How Rex Wright was plucked from country footy to make his State of Origin debut

Rex Wright was pulling beers in a Newcastle pub and running around in country footy when he was selected to make his State of Origin debut.

Wright played Origin before he played first grade. Picture by Geoff Henderson.

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Plucked from a Newcastle pub and thrown onto rugby league’s greatest stage, Rex Wright is the unlikely Blues hero who headlines a long list of NSW State of Origin one-game wonders.

In a two-day countdown, The Sunday Telegraph will first run the rule over the first 25 of the 50 players who played just a solitary game for the Blues.

Starting with the bush bloke who was six schooners deep when he got the phone call that changed his life.

“I was playing for North Newcastle in the Country Rugby League,’’ Wright said.

“I think we had just finished a game and we were in the pub when someone came and got me and told me I had a phone call and it was Peter Moore (former NSW team manager).

Wright played Origin before he played first grade. Picture by Geoff Henderson.

“It was after City-Country and I backed up and played the club game. I put down my beer and went into the office and Peter Moore told me I had been selected to play for NSW. I couldn’t believe it. I just went numb.’’

A crafty hooker who moved to Newcastle to play bush footy with North Newcastle after a lower grade stint with the Bulldogs, Wright had just been told he would become the second bush footy player to be selected to play for NSW.

He would go from playing in front of a couple of a hundred people to over 30,000, not to mention the national television audience.

“It was a surprise but I knew I had played well in the City-Country match,’’ Wright said.

“I got the gong for the man-of-the-match so in the back of my mind I thought I was an outside chance. But I wrote if off when I got back to Newcastle so it was a real surprise when I got that phone call.’’

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Wright never doubted himself before playing in rugby league’s toughest game.

“We had a really good competition in the country,’’ Wright said.

“We had guys in our Newcastle team that had just come out of Sydney. It was different then.’’

Wright doesn’t remember much about the game.

“It was all a bit of a blur,’’ Wright said.

“And I only watched a video of the game for the first time last year. Tim Sheens gave me a DVD of the match when I was working at the Tigers. I just put it in a draw but we had a party at my house last year and one of the guys there found it and put it on. And I was quite surprised when I watched it. I played a lot better than I thought I did.’’

Wright was eventually rewarded with a NSWRL contract and played three seasons for the North Sydney Bears.

He now works as a schoolteacher in Adelaide.

25 ONE HIT ORIGIN WONDERS

Tommy Raudonikis (Newtown Jets)

Game 1, 1980

Inducted into the NSW Blues State of Origin Hall of Fame this week, it may come to a surprise to many that Raudonikis only played one State of Origin game. But while he wasn’t selected after 1980 - despite playing top-grade football until 1983 – Raudonikis established himself as the heart and soul of the modern day Blues during his 23-game pre-State of Origin career.

Graeme Wynn (St George Dragons)

Game 1, 1980

The lanky brother of Parramatta legend Peter Wynne, Graeme earned State of Origin selection as a 20-year-old after bursting onto the scene to be named rookie of the year in 1979. Despite going on to become a legend in his own right during a 197 top-grade career with the Dragons, Wynne never played for NSW again.

Robert Stone (St George Dragons)

Game 1, 1980

Before becoming a Dragons CEO and a Labor Party powerbroker, Stone made a name for himself as a fearless St George prop. A premiership winner in 1977, Stone was picked to play for the Blues in the first ever State of Origin clash after helping St George to another premiership in 1979. Stone had played just one game for NSW before his State of Origin selection.

Jim Leis (Western Suburbs Magpies)

Game 1, 1980

A lesser-known name who would go on to play 89 top-grade matches, Leis was one of the few rookies to get a start in the first State of Origin match. He was awarded both lock of the year and rookie of the year in 1980, but played just 12 games after leaving Wests in 1982.

The Blues had a host of one-hit wonders in the early years.

Graham Eadie (Manly Sea Eagles)

Game 1, 1980

Considered Manly’s greatest ever fullback, Graham “Wombat’’ Eadie had played 13 games for NSW before getting the nod to become the Blues’ first ever fullback in the State of Origin era. He was overlooked for little-known Bulldog Phil Sigworth the following year.

B ob Cooper (Western Suburbs Magpies)

Game 1, 1980

A backrower who played for both the North Sydney Bears and the Western Suburbs Magpies, Cooper earned his own place in rugby league history when he was picked to play in the inaugural State of Origin match in 1980. Cooper is now better known for receiving a record-equalling 15-month suspension for flattening three Illawarra Steelers in a sickening brawl in 1982.

Gary Hambly (South Sydney Rabbitohs)

Game 1, 1980

Hambly was picked to play prop for NSW just a year after making his NSWRL debut for Souths. Hambly’s career in Australia lasted just four years with the big man quitting Souths in 1983 to play in the UK.

Steve Edge (Parramatta Eels)

Game 1, 1980

Already a veteran at 29 when he played in the famous match in 1980, Edge had just joined the Eels after seven years with St George. He didn’t get another Origin match despite helping lead the Eels to three consecutive premierships, beginning in 1981.

Steve Bowden (Newtown Jets)

Game 1, 1981

Steve Bowden earned a place in State of Origin folklore in his one and only match for NSW. Sparking a famous all-in-brawl that would see Wally Lewis throw a flurry of uppercuts, the Newtown prop went toe-to-toe with Paul Kahn in one of Origin’s first big biffs. Bowden would go on to cement himself as the ultimate 80s bad-boy by headbutting Mark Broadhurst in another legendary punch-up.

Barry Jensen (Newtown Jets)

Game 1, 1981

A Newton Jet who became an Illawarra Steeler, Jensen was a surprise selection when he was picked to replace Edge as NSW hooker in 1981. A rising star just three years into his top-grade career, Jensen was forced to retire in 1982 when he injured his neck.

Jensen landed one Origin cap.

Garry Dowling (Parramatta Eels)

Game 1, 1981

After almost 150 top-grade games, Wests fullback Dowling became a State of Origin player when he was selected to play for NSW at the age of 28. Also a former Bulldog and Eel, the two-time Kangaroo was tragically killed in a car crash in 1983, aged 30.

Ron Hilditch (Parramatta Eels)

Game 1, 1981

It was a special year for Hilditch with the hooker known as the hitman helping the Eels to their first premiership after playing his one and only game for the Blues. The following year proved a nightmare with a knee injury forcing Hilditch to retire.

Tony Melrose (South Sydney Rabbitohs)

Game 2, 1982

South Sydney centre Melrose kicked two goals in NSW’s 11-7 Game II loss to Queensland at Lang Park. Coming into the side for fellow Rabbitoh Ziggy Niszczot, he was replaced by Terry Fahey in Game III. Melrose would go on to score 742 points in his four-club 182-game career.

Phil Duke (Moree Boomerangs)

Game 3, 1982

The first bombshell State of Origin selection, Duke created history by becoming the first player to be picked for NSW from the Country Rugby League. Playing for the Moree Boomerangs, Duke was selected after starring for Country in the City v Country clash. Duke played on the wing for NSW in Game III. He would later go on to play 27 games in the NSWRL with the Wests Magpies.

Duke was playing for Moree when the Blues selected him.

Paul Merlo (Western Suburbs Magpies)

Game 3, 1982

A no-frills forward who played for Penrith, Wests and Cronulla, Merlo got his one Origin shot when he was selected to play for NSW in their 10-5 loss to Queensland. A knee injury prevented Merlo from recapturing the form that earned his selection.

Don McKinnon (North Sydney Bears)

Game 3, 1982

A North Sydney legend, McKinnon played just one game for NSW despite running a then-record 200m in the SCG clash won by Queensland 10-5. A towering forward who stood at 193cm, the 1982 prop of the year would also only play one “international’’ for the Kangaroos throughout his 11-year career.

Michael Potter (Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs)

Game 3, 1984

One of the great club fullbacks of the 80s, Potter got his Origin start in 1984 when he was selected on the bench for Game III to replace Pat Jervis. Potter had to settle for an interchange spot with Garry Jack cementing himself as NSW’s first choice No.1.

Chris Walsh (St George Dragons)

Game 3, 1984

Another Game III call-up, Dragons prop Walsh made his NSW debut when he was 23. He would go on to captain the Illawarra Steelers and play the 1987 season with a broken neck.

David Brooks (Balmain Tigers)

Game 3, 1985

One-club man David Brooks was another last-minute addition when he was called into the NSW team for Game III. Replacing Noel Cleal, the Tigers backrower copped a hiding with Queensland avoiding a whitewash with a 20-6 win.

Kevin Hastings (Sydney Roosters)

Game 3, 1983

Rooster fan favourite Kevin “Horrie’’ Hastings was brought onto the bench in Game III to replace Steve Mortimer after the Bulldogs legend was promoted to the starting side when Peter Sterling was ruled out with an injury. Hastings played 239 games for the Roosters between 1976 and 1987.

Roosters legend Hastings only managed one game.

Steve Hanson (North Sydney Bears)

Game 3, 1988

A last-minute replacement for Phil Daley in Game III, Hanson scored the opening try of the match after the North Sydney Bear was slingshot into the side from obscurity. The front row forward finished his 110-game career with Roosters, retiring in 1993.

Phil Blake (South Sydney Rabbitohs)

Game 3, 1989

Blake created history in 1989 when he became the first English-born player selected to play State of Origin. Born in London, Blake was already eight years into his top-grade career when he was picked to play off the bench in NSW’s 36-16 loss to Queensland. Blake played for six clubs after debuting for Manly.

Terry Matterson (Brisbane Broncos)

Game 3, 1989

A move from the Roosters to the Broncos paid dividends for Matterson when he was plucked from Brisbane and put on the NSW bench for Game III. The lock would go on to win two premierships with the Broncos, including their first title in 1992.

Ricky Walford (St George Dragons)

Game 1: 1990

A fan favourite and an indigenous trailblazer, Walford was a late bloomer. Making his debut with the Roosters in 1982, he didn’t cement his first-grade spot until 1986 while in his second season with the St George Dragons. A 164-point haul in 1988 made him a household name and Walford was rewarded with a State of Origin spot in 1990 when he was picked for Game I. He missed the rest of the series with injury and was overlooked for Chris Johns the following year.

Originally published as How Rex Wright was plucked from country footy to make his State of Origin debut