Game three of the 2024 State of Origin series will be the 23rd decider in 43 years since the interstate rugby league concept became a three-match rubber.  

Queensland boasts an overwhelmingly dominant record in Origin deciders, winning 15 to NSW’s five, with two drawn in the pre-golden point days – both of which saw the Maroons hold on the shield.  

Like grand finals, often the most anticipated deciders fail to deliver on the hype…but others have gone down among the greatest matches in the history of the code.  

Ahead of the Suncorp Stadium showdown between Billy Slater’s Maroons and Michael Maguire’s Blues, we’ve ranked every Origin decider.  

22. 2015 – Staggering Suncorp rout rewrites record books 

A gripping decider loomed in 2015 after Queensland’s 11-10 eclipse in Sydney and NSW’s 26-18 bounce-back at the MCG.  

But the Maroons reclaimed the shield with the biggest winning margin in Origin history, leading 22-2 at halftime and running in another five tries after the break to win 52-6.  

Justin Hodges signed off from the Origin arena with an obligatory late conversion, while the triumph was coach Mal Meninga’s ninth from his 10th and last series at the helm of the Maroons.  

21. 1982 – Infamous blunder hands Queensland first decider 

The inaugural State of Origin series featured a decider at the Sydney Cricket Ground after Queensland had negated NSW’s 20-16 win in the opener with an 11-7 victory in game two.  

Game three was a dour affair dominated by the whistle of Kiwi Don Wilson. But the match lives on in the memory thanks to one of the all-time gaffes.  

With Queensland leading 5-3 during the second half, NSW fullback Phil Sigsworth fielded the ball in-goal but was met by a strong front-on tackle by Paul McCabe and opted to fire a one-handed pass to unsuspecting debutant winger Phil Duke.  

The Moree-based debutant fumbled the ill-conceived offload and man of the match Wally Lewis pounced, setting the Maroons on course for a 10-5 win. 

20. 2005 – Joey completes rescue mission  

The scene was set for a wonderful decider after Matt Bowen’s golden point intercept in game one and Andrew Johns’ all-time masterclass in game two. But the resultant decider was a fizzer, with Johns again instrumental in NSW’s 32-10 victory.  

The Blues led 32-0 after Matt King crossed for his third try with 15 minutes remaining – sealing the Blues third straight series win – before the home side added a hint of respectability to the scoreline with two late tries.  

19. 2017 – Blues fall short in Brisbane again 

After NSW had won the opener 28-4, Queensland equalised with a remarkable 18-16 victory via injured Johnathan Thurston’s clutch sideline conversion then clinched its 11th series win 12 years with a tough 22-6 result in a home decider.  

The Blues were down 12-0 at halftime, revived their hopes with the first try of the second half and crumbled again in the last 20 minutes with Valentine Holmes completing a record-equalling hat-trick and Jarrod Wallace charging over.  

18. 1994 – Benny and the Blues foil Big Mal’s farewell  

Mark Coyne’s miracle try for Queensland at the SFS and NSW’s 14-0 shutout in front of a record MCG crowd set up a tantalising decider in Brisbane, which doubled as Maroons skipper and 1980 original Mal Meninga’s last appearance.  

But it was another retiree, feisty Blues hooker Ben Elias, who enjoyed the dream Origin send-off in a 27-12 victory.  

NSW held a commanding 18-6 lead at halftime and never looked like being run down. Elias slotted two field goals, while Meninga’s last act was throwing an intercept pass for Brad Fittler’s sealer as the Blues clinched three straight series wins for the first time.  

17. 1999 – Historic draw leaves empty feeling  

The conclusion to the hard-fought series, with Queensland winning the opener 9-8 and NSW taking game two 12-8, was something of an anti-climax – a 10-all draw in driving rain at Suncorp Stadium.  

Laurie Daley was handed the captaincy for his Origin farewell after Test skipper Brad Fittler pulled out with injury.  

Matt Geyer’s second try with 10 minutes left – from the unlikely source of a Rodney Howe grubber – levelled the scores. The Adrian Lam-skippered Canetoads had a chance to take a late lead with a field goal, but instead chose to wind down the clock and play for a draw.  

Wendell Sailor was a standout man of the match choice, a rarity for a winger in State of Origin football, particularly in such a grinding, dour contest. The tied result did nothing to dampen the Maroons’ celebrations, after the drawn series saw them retain the trophy as the previous year’s winners. 

16. 1983 – Maroons run riot to retain shield  

The Blues’ bid for a maiden series success was buried under an avalanche of Queensland tries, effectively out of the contest at the break – behind 21-0, a record halftime margin that stood until 2024 – and 33-0 down soon after.  

NSW fought back late with veteran winger Chris Anderson compiling a hat-trick, but Queensland’s seven-try, 43-22 victory was emphatic enough to get nine of its players into Australia’s starting line-up for the subsequent Test match against New Zealand.  

15. 1998 – Langer leads the way against band-aid Blues 

A seesawing series leading up to game three in Sydney featured a stunning after-the-bell 24-23 win to Queensland and an authoritative 26-10 square-up from NSW in Brisbane.  

But the Blues’ build-up to the decider was ravaged by one of the worst injury crises in Origin history, losing Rodney Howe, Paul McGregor, Nik Kosef, Andrew Ettingshausen and Paul Harragon, and then Geoff Toovey on the morning of the match.  

Queensland took the ascendancy in a 12-4 first half thanks to Kevin Walters’ opener and a runaway try to Ben Ikin set up by Gorden Tallis. The Maroons stayed in control and went out of reach with 15 minutes left as incomparable skipper Allan Langer darted over.  

Queensland won its first series since 1995 courtesy of the 19-4 result.  

14. 2011 – Lockyer gets fitting send-off 

The great Darren Lockyer’s Origin farewell added another element to a what shaped as a tight decider at Suncorp Stadium.  

Extending his record to 36 Origin appearances, Lockyer was magnificent as Queensland effectively extinguished the Blues’ compelling bid for a drought-breaking series victory in the opening 33 minutes, scorching to a 24-0 lead. 

Two tries late in the first half raised faint hopes of a NSW revival, but Greg Inglis’ second try – which saw the centre equal Dale Shearer’s Origin record of 12 tries – put the game and the series to bed, the Maroons ultimately winning 34-24.  

13. 2004 – Freddy rewrites broken fairytale  

NSW won the 2004 opener in golden point despite multiple sackings for a bonding session gone wrong, while Queensland sent it to a decider on the back of Billy Slater’s famous kick-and-chase try in game two – for which Brad Fittler, denied a winning farewell in 2001, came out of rep retirement for.  

Queensland led 8-6 midway through the first half, but NSW was far too strong with Mark Gasnier (one of the players axed for an infamous role in the aforementioned off-field snafu) scoring two tries on debut.  

Fittler, who extended his NSW appearance record to 31 games, sealed a 36-14 win with a try from a charge-down of a Darren Lockyer kick.  

12. 2013 – Nude intruder can’t snap Queensland’s streak 

The last of Queensland’s iconic streak of eight straight series wins came after dropping the series opener 14-6 in Sydney, squaring the ledger with a dominant 26-6 win at home.  

The decider was a tense affair back at ANZ Stadium, with the Maroons leading 8-4 at halftime and looking home when Justin Hodges scored in the 61st minute. But the Blues bravely hung in and pegged it back to 12-10 as Trent Merrin scored a try out of thin air with 10 minutes left.  

With the timepiece nearing the 78-minute mark and the Maroons attacking the NSW line, a rotund, naked pitch invader ran through the combatants.  

Security personnel apprehended the unclothed intruder, while Ryan Hoffman theatrically tripped over him and Corey Parker sent prop Matthew Scott over for a try. Amid chaotic on-field scenes, the video ref was left with no option except to disallow the match-sealing four-pointer, but Queensland held on. 

11. 1992 – Blues break decider hoodoo  

NSW belatedly tasted victory in a decider after five attempts at a packed Sydney Football Stadium, powering away after a tense first half finished 4-2 in the hosts’ favour courtesy of a solo try to man of the match Ricky Stuart.  

Blues debutant Tim Brasher replaced injured winger Rod Wishart at halftime and produced two brilliant try-saving tackles, kicked two goals and made a series of superb runs, while a brilliant team try finished off by Andrew Ettingshausen and John Cartwright’s dummy-half charge set up a 16-4 result. 

10. 2008 – Injury-hit Maroons scoop series in Sydney  

Squaring up with a 30-0 game two rout, Queensland’s bid for three straight series wins for the first time since the 1980s was on the ropes after halfback Scott Prince broke his arm in the first half. But an astonishing Israel Folau double saw the Maroons trail just 10-8 at halftime.  

A Johnathan Thurston penalty was the only additional score until the 68th minute, when his trademark show-and-go set up a runaway deadlock-breaker to Billy Slater. Queensland secured victory in a Sydney-hosted decider for the first time in a decade 16-10.  

9. 2001 – Alfie’s return sparks landslide  

Following a stunning 34-16 win in the series opener with 10 debutants, Queensland’s hopes nosedived with a season-ending neck injury to captain Gorden Tallis and a 26-10 loss in game two.  

But Maroons coach Wayne Bennett pulled a masterstroke by luring Warrington-based halfback legend Allan Langer back for the decider.  

The 34-year-old ‘Alfie’ provided the inspiration and man of the match Darren Lockyer the polish in a scintillating 40-14 victory. NSW conjured a try inside the first minute, but Queensland steamrolled its way to a 28-8 halftime lead and went on with the unforgettable demolition job.   

8. 2020 – ‘Worst Queensland team’ clinches amazing series win  

After an unlikely 18-14 win in the Adelaide series opener, Queensland – decimated by injuries with the series postponed to November by COVID – was humbled 34-10 in game two.  

Further withdrawals saw the Maroons go into the decider as rank outsiders despite being at home, but they took a surprise 12-6 lead into halftime after tries to wingers Val Holmes and Edrick Lee.  

A brilliant solo try from debuting hooker Harry Grant in the 64th minute proved decisive: the Blues hit back with a Daniel Tupou try and a penalty goal to cut the deficit to six, but the Maroons’ desperate defence allowed them to hang on for a 20-14 triumph.  

The NSW media had dubbed the champions the worst Queensland side ever pre-series, which victorious skipper Daly Cherry-Evans had some fun with in his speech as he accepted the Origin shield after the Maroons’ first success since 2017.  

7. 2006 – A dynasty begins 

Queensland kicked off an eight-year reign in unlikely and unforgettable style, ravaged by injuries ahead of the Melbourne-hosted decider and rocked by a horrendous video referee call that propelled NSW to a 14-4 lead during the second half.  

Johnathan Thurston sent man of the match Brent Tate on a thrilling 70-metre run to the line to keep the Maroons in it, and with five minutes remaining Darren Lockyer swooped on a loose Brett Hodgson pass in front of the NSW posts to score an incredible series-winning try. 

6. 2012 – Cronk field goal buries Blues  

Hard-fought matches in the opening two games rendered the 2012 decider one of the most anticipated ever as a confident NSW chased a drought-breaking win after six years of heartache.  

The Blues raced to an 8-0 lead but the Maroons scored the next 16 points unanswered – albeit after dubious video ref call handed Justin Hodges a try. A Robbie Farah grubber set up Brett Stewart for a try early in the second half, cutting the deficit to two points.  

Two penalty goals gave Queensland a six-point cushion, before a brilliant Josh Morris try from another Farah kick and a sensational sideline conversion from Todd Carney levelled it up at 20-all.  

The decider hinged on Cooper Cronk’s booming field goal from the 40-metre line, 15 metres in from touch, for a 21-20 Maroons victory.  

5. 2019 – Back-to-back Blues snatch it at the death  

Well accustomed to late heartbreak throughout the annals of Origin history, NSW conjured arguably its greatest late escape to clinch consecutive series wins for the first time in 14 years in 2019.  

The Sydney decider was locked 8-all at halftime but the Blues powered to a 12-point lead, which they held with 10 minutes to go. Seemingly done, the Maroons squared the scoreboard with late tries to Josh McGuire and Josh Papalii. 

Golden point beckoned, until NSW launched a last-ditch raid with 45 seconds left. James Tedesco finished off an incredible 70-metre movement that snatched a 24-20 result.  

4. 2002 – Carlaw’s buzzer-beater saves Maroons  

At the end of a gripping, seesawing contest, NSW snatched an 18-14 lead with five minutes of the 2002 series to go through a Jason Moodie try, after the video referee had mystifyingly denied Queensland fullback Darren Lockyer a series-sealing try.  

But as the clock ticked over into the 80th minute, veteran halfback Allan Langer – playing his 34th and final Origin match – shifted the ball to hard-running backrower Dane Carlaw on the Blues’ 40-metre line.  

Carlaw fended off Moodie and strode into open territory, before brushing off fullback Brett Hodgson to plunge over for a dramatic try out wide, stunning the Sydney crowd.  

Lote Tuqiri’s missed conversion after the bell was academic – Queensland retained the shield with the 18-all draw as the current holders, though the drawn result was a precursor to golden point being introduced to Origin.  

3. 1987 – Queensland hold on in Lang Park epic 

The best series of Origin’s first decade – which included Mark McGaw’s last-gasp try to snatch victory for NSW in game one and a tense 12-6 response from Queensland in the second game – reached a fitting conclusion.  

The Maroons led 10-8 at the end of a frantic first half – and that’s where the scoreboard remained, despite a dramatic second stanza characterised by long breaks from the Blues and desperate defence from the home side, reclaiming interstate supremacy for the first time since 1984. 

Critics hailed it the best Origin contest to that point, while Allan Langer capped a magnificent maiden series with man-of-the-match honours, emerging from his uncertain initial selection in game one to be anointed Wally Lewis’ heir apparent by the end of the campaign 

2. 2022 – Hunt the hero as Maroons clinch classic 

Up there with the greatest Origin matches of all time, Queensland’s 22-12 upset of NSW at Suncorp Stadium was dripping with drama and memorable moments.  

Cameron Murray and Selwyn Cobbo were ruled out with concussion in the first couple of minutes; both teams scored two tries in the first half with the Blues leading 12-10 at the break; Dane Gagai and Matt Burton were binned after a memorable dust-up in the early seconds of the second stanza.  

On the back of a Ben Hunt 40/20, Kalyn Ponga scored a sizzling try to put the Maroons back in front with 19 minutes left. The Blues looked certain to find a way back into the lead in an unbearably tense final quarter but the hosts refused to buckle.  

With two minutes left, Hunt grabbed a Nathan Cleary chip kick out of the air and sped 75 metres on an iconic run to a series-winning try.  

1. 1991 – King Wally abdicates in glory  

The two-point margins and thrilling finishes of the opening two matches, and the spite on show in the second clash set the scene for a zealously-anticipated decider – despite NSW firebrand Mark Geyer’s suspension-enforced absence. 

The first game three decider since 1987 was strongly rumoured to be Queensland captain and Origin’s most dominant player Wally Lewis’ last interstate appearance, adding to the frenzied build-up to the Lang Park blockbuster.  

The Blues struck early through Chris Johns, but the Maroons led 8-4 at halftime with rookie fullback Paul Hauff and winger Michael Hancock streaking away for tries. Michael O’Connor levelled up for NSW as Martin Bella was sent to the sin bin, while the visitors went up 12-8 through Des Hasler.  

But the mercurial Dale Shearer slid through the Blues’ defence inside the last 15 minutes and Mal Meninga shakily toe-poked the Maroons into the lead from out wide.  

The ground announcer subsequently delivered the news that most had suspected – the match was to be ‘King’ Wally’s last for Queensland. His charges grimly clung to their slender lead for the remaining 10 minutes, sealing what arguably still stands as the most exhilarating and dramatic series on record.