 (6') Inglis 1 (17') Folau 1 (24') Lockyer 1 (79') Smith Goals 4/4 Thurston

ANZ Stadium, Sydney^[2]
Attendance: 80,459^[7]
Referee: Shayne Hayne, Tony Archer^[8]
Player of the Match: Sam Thaiday

Queensland were set to make history by achieving four series wins in a row. They looked on their way when they went out to an 18–0 lead after 25 minutes with tries to

David Williams scoring. It looked as though NSW could snatch an upset but Queensland put the game beyond doubt when Cameron Smith

scored with a minute remaining making the final score 24–14. The Maroons therefore become the first side to win 4 series in a row, since the State of Origin began in 1980 winning 2006, 2007, 2008 and now 2009.

Game III

Injuries saw Queenslanders Hannant and Civoniceva replaced by Scott and Shillington. Neville Costigan moved from 18th man in game II to an interchange spot replacing Nate Myles.

New South Wales selectors made a number of changes.

Morris was brought in for Lyon and Ennis brought in for Farah

. Perry, Waterhouse and White, all experienced Origin campaigners, made a return to the side at the expense of Weyman and O'Donnell. Jennings and Poore returned from injury, replacing Monaghan and Kite.

The Blues also took a leaf out of Queensland's book by having past New South Wales Origin players join the pre-match camp to help the team prepare.^[11]

Wednesday, 15 July 2009^[2]

Queensland	16 – 28	New South Wales
Tries Johnson (13') 1 Hodges (43') 1 Slater (53') 1 Goals Thurston 2/3	(Report)	Tries 2 (19', 66') Morris Goals 3/3 Ennis 3/3 Gidley

Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane^[2]
Attendance: 52,439^[12]
Referee: Tony Archer, Shayne Hayne^[13]
Player of the Match: Anthony Watmough

Game III saw New South Wales looking down the barrel of not just a fourth straight series win to Queensland, but a clean sweep series. Sam Thaiday and Ashley Harrison were approved to play for Queensland in spite of carrying injuries into the game. The heroes for NSW were Kurt Gidley, playing injured and who hadn't been potent in attack in the first two games, Brett Kimmorley making his first Origin return since game II of 2007 and Anthony Watmough who was tireless in attack and defence.

Queensland took the lead in the 13th minute with a try to

eight-point try

in Origin history.

Kimmorley ran down Greg Inglis with a tackle that took the giant centre across the touchline and stopped a certain Queensland try and moments later Kurt Gidley did likewise to a runaway Darius Boyd.

The tension was high right to the end. In the 78th minute

Williams took the game's final hit-up tackled by Johnathan Thurston which then sparked Michael Crocker to try to fight Blues hooker Michael Ennis

before Referee Shayne Hayne broke up their melee and ended the match.

Teams

The 18th man is a reserve to cover for any forthcoming injuries and, unless chosen, does not actually play.

New South Wales Blues

Position	Game 1	Game 2	Game 3
Fullback	Kurt Gidley (c)
Wing	Jarryd Hayne
Centre	Michael Jennings	Joel Monaghan ³	Michael Jennings
Centre	Jamie Lyon ⁵		Josh Morris
Wing	James McManus	David Williams
Five-Eighth	Terry Campese	Trent Barrett
Halfback	Peter Wallace		Brett Kimmorley
Prop	Brent Kite		Justin Poore
Hooker	Robbie Farah		Michael Ennis
Prop	Luke Bailey	Michael Weyman	Josh Perry
Second Row	Luke O'Donnell		Trent Waterhouse
Second Row	Ben Creagh
Lock	Anthony Laffranchi ²	Paul Gallen	Anthony Watmough
Interchange	Craig Wing	Josh Morris ⁴	Brett White
Interchange	Justin Poore		Craig Wing
Interchange	Michael Weyman	Anthony Watmough	Tom Learoyd-Lahrs
Interchange	Luke Lewis ¹	Glenn Stewart
18th Man	Anthony Watmough	Tom Learoyd-Lahrs	Chris Houston
Coach	Craig Bellamy

¹ – Glenn Stewart was originally selected for game one, but subsequently forced to withdraw following suspension for a dangerous tackle. He was replaced by Luke Lewis.

² – Paul Gallen was originally selected to play for game one, but withdrew due to injury. He was replaced by Anthony Laffranchi.

³ – Michael Jennings was originally selected to play for game two, but withdrew due to injury. He was replaced by Joel Monaghan.

⁴ –

Josh Morris

.

⁵ –

Josh Morris

.

Queensland Maroons

Position	Game 1	Game 2	Game 3
Fullback	Billy Slater
Wing	Darius Boyd
Centre	Greg Inglis
Centre	Justin Hodges	Willie Tonga	Justin Hodges
Wing	Israel Folau		Willie Tonga
Five-Eighth	Darren Lockyer (c)
Halfback	Johnathan Thurston
Prop	Steve Price
Hooker	Cameron Smith
Prop	Petero Civoniceva		Matthew Scott
Second Row	Ashley Harrison
Second Row	Sam Thaiday
Lock	Dallas Johnson
Interchange	Karmichael Hunt
Interchange	Ben Hannant		David Shillington
Interchange	Nate Myles		Neville Costigan
Interchange	Michael Crocker
18th man	Matthew Scott	Neville Costigan	Cooper Cronk
Coach	Mal Meninga

References

^ Blues Game I selection
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ":: State of Origin :: Stage of Origin ::". Archived from the original on 1 December 2008. Retrieved 29 November 2008.
^ "Maroons win Origin series opener". National Rugby League. Australian Associated Press. 3 June 2009. Archived from the original on 30 June 2009. Retrieved 12 August 2009.
^ State Of Origin - Game 1, 2009 Archived 23 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine at stats.rleague.com
^ "NRL splits assets in search of TV gold". The Sydney Morning Herald. 6 June 2009. Archived from the original on 8 June 2009. Retrieved 24 June 2009.
^ Blues game II selection
^ "Queensland seals fourth-straight State of Origin victory". 24 June 2009. Archived from the original on 26 June 2009.
^ State Of Origin - Game 2, 2009 Archived 23 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine at stats.rleague.com
^ ^a ^b Steve Ricketts; Barry Dick; Paul Malone (23 May 2012). "The 30 greatest controversies in 30 years of State of Origin series". The Courier-Mail. Retrieved 26 May 2012.
^ "Civoniceva happy the rowing is over". Archived from the original on 28 October 2009. Retrieved 27 October 2009.
^ Proszenko, Adrian (20 December 2009). "Blues baggers not welcome in Bellamy's Origin camps". The Sydney Morning Herald. Australia: Fairfax digital. Retrieved 25 December 2009.
^ "Maroons v Blues review". National Rugby League. Australian Associated Press. 15 July 2009. Retrieved 12 August 2009.^{[permanent dead link]}
^ State Of Origin - Game 3, 2009 Archived 23 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine at stats.rleague.com
^ ^a ^b "Maroons vow revenge on Justin Poore after Origin cheap shot on Steve Price". 17 July 2009. Archived from the original on 19 July 2009.

External links

State of Origin 2009 at rugbyleagueproject.org

[1] Blues Game I selection

[stateoforigin.com.au-2] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ":: State of Origin :: Stage of Origin ::". Archived from the original on 1 December 2008. Retrieved 29 November 2008.

[3] "Maroons win Origin series opener". National Rugby League. Australian Associated Press. 3 June 2009. Archived from the original on 30 June 2009. Retrieved 12 August 2009.

[4] State Of Origin - Game 1, 2009 Archived 23 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine at stats.rleague.com

[5] "NRL splits assets in search of TV gold". The Sydney Morning Herald. 6 June 2009. Archived from the original on 8 June 2009. Retrieved 24 June 2009.

[6] Blues game II selection

[7] "Queensland seals fourth-straight State of Origin victory". 24 June 2009. Archived from the original on 26 June 2009.

[8] State Of Origin - Game 2, 2009 Archived 23 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine at stats.rleague.com

[Steve_Ricketts,_Barry_Dick,_Paul_Malone-9] Steve Ricketts; Barry Dick; Paul Malone (23 May 2012). "The 30 greatest controversies in 30 years of State of Origin series". The Courier-Mail. Retrieved 26 May 2012.

[10] "Civoniceva happy the rowing is over". Archived from the original on 28 October 2009. Retrieved 27 October 2009.

[11] Proszenko, Adrian (20 December 2009). "Blues baggers not welcome in Bellamy's Origin camps". The Sydney Morning Herald. Australia: Fairfax digital. Retrieved 25 December 2009.

[12] "Maroons v Blues review". National Rugby League. Australian Associated Press. 15 July 2009. Retrieved 12 August 2009.^{[permanent dead link]}

[13] State Of Origin - Game 3, 2009 Archived 23 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine at stats.rleague.com

[news.com.au-14] "Maroons vow revenge on Justin Poore after Origin cheap shot on Steve Price". 17 July 2009. Archived from the original on 19 July 2009.

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