Phil Sigsworth breaks 40-year silence to explain biggest blunder in State of Origin history
It’s one of the most replayed moments in rugby league history - and now, for the first time, the man at the centre of Origin’s greatest blunder wants to clear his name.
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After 40 years, Phil Sigsworth finally wants to unburden himself about one of the most infamous and ill-fated moments in State of Origin history.
“I wanted to die on the spot – I wanted the world to swallow me up and spit me out,” Sigsworth said.
“I’m glad I can now finally tell you how it all happened.”
After refusing to discuss his “moment of madness” for the past four decades, Sigsworth has stepped forward to explain how a horrific blunder unfolded in the NSW in-goal area with rookie winger Phil Duke during the 1982 State of Origin decider at the SCG.
With Queensland ahead 5-3, Queensland five-eighth Wally Lewis kicked long in the second half.
Maroons forward Paul McCabe then trapped Sigsworth in-goal.
Desperate to avoid a goal line dropout, Sigsworth delivered a one-arm offload to Duke, who fumbled the pass for Lewis to pounce, score a try and hand Queensland a historic 10-5 victory and series triumph.
In the commentary box Rex Mossop immediately knew the ramifications: “That’s an awful blunder that won’t do either of those lads any good in the long-term.”
Sigsworth said his teammate fumbled under pressure.
“He (Duke) looked up and saw Wally coming at him and shit himself,” Sigsworth said.
Sigsworth, who played club football for Newtown, Manly, Canterbury and Balmain, claimed the mistake cost him a place on the 1982 Kangaroo tour, a team which surged through England and France later that year unbeaten.
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Fox Sports recently referred to the Sigsworth-Duke mix-up as “the first and still most famous clanger in Origin history.”
Duke had stunned rugby league by winning Blues selection from the Moore Boomerangs without having played a NSWRL first grade game.
He is still reluctant to discuss the incident.
Sigsworth accepts responsibility for throwing the pass, but reckons Duke “shouldn’t have been picked at that level” and should have caught the ball.
THE INCIDENT
It unfolded in front of the SCG Members’ Stand on July, 22, 1982 – almost 40 years to the day.
“It was a moment of madness. That’s how I look at it now,” Sigsworth said.
“The ball went straight to him. He looked up and saw Wally coming at him and shit himself. I thought how the bloody hell am I going to get out of this? There wasn’t enough time left and we got beaten 10-5.
“It cost me a Kangaroo tour. It was a one-handed pass which went straight to him and he dropped it cold. At that level, you have to take those passes.
“I don’t want to put him down but the pass was perfect. But I’m responsible for the pass. At the end of the day, you don’t pass in your in-goal. But I was a player who took a risk. There aren’t rewards for not taking a risk in life.
“I’m not going to blame him at all – I’m accountable but there was nothing wrong with the pass.
“Wally took a risk by kicking and Paul McCabe came down field and I wasn’t as urgent as I should have been at getting to the ball and I got caught. McCabe trapped me in the in-goal and I didn’t want to get caught in there.
“He wasn’t the man passing the ball, he was supposed to catch it.”
THE ADVICE
Sigsworth pulled Duke aside pre-game and delivered strict instructions.
“No one seemed to be talking to Phillip Duke but obviously I needed to talk to him. I said when the ball goes back, always stay on his wing. He looked me in the face and said: ‘Yeah brother, yeah brother, no worries’.
“Phil wasn’t a bad player but he shouldn’t have been picked at that level. I thought we might have another John Ferguson and Ray Blacklock, our Aboriginal wingers from Newtown. But he wasn’t as good as those blokes. Ferguson went on to play for Australia.
“So I started up a conversation with him to get to know him. I knew I would need him in the game. I said if they kick the ball and it goes over my head, always stay on your wing. I said: ‘Make sure you do it’.
“But when it happened, Phil came in off his wing. He came inside and ran around me. If hestayed on his wing, he would have had a clear run – I know it was 100 metres – but he could run like the wind. It would have been two-on-one with the winger. He would have gotten past everybody, in my opinion.
“My first pass (option) was going to be to him on the outside - on his wing - but then he came around me. It was the only thing we spoke about before the game – do not come inside me.
“In those days they always picked a couple of Country players for the NSW team. That was something they lumped on Phil.”
THE FALLOUT
Even today, Sigsworth is haunted and taunted by the pass.
“I just wish I could have died on the spot. I wanted the world to swallow me up and spit me out. There’s no worse feeling, I’m telling you. Eventually it cost us the game and it was a decider,” Sigsworth said.
“People were saying: ‘Don’t worry about it, you’ll be okay, all good’. But it was a moment, and I knew it myself, that no one will ever forget. None of my teammates blamed me. It was a hair’s breadth between the devil and the deep blue sea.
“It took a long time to get over it. But the next year, I was picked for NSW in the centres. I was also the goal kicker. I probably felt redemption in 1983. That moment from the year before started to wear off. I tried then to put it all behind me. I knew I had a bright future.
“But, as people are, they would say: “What about that pass?’.” It was like Graeme Langlands and his white boots (worn infamously during the 1975 grand final).
“One of our greatest players, an Immortal, and he is remembered for those white boots. For me, at the time, I hoped they didn’t remember me for that one pass.”
SELECTION CHAOS
Sigsworth said he was set-up to fail.
“With club footy and then City-Country, I played four games in 10 days, the last being that State of Origin game. I played for Newtown on the Sunday and got on the piss after we won,” Sigsworth said.
“I got called in (to NSW) on Monday afternoon after Greg Brentnall pulled out and we played Tuesday. Queensland had ten days to prepare, we had two. I didn’t have any days.
“How do you prepare for any game, let alone a high level game like that, with no practice time with the team? Queensland players didn’t play for their club sides the previous weekend.
“The playing field wasn’t equal. And picking a kid from the country (Duke), I’m not saying he wasn’t a good player because he was a good player, he just wouldn’t have understood any of the rivalry between the two states.
“I didn’t even know some of the players in our team because we were struck down by injury. In those early days, we didn’t take it as seriously as Queenslanders. Remember in those state games before Origin, NSW did it pretty easy.
“Origin came in because Queensland wasn’t winning and we all know when Origin is healthy it’s because Queensland is winning. If we had the same preparation back then as Queensland, it would have been a different result.”
TIME FLIES
Can you believe it was 40 years ago?
“When you rang the other day I was on the golf course and I thought: ‘Geez, it was 40 years ago?’ Shit, where did that time go?,” Sigsworth asked.
“Rugby league goes on. It was an ordinary moment in life, a moment in time, but it’s what Origin is all about. Like every obstacle in life, you have to get over it. If I lived by it, I wouldn’t be alive today.
“People said I had a hair brained moment – everybody was saying the same thing. I took a bit of a battering over it, there’s no doubt about it. I was a boy from Newtown. Worse things happen.
“It never left me because it’s a sporting moment. It happened. Some people replay it and talk about it. That pass became one of the (memorable) moments in State of Origin.”
WHAT’S DOING NOW
Sigsworth has retired to idyllic Port Macquarie on the NSW north coast.
“I am going fishing and playing golf,” Sigsworth said. “I play golf off 26, 27. When I came here I was off 34 so I have improved seven strokes, which isn’t too bad in the short time I have been playing.
“I’m living the good life. I’m 63 now and I’m just taking it easy. I still watch the footy and get irate at times.
“Some people call Port Macquarie God’s waiting room but it’s so friendly. People say hello. I said to my missus what a great place Port Macquarie is and she said: ‘Stop telling everybody – they will all move here’. And now they are.
“But I’m still alive - the pass didn’t kill me.”
LUAI PUTS INTERNATIONAL CALL ON HOLD TO BRING DOWN MAROONS
- David Riccio
Jarome Luai will resist declaring his World Cup allegiance until after next Wednesday’s State of Origin decider.
And the decision is a smart one given his personal record over Test incumbent and Queensland Origin pivot Cameron Munster.
Luai has no fear of taking on Munster, having won seven of the 10 games that the pair have played against each other for either club or state since 2018.
The delay in Luai’s decision adds a new layer of intrigue to the NSW State of Origin five-eighth’s personal duel with Munster. Another State of Origin series win, following last year’s success would only add to Luai’s lustre.
Munster is rated the world’s best five-eighth, but a quiet performance in Origin II allowed Luai and his Blues teammates to crush the Maroons.
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The Panthers playmaker has proven deeply passionate about representing his family’s heritage of Samoa in the past.
Luai, 25, has played for Samoa on five occasions, including the 2017 World Cup.
The star Panther gave the suggestion he would again represent his family‘s heritage, but the decision to delay his call also provides him the chance to advance his standing as one of the game’s premier five-eighths.
“I just want to focus on Origin, I didn’t want that extra noise,’’ Luai said.
“It would be pretty special for a lot of us Panthers boys, who are Samoan as well.
“It would be a good opportunity for us to do that if we got that opportunity.
“But I just want to keep the noise away and it helps me focus on what I have to do right now, rather than in October, November.
“I’ve got a job to do next week and I’ll let everyone know what I’m going to do.’’
Asked for his opinion on the debate of State of Origin players being allowed to play for other nations outside of Australia, Luai said: “Origin and International footy are pretty different.
“There are certain rules that allow you to play Origin and if you fall under that eligibility, you should be able to play.”
Meanwhile, NSW winger Brian To’o has revealed the reason for opting against being considered for Australia at the World Cup in the UK at the end of this year.
“It was going back and forth (in my mind) whether to choose Australia or Samoa, but it‘s something that is unexplainable,’’ To’o said.
“I want to represent Samoa, it’s my country and my parents’ background.
“I want to make them really proud.
“It’s never about money. It’s always about what your heart says.’’
Blues enforcer reveals his Maroons targets
Jordan McLean has taken a lifetime to earn a NSW State of Origin jersey.
But the former Young Cherrypicker and Cowboys prop has caught on quickly.
Earning a State of Origin call he never thought would happen, McLean has wasted no time putting a target on the heads of the four Cowboys teammates in the Queensland side.
“Come game time, it’s me against them,’’ McLean said.
Four of McLean’s Cowboys teammates will play for the Maroons, including Valentine Holmes, Murray Taulagi, Jeremiah Nanai and debutant Tom Gilbert.
Ironically, McLean has acted as a mentor for Gilbert.
But all that will be pushed to the side next Wednesday night.
Chosen to fill the void of an injured Payne Haas in the Blues pack, McLean, 30, will become the fifth oldest NSW Origin debutant in the series decider on July 13.
McLean admits his selection came as a shock to even himself.
“I’m still pinching myself that I’m going to be making my debut this week,’’ McLean said. “I had no goal to play for the Blues.
“I thought the ship had sailed. I’m hugely grateful to be here and again it’s a proud moment for myself and my family.
“The last few years up at the Cowboys definitely hasn’t been my best, but I’m really enjoying my football at the moment and I’m lucky enough to get that reward.’’
McLean has played eight times for Australia 2017, but his career flatlined due to injury and form. However, in a surprise move NSW coach Brad Fittler phoned McLean with the news he never thought possible, ahead of front-row candidates Reagan Campbell-Gillard, David Klemmer and David Saifiti.
“Being older and making my debut at 30 is old,’’ McLean said.
“It’s a really proud moment for myself and my family. My boys are seven and five so they know what’s going on now too. I can enjoy it with them as well.
“I’m sure any Origin isn’t easy, but a decider will be good to go out there and give it my best. Definitely [want that challenge].
“I’m sure the fans are going to be getting into us and I just can’t wait to get out there.’’
Blues winger Daniel Tupou, 31, said McLean’s inclusion had provided him with a shock realisation.
“I only found out last night that I’m now the oldest in the squad,’’ Tupou said.
“They came as a surprise, but McLean is playing outstanding for the Cowboys and that’s the reason why he’s making his debut. He looks comfortable, it’s just a matter of time before we see him do his thing on Wednesday night.’’
Blues draw inspiration from Lismore’s fighting spirit
Paul Sironen, the old Balmain Tigers front-rower and member of the NSW Origin coaching staff, sat in the corner holding back tears.
Blues five-eighth Jarome Luai could only shake his head in disbelief.
Homes lost. Still no power. Shops closed. Streets abandoned. Families forced to live with strangers.
As Lismore mayor Steven Krieg spoke in front of the NSW State of Origin squad on Tuesday and detailed the heartbreaking devastation of flood-ravaged town, Blues coach Brad Fittler stood outside on Apex Oval thanking the almost 1000 faces staring back at him.
“Your spirit, the way you have come together as a community against immense adversity, we draw that from you,’’ Fittler said. “You’re an inspiration for NSW.
“The community spirit here is special and we don’t see that all the time.’’
In cold temperatures of 12C and constant rain, Fittler asked his players to run out onto Apex Oval without their shoes. In bare feet, every player shook hands and took selfies before training for the first time ahead of Origin III on July 13 in Brisbane, for a town who are no closer to getting back on their feet.
“The least we can do is get dirty straight away,’’ Fittler said. “We’re not here to be pretty.
“Considering the conditions, it’s a great turn out.
“You can imagine a day like today, would bring some awful memories.
“It would’ve been over the crossbar, so it gives you a good perspective pof how hard it would’ve been to get out of the way of.
“Given what had happened, it just made sense for us to be here.
“The lights don’t work, but that won’t hold us back.
“You never know what gives you motivation or a little kick.’’
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