"GREATS OF ORIGIN" A MUST FOR ALL LEAGUE FANS

STATE OF ORIGIN, June 14: Award-winning sports writer Neil Cadigan was working on Sydney's Daily Mirror newspaper when State of Origin rugby league exploded onto Lang Park on July 8, 1980 and he like league followers around the globe - have been hooked ever since.

The nay-sayers have since feasted on their words - as Senator Ron McAuliffe and his disciples dished up what has now been a smorgasbord of the fiercest football known to man.

"Neil The Eel" as he is known for his love of Parramatta, has not missed an Origin clash ever since, either as a working journalist or as a fan glued to the television, despite his two-year stint in England.

Cadigan's passion for rugby league at its fiercest has led him to write his latest book - a collection of stories through the eyes of some of the greatest players ever to lace up an Origin boot  - players who have starred in their own gladiatorial chapters of the game that has the famous catch cry: "State against State and Mate against Mate."

"Greats of Origin" (Harper Collins RRP $35) takes you behind the scenes and into the minds of those who played a part in league's greatest innovation, from that first night when a 35-year-old Arthur Beetson made his Queensland debut and inspired an emerging generation of legends like Wally Lewis, Mal Meninga and Chris Close, right through to the five-year domination of the current Maroons.

Cadigan reveals never before told stories about the greatest upset in league history - the 3-0 series whitewash by Paul Vautin's Maroon ‘imposters' of 1995; the dramatic comeback of Allan Langer from England in 2001,  plus all-new interviews with the most successful Origin coaches Wayne Bennett, Phil Gould and Mal Meninga, and modern heroes like Darren Lockyer and Kurt Gidley.

Lewis tells why he hated being called ‘The King'; Steve Mortimer relives the ecstasy of winning NSW's first ever Origin series in his last representative match and there is a wonderful insight from the most famous of Origin father and son representatives, Wayne and Mitchell Pearce, a man who captained the Blues and another who many say is destined to.

And Ricky Stuart talks about his challenge of stopping the Maroon domination.

And here is an unusual sporting trivia question, the answer of which is revealed in the book ... who is the only man to have played State of Origin rugby league and competed in the America's Cup challenge rounds?

In "Greats of Origin", Cadigan gets inside what Origin has meant to not just some of the legends of State of Origin but some of the lesser knowns whose stories are just as fascinating and inspirational.

Never before has such an insight been given through the eyes of those involved and he uncovered many revelations along the way.

"The genuine pride, emotion and honesty these guys portrayed during the many hours of talking to them gave me a new understanding of what State of Origin has meant in their lives let alone their footy careers and how it is played out behind the scenes; they provided a wonderful look inside a sporting challenge that I believe is unmatched in this country,' says Cadigan.

"No other domestic sporting event can generate such parochialism, tribalism or emotion as State of Origin.

"You just can't debate that it was made for and by Queenslanders essentially, and that's something - as New South Welshman - I admire and respect. But to downplay the interest in and support of their Origin team by NSW is folly; I can see the depth of passion growing as the Maroons have dominated the past five years."

"This book is not just a deep-seeded societal thing in NSW as it is in Queensland and that's what makes Origin so great Queenslanders will never lose that us v them siege mentality and NSW people hate that and use it as motivation.

"That's why it is such a unique sporting event and I have been so captivated by it. It touches people on so many different levels - physically and mentally it's the greatest test of football talent, a contest that makes or breaks reputations; as a sporting event it is its own industry, with unparalleled interest from the fans and particularly the media - people who rarely watch rugby league rarely miss watching Origin.

"And it inflames interstate rivalry that was unheard of in the past half century."

Neil Cadigan's "Greats of Origin" is must read for all fans of the game. - IAN HANSON.