State of Origin 2018: Angus Crichton, Damien Cook ready to end Rabbitohs series drought
IT’S a stat to blow your mind. How many South Sydney players have won a series with NSW in nearly 40 years of State of Origin?
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IT is the great Bunnies hex that you simply won’t believe.
Just three South Sydney players — Tony Rampling (1985), Graham Lyons (1990) and Bryan Fletcher (2003) — have won a series with NSW in nearly 40 years of State of Origin.
Rabbitohs stars Angus Crichton and Damien Cook have the chance to finally end the drought with a Blues win over Queensland on Sunday night.
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Rampling won under coach Terry Fearnley, Lyons achieved success with Jack Gibson, while Fletcher was victorious under Phil Gould.
“Only three players,” Fletcher said. “That really surprises me. Good stat.
“I would have thought in the late 1980s that Souths would have had more players in there and NSW may have won.
“I remember in 2003, we wrapped the series up in game two under Gus.”
Crichton was also surprised so few Souths players had been involved in Origin series wins.
Asked how special it would be to join that small list, Crichton said: “That would be a pretty incredible achievement.
“But we have won game one and, in the grand scheme of things, that doesn’t mean anything.
“We can chat about this if we win this next game.”
Crichton was impressive in game one, which guaranteed him selection for Sunday’s match, and is a possible NSW player for the next decade.
“I’m just pumped to play again,’’ Crichton said. “I said to ‘Freddy’ (coach Brad Fittler) as soon as that first game finished that I wanted to play again.
“I spoke to a few of the boys, ‘Bedsy’ (assistant coach Danny Buderus) and Boyd (Cordner, skipper) and they said Origin was contagious and you just want to keep playing.
“It’s pretty addictive and I just can’t wait to play again.”
A sellout crowd of 82,000 is expected to have ANZ Stadium buzzing by the time the match kicks off at 7.45pm.
“It should be good to get some Blues fans out there,” Crichton said. “I think at the MCG there were a fair few Queenslanders there.
“It will be good to turn the tide. I haven’t thought about the game too much. I’ve just got to keep a hold on things and contain my excitement until we get closer to the game.
“You don’t want to burn out your energy too much too soon.”
Crichton denied he was considering backflipping on his four-year contract with the Roosters, which starts from next season.
“I can pour cold water on that,’’ he said. “I signed a contract (with the Roosters).”
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