The cunning plan to snatch Greg Inglis from NSW was not to make him sound like a superstar but to depict him as Neville Nobody.

Inglis’ career is over but former Melbourne Storm boss John Ribot still smiles at the memory of the day he and his former QRL boss Ross Livermore combined to ensure the great centre would play his senior career in a maroon rather than blue jersey.

Inglis’ hails from the very much NSW township of Macksville, 40 minutes south of Coffs Harbour, and the brilliant athlete was spotted by Storm recruiter Peter O’Sullivan playing for NSW in a schoolboy carnival.

The next day O’Sullivan flew to Coffs Harbour and then drove to Macksville to meet with Inglis’ family.

Inglis’ sole link to Queensland was that he played his first senior game for Brisbane Norths, the Storms feeder club but Ribot rang his old boss Livermore and wanted him that a star was on the rise.

Livermore raised Inglis’ name at an ARL meeting, asking that he be given permission to play for Queensland without offering the slightest hint of his potential.

“Ross said ‘we are doing you a favour ... the bloke is not much chop’,’’ Ribot said.

“They said “all right, he’s qualified.’’

“He became one of our greatest ever. The thing NSW still say it is one of the great rorts of State of Origin and that makes Queenslanders feel even better.

“It warms my heart. I think it helped Ross that he was an administrator making the point.

“If Peter O’Sullivan who was a talent scout was in the room making the point I don’t think it would have worked because they would have known we would not sign a lemon.

“Ross has said he is a kid we would like to give him an opportunity.

“They lost a superstar. It was all within the rules. I still like telling that story.’’