Origin 2020: Queensland star Kurt Capewell reflects on one of the greatest debuts on the game’s biggest stage
Viewed as a possible weak link, Kurt Capewell pushed aside the pain of a groin injury to produce a head-spinning Origin debut that earned rave reviews from two legends.
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Kurt Capewell was seen as Queensland’s weakest link.
Instead he became a State of Origin hero.
Viewed as the makeshift centre who could be exposed by Blues rival Clint Gutherson, Capewell silenced the critics with a head-spinning Origin debut in Queensland’s 18-14 boilover at Adelaide Oval.
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Capewell is too humble to say it, but this was the greatest game of his NRL career. The 27-year-old produced a series of big plays despite the duress of a groin injury that rendered him a virtual passenger in the final 30 minutes.
There was his lethal don’t argue on Gutherson, surging upfield before the split-second chip kick for the 50th minute AJ Brimson try which kickstarted Queensland’s fightback.
There was his swarming defensive reads. His desperate chases. His tough runs out of trouble. Not to mention a crucial intercept on the hour as the Blues desperately tried to overturn Queensland’s 12-10 lead.
Capewell finally succumbed to groin pain in the dying minutes, but not before representing the poster boy of one of the gutsiest Queensland wins in Origin’s 40-year history.
Queensland coach Wayne Bennett later told Maroons insiders Capewell’s performance was possibly the finest Origin debut he had seen.
“I don’t know if it was the best game of my career, but it was definitely one of the biggest,” Capewell said.
“There were a couple of big moments in the game that I was happy with.
“I’ve played in the centres earlier in my career so I was actually looking forward to the challenge of getting out there.”
The Charleville product later detailed the full extent of his groin injury.
“I hurt it at the start of the week (in Origin camp),” the Panthers second rower-turned-centre said.
“My groin was tight during the week and it tightened up late in the game.
“Towards the end of the game, it was getting really hard.
“I didn’t want to go off because we didn’t have any centres on the bench but it got to the stage when they scored that last try where I just couldn’t move.
“I couldn’t really make up the ground on my centre so I thought it was best for the team to get off the field and get someone else out there who could run a bit better.”
Of his sublime kick for Brimson’s try, Capewell said: “It was ugly but effective.
“Everyone knows if you get through the line, there is always a fullback or a half chasing on the inside so the banana kick is something you practise at training and in all the skill games you do.
“That’s the stuff you do as a kid and you don’t forget it. I was glad it came off.”
Throughout his 73-game NRL career, the former Ipswich Jet has been happy to reside in the shadow of bigger-name teammates.
Now he has carved out his own place in Origin folklore, even earning accolades from Queensland’s greatest player.
“No disrespect to Kurt Capewell’s previous performances in the NRL, but that game was the greatest of his career,” said NRL Immortal Wally ‘The King’ Lewis.
“He was bullet-proof out there. He was dirty on himself at the end when his groin was gone and he couldn’t stop a try, but his overall performance summed up the Maroons’ spirit.
“He was volunteering to do all the work. Kurt Capewell will go down in the great legendary stories of State of Origin.”
How the ‘hopeless’ Maroons created Origin history
- Travis Meyn
Queensland was supposed to be hopeless, terrible, the worst team in State of Origin’s 40-year history.
Instead, the Maroons conjured one of Queensland’s greatest ever victories in a 18-14 comeback win to bring life to the unique 2020 series.
For 40 minutes at the Adelaide Oval last night it looked like the pre-game predictions may have been on the money.
The Maroons were outclassed in the opening exchanges of the series-opener as they struggled for cohesion and potency.
Despite making a raft of sloppy errors, the Blues bounced out to a 10-0 lead with their first meaningful possession while Queensland looked like they had no idea how to score.
If the Blues held the ball they could have run away 30-nil victors.
But Origin has been built on more than talent, speed and flashy plays and the Maroons proved that once again last night.
Queensland looked like they were moments away from imploding in an unconvincing first half, but managed to scramble their way to a 10-point deficit at the break.
Whatever master coach Wayne Bennett said to the Maroons in the bowels of the Adelaide Oval made an impact.
The ring rust had disappeared when Queensland emerged. The Maroons clicked into gear and looked like a well-oiled unit.
It was as if this team of misfits needed one half of footy to get to know each other. From there, they took charge in a flawless second half display.
The impact of Queensland’s bench forwards Jai Arrow, Lindsay Collins and Jaydn Su’a played a huge role in swinging momentum the Maroons’ way.
But few players summed up Queensland better than debutant Kurt Capewell, who only managed nine NRL appearances for Penrith this season. None of those games were at centre.
Yet last night he became a Queensland hero, producing line breaks, kicks, try-assists, bomb catches and intercepts to play a crucial role in the Maroons’ comeback victory. He did it all with a busted groin.
His opposite centre was Parramatta fullback Clint Gutherson, who finished second in the Dally M Medal count this year but was outplayed in the Origin arena.
Capewell’s performance was indicative of Queensland. Gutherson became a poster boy for NSW’s overrated “stars”.
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After being ravaged by injuries, retirements, suspensions and the departure of coach Kevin Walters, little was expected of the Maroons this year. The Blues were unbackable favourites to win a third straight series.
But in typical Queensland fashion the Maroons rose to, and above, the occasion.
The four-point win was crucial ahead of next Wednesday’s return bout at ANZ Stadium in Sydney.
The Maroons have traditionally struggled in NSW and the Blues will relish returning to their home ground, albeit with the pressure of having to save the series.
But this Queensland team proved they are more than just a bunch of fill-ins.
The Maroons of 2020 possess all the attributes needed to become a series-winning team and deliver Queensland the Origin shield for the first time since 2017.
Originally published as Origin 2020: Queensland star Kurt Capewell reflects on one of the greatest debuts on the game’s biggest stage