The 2006 State of Origin series was the 25th year that the annual best-of-three series of interstate

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

football matches between the

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

and

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

representative teams was contested entirely under ' state of origin' selection rules. It was decided in three matches which drew a total attendance of 180,074. Queensland won the series 2-1, their first outright series victory since 2001 and the first in their record-breaking run of eight consecutive series wins. Prior to game one there was growing concern about the long term future of State of Origin, many commentators were beginning to wonder if Queensland would ever win another series after three consecutive New South Wales victories. __TOC__

Game I

Craig Gower was originally picked for the New South Wales side at halfback but pulled out because of injury. Matt Orford was forced to turn down selection as cover for Gower, also because of injury. Both Andrew Johns and Trent Barrett turned down coming out of retirement to play in the fixture so eventually Brett Finch was selected to start at halfback in jersey no. 20 for New South Wales as a last-minute inclusion. The Queensland selectors picked a total of seven State of Origin debutants for game I.
Game I was played at

Telstra Stadium Stadium Australia, currently known as Accor Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium located in the suburb of Sydney Olympic Park, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The stadium, which is sometimes referred to as Sydney Ol ...

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, and won by New South Wales 17-16, following a late field goal by NSW late-choice halfback, Brett Finch.

Game II

For Queensland, Origin debutant Adam Mogg replaced the injured Greg Inglis
In game II, Queensland levelled the series at home at

Suncorp Stadium Brisbane Stadium (Lang Park), currently known as Suncorp Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in the suburb of Milton, Queensland, Milton, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Nicknamed The Cauldron, it is a three-tiered rect ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

, with a commanding 30-6 victory.

Game III

Justin Hodges was ruled out of the Queensland side for game III after he re-tore his hamstring and was replaced by Josh Hannay. Steven Bell was also ruled out after he sustained a fractured cheekbone in game II. After the heavy loss in game II the New South Wales selectors made five changes, bringing in Matt Cooper,

Paul Gallen Paul Gallen (born 14 August 1981) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer and occassional professional boxer. He played as a and forward and captained the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in the NRL to their maiden NRL Premiers ...

, Craig Gower, Luke O'Donnell and Ben Hornby as well as moving Matt King into the centres, Mark Gasnier to five-eighth and Luke Bailey into the starting side. Game III was held at Telstra Dome,

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, and was the first decider played at a neutral venue. Queensland were trailing 14-4 with ten minutes remaining, however scored two converted tries in the space of five minutes – first Brent Tate's long-range try after a line break from Thurston and then Lockyer intercepting a Hodgson pass inside New South Wales' own half – to take the match and series, winning 16-14. *The Wally Lewis Medal for player of the series was awarded to

Darren Lockyer Darren James Lockyer (born 24 March 1977) is an Australian television commentator and former professional rugby league footballer. Lockyer was an Australian international and Queensland State representative captain, who played his entire profe ...

*The Ron McAuliffe Medal for Queensland player of the series was awarded to

New South Wales squad

Queensland squad

Footnotes

External links

State of Origin 2006
at ''rugbyleagueproject.org'' {{2006 in rugby league State of Origin series

State of Origin series The State of Origin series is an annual best-of-three rugby league series between two States and territories of Australia, Australian state representative sides, the New South Wales rugby league team, New South Wales Blues and the Queensland ru ...