Jordan McLean’s fairytale New South Wales call-up for the 2022 State of Origin decider at 30 years of age – and four years after the apparent end of his stint in the Australian Test team – revived memories of some the belated state debuts over the concept’s 43-season history.
A Kangaroos rep in eight matches in 2017-18 – one short former Bulldogs captain Darren Britt’s record for most Test appearances without playing Origin – McLean’s Blues ship appeared to have sailed as his formline meandered and the Cowboys plummeted to the bottom of the ladder.
A somewhat unsung hero of the Cowboys’ 2022 resurgence, the towering front-rower – who won a premiership with the Storm in 2017 – was set to face off against several current and former clubmates on Wednesday as one of Origin’s oldest debutants at 30 years and 278 days old, replacing an injured Payne Haas.
Heartbreakingly, McLean has injured his hamstring at Blues training and has been forced to pull out of the Suncorp Stadium showdown, ruining what is likely his last shot at playing in the Origin arena.
The following players were repeatedly stymied by injury, baffling selections or being stuck in the queue behind some of the all-time greats – but, unlike the luckless McLean, they all eventually earned their Origin spurs in memorable fashion.
Joe Kilroy (1988)
An electrifying winger/fullback and Norths Devils cult hero, ‘Smokin’ Joe’ was man-of-the-match in the 1980 BRL grand final.
Kilroy toured the UK in 1983 and played against New Zealand in ’84 for the Queensland rep side, but an Origin debut continued to elude him while the likes of BRL rivals Steve Stacey and Terry Butler received short-lived call-ups on the flank for the Maroons.
But nabbing a place on Brisbane Broncos’ 1988 roster provided a platform for the Indigenous livewire to earn long-awaited Origin selection. Kilroy played in two matches of Queensland’s cleansweep, scoring a try on his 28th birthday in the dead-rubber.
Mario Fenech (1989)
As passionate and wholehearted a player who ever laced a boot, Fenech was dubbed ‘Test Match’ by his teammates as a nod to his intensity.
The South Sydney captain and hooker had been thwarted at rep level by Royce Simmons and bitter rival Ben Elias, but in his ninth season of first grade he was preferred as incoming NSW coach Jack Gibson’s rake for the 1989 series.
One of the battling Blues’ best as they went down in the opening two games, injury ruled Fenech out of the third clash – and, agonisingly, a certain spot on Australia’s subsequent tour of New Zealand.
Peter Kelly (1989)
The best player in Canterbury’s 1984 grand final triumph and not far off it as the Bulldogs went back-to-back in ’85, Kelly could only watch on enviously as engine-room mates Peter Tunks, Steve Folkes, David Gillespie and Paul Langmack all went on to achieve NSW and Australian honours.
Kelly moved to Penrith in 1988 and was seemingly on the representative scrapheap but he earned a call-up to Jack Gibson’s Blues side during the ’89 series after the Maroons’ record 36-6 rout in the opener. The 29-year-old played in the remaining two games but was fated to be remembered as one of the best players to never represent Australia.
Mark Carroll (1995)
Former Penrith enforcer Carroll was the biggest international bolter of 1990 after joining Souths, winning a spot in the Australian team for the one-off Test against France in Parkes and on the end-of-season Kangaroo Tour.
But ‘Spudd’ faded from rep relevance in subsequent seasons, struggling for recognition in a battling Rabbitohs line-up.
Linking with Test coach Bob Fulton at Manly in 1994 rejuvenated his career, however, and Carroll made his NSW Origin debut during the Super League-affected ’95 series. The front-row kamikaze played the last of his seven matches for the Blues in 1999 after rejoining Souths.
Owen Cunningham (1996)
‘OJ’ Cunningham was the archetypal Queensland Origin player – unassuming, wholehearted, high work-rate, played above his weight – as well as being extremely versatile.
But despite plugging gaps in the Manly pack for more than a decade and repeatedly topping the ‘Most Underrated Player’ category in Rugby League Week’s annual players’ poll, Cunningham couldn’t get a look in from the Maroons selectors.
The call-up finally came ahead of the 1996 dead-rubber, the 29-year-old coming off the bench in a heart-stopping 15-14 loss. After featuring in the Sea Eagles’ grand final success later that year, Cunningham joined the Cowboys after played in all three matches of Queensland’s 1997 Super League Tri-Series campaign.
Tony Butterfield (1998)
Ex-Penrith prop Butterfield became a foundation Newcastle player in 1988 and was a cornerstone of the club’s pack right through to its epic 1997 grand final triumph. But the closest ‘Butts’ came to a NSW guernsey was a run off the City Origin bench in 1989.
That was until an injury crisis beset the Blues before the 1998 decider. With clubmate Paul Harragon and Storm bookend Rodney Howe ruled out, selectors turned to Butterfield – who was 32 years and 135 days old when he locked horns with the likes of man-of-the-match Shane Webcke in a 19-4 loss.
Butterfield was the oldest Origin debutant since Australian Test captain Max Krilich in 1982 (32 years and 215 days), while no one older than the teak-tough Knight has earned a maiden call-up since.
Kevin Campion (2001)
Former Gold Coast and St George utility Campion played for the Queensland Super League Tri-Series team during his 1997 stint with Adelaide. But despite featuring in Brisbane’s 1998 and 2000 NRL grand final triumphs, Origin status appeared set to elude him.
Wayne Bennett took the beleaguered Maroons’ reins in 2001, however, and selected his ex-Brisbane charge Campion as one of 10 debutants for the series opener – and the first-ever Warriors player to get an Origin call-up.
The much-admired hardman played four matches for Queensland as well as helping the Warriors and Cowboys to breakthrough finals appearances before hanging up the boots.
Scott Sattler (2003)
The son of Souths icon John Sattler debuted for the Seagulls in 1992 and had stints with the Roosters, Crushers and Chargers before settling at the Panthers in 1999.
Origin representation seemed certain to have passed the back-rower by, until he was a surprise selection for the second game of the 2003 series. At 31 years and 215 days, he became the oldest Queensland debutant since Arthur Beetson led the Maroons out for the inaugural Origin match at Lang Park in 1980 as a 35-year-old.
Sattler was dropped after the series-sealing 27-4 loss, but his most indelible mark on rugby league folklore was still to come just a few months later – pulling off an iconic try-saver on Todd Byrne as the Panthers upset the Roostes in the grand final.
Danny Nutley (2005)
Another 31-year-old Origin debutant, Nutley played for the ill-fated Crushers in 1997 before spending four good seasons at Warrington. The rugged prop returned to the NRL with Cronulla in 2002 and was the club’s player of the year in ’03.
Drafted in for injured Queensland enforcer Carl Webb ahead of the 2005 decider, Nutley became the fifth-oldest Origin newcomer as the Maroons went down 32-10 at Suncorp Stadium.
Hazem El Masri (2007)
Bulldogs winger El Masri was in his 12th season of first grade and had already smashed the premiership’s all-time season pointscoring record twice by the time NSW selectors threw him a jersey.
Three months beyond his 31st birthday, El Masri scored a try and kicked three goals as the Blues won the 2007 dead-rubber 18-4 in what would be his sole Origin appearance before retiring two years later.
Nathan Merritt (2013)
South Sydney stalwart Merritt had played 214 NRL games and scored 148 tries when he earned a well-received NSW debut for game two of the 2013 series following Blake Ferguson’s axing for an off-field incident.
Merritt, a month after his 30th birthday, endured one of the toughest Origin initiations of all time on the right flank, however, with opposite Darius Boyd scoring two tries as he jammed in off his wing and being outjumped by Rabbitohs teammate Greg Inglis for another try.
The veteran was replaced by Newcastle’s James McManus for the decider. Agonisingly, Merritt lost his first-grade spot in 2014 and missed Souths’ drought-breaking grand final triumph.
Matt Prior (2018)
A key but underrated member of St George’s 2010 and Cronulla’s 2016 breakthrough premiership wins, Prior rarely attracted Origin buzz.
But at the age of 31, Prior earned a popular NSW call-up for the second game of the 2018 rubber. The veteran of more than 12 seasons and 200 games in the NRL played his part in the Blues’ series-sealing 18-14 win before being ruled out of the third game.
Tariq Sims (2018)
Sims was the NYC player of the year in 2010 for the Broncos and was regularly touted as a NSW Origin bolter early in his career at the Cowboys. Despite six straight appearances for Country Origin, though, the back-row powerhouse was thwarted by injuries and tight selection calls.
A strong campaign for the Dragons saw the 28-year-old grab a bench spot for the Blues’ 2018 dead-rubber loss in Brisbane. He made the last of his six Origin appearances in NSW’s series-opening defeat this year, before making way for game two.
Jake Friend (2020)
Universally rated as an Origin-quality hooker for the bulk of his career, Roosters mainstay Friend was blocked by the ever-present Queensland great Cameron Smith, who missed just one game from his 2003 debut until his rep retirement in 2017.
A member of Australia’s Four Nations squad in late-2016, he appeared set to succeed Smith but a dip in form saw Andrew McCullough leapfrog Friend for the Maroons’ No.9 jumper in 2018. Injury rubbed Friend out of contention in 2019.
But after 263 NRL games, Friend’s debut finally came in the 2020 post-season series. The 30-year-old marked his overdue call-up by playing all three games of Queensland’s unlikely series win and collecting the Ron McAuliffe Medal as the Maroons’ players’ player.
Kyle Feldt (2021)
The dynamic but somewhat flighty Feldt was a fringe Queensland contender for several years, but Dane Gagai, Corey Oates and Valentine Holmes held a mortgage on Maroons wing spots from 2016-19. He was called in as cover in 2016 for Gagai, who ultimately recovered in time to play.
A certainty to debut for the depleted banana-benders in 2020 after scoring 19 tries in 20 games for the battling Cowboys, Feldt made the tough call to have groin surgery rather than play in the COVID-delayed post-season series.
The 29-year-old was picked at the next available opportunity, however, playing in the opening two games of the 2021 series. He was dropped for the dead-rubber, while an untimely injury kept the in-form veteran out of contention for the 2022 Origin campaign.