2020 Origin rewind: It was the best of times for 'worst' Maroons
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As part of a series looking back at four decades of State of Origin football, NRL.com revisits the 2020 series in which Wayne Bennett's underdog Maroons reclaimed the shield in stunning style.
Queensland were written off in some quarters as the worst team they'd sent into the Origin arena in decades but the Maroons had the last laugh in scoring yet another upset series win over NSW.
With coach Kevin Walters stepping aside a few weeks before the series kicked off in November, Wayne Bennett answered the call from the QRL to take over the reins and despite fielding eight debutants, he engineered a boilover in game one at Adelaide.
NSW squared the ledger with an emphatic 34-10 triumph in game two in Sydney before the Maroons sealed a historic series win by beating the Blues 20-14 in the series finale at Suncorp Stadium.
The 2020 series was also the first time the contest was played at the end of the season after the schedule for the NRL and representative football was delayed and rearranged due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Match: Blues v Maroons
Game 1 -
home Team
Blues
away Team
Maroons
Venue: Adelaide Oval, Adelaide
Game One, Maroons 18 bt Blues 14 at Adelaide Oval
In the first match played at Adelaide Oval in Origin history, all appeared to be going to script after the first half with NSW holding a 10-0 lead.
A half-time address by Bennett inspired an inexperienced and undermanned Queensland team to an upset defeat.
Match Highlights: Blues v Maroons
He challenged playmakers Daley Cherry-Evans and Cameron Munster to take control of the match and their kicking game set Queensland on the course for victory.
Makeshift centre Kurt Capewell sparked Queensland's comeback with a tackle on Josh Addo-Carr that forced Blues halfback Nathan Cleary to kick from inside his own 20-metre zone, before laying on a 50th-minute try for fellow debutant AJ Brimson.
Match: Blues v Maroons
Game 2 -
home Team
Blues
away Team
Maroons
Venue: ANZ Stadium, Sydney
Game Two, Blues bt 12 at ANZ Stadium
Nathan Cleary booted the Blues to victory to set up a Suncorp decider with his finest hour yet on the game's biggest stage.
Cleary came into game two branded a "flop" by some sections of the media after no tries, try assists, line breaks or line-break assists from his previous six Origin outings.
Match Highlights: Blues v Maroons
But he turned in a man of the match display, finishing with two forced drop-outs, a 40/20 and 473 kicking metres.
NSW led 18-4 at half-time and with Addo-Carr scoring twice, they went on to score a comfortable win in front of a half-full ANZ Stadium due to biosecurity restrictions.
Match: Maroons v Blues
Game 3 -
home Team
Maroons
away Team
Blues
Venue: Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Game Three, Maroons bt Blues at Suncorp Stadium
After Valentine Holmes and James Tedesco traded early tries, Queensland winger Edrick Lee gave the hosts a 12-6 lead at half-time with what turned out to be a crucial try just before the break.
Rookie hooker Harry Grant scored on debut as the Maroons stretched out to a 20-6 lead before the Blues came charging back with a Daniel Tupou try and Cleary penalty goal to make the deficit six points heading into the final eight minutes.
Match Highlights: Maroons v Blues
But with a parochial crowd of more than 49,000 packing Suncorp, the underdog Maroons held firm in the face of the late onslaught to cap a remarkable series victory which ranks alongside the greatest upsets in 40 years of Origin history.
Play of the series
Wearing the No.6 jersey made famous by Wally Lewis, Cameron Munster did his best impression of The King in the 37th minute of the deciding game three.
Near halfway he skirted to the left and grubbered ahead, regaining the ball near the sideline, he kicked again and the Queensland kick-chasers pressured Tupou into a fumble near his goal line.
The Maroons spread the ball wide on the next play and Lee scored on the opposite side of the field to break a 6-6 deadlock and give them all the momentum heading into the second half.
Munster at his magical best has Edrick Lee scoring
Best player
Munster started the series slowly and got a rocket from Bennett in the sheds at half-time. He responded by leading the Maroons to a comeback win in Adelaide.
He didn't last long in game two due to a head knock and the Blues dominated.
And when he returned for the series decider, he played like the Emperor of Lang Park to be man of the match and fittingly take home the Wally Lewis Medal.
The quote
"On behalf of the worst ever Queensland team, thank you very much." – Maroons captain Daly Cherry-Evans finishes his podium speech with a sledge at the critics who wrote them off before the series.
DCE delivers cheeky sledge and lifts the shield
Unsung hero
Capewell had barely played centre in his five seasons in the NRL but the Penrith back-rower did a tremendous job for Queensland, filling in out wide, particularly in game one when he set up a long-range try for AJ Brimson.
Queensland have made a tradition of selecting no-nonsense back-rowers to get through a mountain of work to show up their more-fancied NSW counterparts and Capewell's name slots in well alongside the likes of Gary Larson, Dallas Johnson and Wally Fullerton-Smith in that category.
Capewell brushes past Gutherson, sets up Brimson
The following year
Bennett opted not to return as Queensland coach with the Maroons recruiting North Queensland's 2015 premiership-winning mentor Paul Green to take over. Brad Fittler retained the NSW gig.
The series is back to its usual mid-season slot but the pandemic is still a factor - the opening match of the series has been transferred from the MCG to Townsville due to an outbreak in Victoria.
All that remains now is for the matches to be played ...
