THE GREAT ESCAPES OF QUEENSLAND'S HOUDINIS:
2006 - NSW went 1-0 up after winning in Sydney and had their fourth straight series seemingly in the bag when they led the decider 14-4 with 10 minutes to play. Then Johnathan Thurston inserted himself into the game. In his first big Origin moment, he stepped past Luke O'Donnell to break and put Brent Tate away to score. Moments later, after one errant Brett Hodgson pass, the momentum of Origin was changed forever.
2008 - Craig Bellamy's tenure started with a bang in Sydney, meaning the Blues needed only to claim another victory at home in Game III to claim the series. Mitchell Pearce debuted, and after the Blues led at halftime and kept it to 10-10 with 14 minutes to play, NSW's future looked bright. Again, enter Johnathan Thurston. He beat Pearce on the left edge and found Billy Slater to ensure the Maroons would claim a then-record-equalling third straight series.
2013 - Laurie Daley's first year in charge of NSW again brought new hope, especially after they went up 1-0 with a game to play in Sydney. But after Queensland made light work of Game II in Brisbane, the Blues failed to make use of more ball, more metres and more penalties in the decider. Eventually the final nail was hammered home by a streaker, who interrupted a Queensland assault on the line and denied NSW one final full set as Queensland won their eighth straight series with a 12-10 victory.
2015 - With the Blues carrying the momentum of a win in Game II in Melbourne and Cooper Cronk racing the clock to be fit for the decider, NSW looked a chance of claiming rare back-to-back series wins. Then came the greatest team performance in Origin history at Suncorp. The Maroons ran in a ridiculous eight tries to one, their 52-6 win the biggest ever in what would be Mal Meninga's final game in charge.
2017 - Arguably the greatest escape of all. After copping their biggest-ever beating at Suncorp Stadium, the Maroons travelled to Sydney with seven changes and their dynasty appearing shot. After NSW went to halftime 16-6 up, the turning of the tide appeared a mere formality. But when Dane Gagai crossed after the break and again just before fulltime, it left Johnathan Thurston - playing with what would be a season-ending shoulder injury - to nail a kick from the sideline to win it. In typical Thurston fashion he did so with ease, in what would be his final act in the Origin arena before the Maroons claimed Game III without him.
