“I think NSW have a better team. But you never know with Queensland, they always find a way.”
And so we come to Origin Game III, the decider of the 2017 series with one game apiece to NSW and Queensland. All eyes in the rugby league world will be on Suncorp Stadium tomorrow to see if the Maroons can hold on and continue their period of dominance, or if the Blues will finally end their long reign.
Complicating matters is that Queensland will be without talismanic halfback Johnathan Thurston, the best player on the planet. The Maroons have a team of stars, including Melbourne troika Cameron Smith, Billy Slater and Cooper Cronk, but Thurston is irreplaceable.
Considering the manner in which NSW won Game I and were in control for large parts of Game II, Blues fans have the right to be feeling somewhat confident. Young and unshackled by past failures, NSW can start their own era. Former NSW player Brett Hodgson, who played six times for his state between 2002 and 2006, certainly thinks so.
“It’s huge with Thurston being out injured,” Hodgson told The Sportsman.
“He lifts everyone else in the squad obviously having him. They’re a little bit down coming in but I think the stability of the NSW team this year, which really they haven’t been known for, has been great this year.
“NSW have been good. They were dominant for the second game as well, so for one and a half games they’ve been the better team. But as I said you can never write off Queensland with those players in their squad. With Thurston not being fit is a big loss for them.”
It’s been 11 years since Hodgson played Origin and four years since he hung up his boots with Warrington in Super League. In a stellar career, the fullback achieved just about everything possible, winning an NRL grand final with Wests Tigers, a Challenge Cup with the Wolves and captaining the Exiles against England.
But Origin still looms large for the 39-year old, indeed as it does on all of rugby league.
“Absolutely, it’s the best rugby league you can play as an individual,” Hodgson says.
“Obviously the accolades of winning a grand final with Wests Tigers was top for me, but in terms of personal achievements playing Origin, which is the quickest, hardest, it’s so more intense than what a normal game is. It’s definitely something I loved being a part of.”
Origin seems to get bigger and better every year. The history of the contest becomes part of folklore and is analysed and dissected. Key moments from past series are constantly replayed and relived.
Hodgson was part of one of those iconic Origin moments in his first series, back in 2002. The fullback was running the ball back in Game III when he spectacularly was picked up and rag-dolled 15 metres into touch by Queensland forward Gordon Tallis. It was a unique tackle that has been viewed more than a million times on YouTube.
Even to this day people come up to Hodgson to talk about that tackle: “To be honest a lot of people give it to me about it, which is fine. It’s just one of those things. You have to take what happens in the game.”
The Origin juggernaut has grown with time. Another thrilling decider, after enthralling contests in Games I and II this year, will ensure it. Hodgson himself has seen the concept get even bigger since his time, despite him playing in era that included Andrew Johns, Brad Fittler, Darren Lockyer and Allan Langer. Another slice of history will be made tomorrow.
“It will only continue going that way. The more the competition progresses, every year seems to be a bigger, more important game that what it was the year before. They’re billing this as the biggest Origin in history, I’m sure this time last year it was probably something similar. It’s such a massive concept for the NRL and its supported worldwide, so it was brilliant to be part of.”
