As part of a series looking back at four decades of State of Origin football, NRL.com revisits 1981, where Wally Lewis succeeded Big Artie as Maroons captain and proved the historic win in the first ever Origin the year before had been no fluke.
Having steered the Green Machine to their only three premierships as a player and taken them to another decider as coach, Ricky Stuart's place among Raiders royalty is assured.
Three series wins in four years does not a dynasty make, but with each passing triumph it s clear Brad Fittler and his men are singing from the same song sheet Mal Meninga carried in his back pocket during Queensland s decade of dominance.
Since taking the helm in 2018, Fittler s only series defeat came in 2020, courtesy of a disastrous second half in Adelaide in the Ampol State of Origin series opener and a liberal sprinkling of wily Wayne Bennett s maroon magic dust.
Prior to the Blues most-capped player assuming the coaching reins, NSW had lost three series on the bounce after briefly stopping the Maroons juggernaut in 2014.
The start of a new season brings the fresh hope for players, coaches and fans that if everything goes to plan a premiership could be just seven months away.
For modern masters Melbourne, who’ve won two of the past four grand finals, the stress levels heading into 2021 will be considerably lower than those at Parramatta, where a premiership has eluded them since Ray Price and Michael Cronin went out winners in 1986.
Back-to-back premiers in 2018-19, the Roosters know what it takes to get to September and perform at their peak on the big stage so they’ll enter their campaign more relaxed than the likes of Canberra and Newcastle, who haven’t saluted since 1994 and 2001 respectively.
Strange kind of love the unexpected magic of the Roy Keane and Micah Richards show
The entertaining dynamic between Sky Sports pundits Roy Keane and Micah Richards often manages to upstage the game they’re analysing
THE UNLIKELY LADS: The entertaining dynamic between Sky Sports pundits Roy Keane and Micah Richards often manages to upstage the game they’re analysing. Picture: Visionhaus
Fri, 12 Feb, 2021 - 20:00
Johnny Nicholson
Let’s face it. They’re in love, aren’t they? This is a bromance made in the TV studio. While some football media partnerships are more Dumb and Dumber, here we have the Don Quixote and Sancho Panza of the pundit world, football’s Bill and Ted, or maybe even Tango and Cash. The game’s great buddy movie.