“Putting the jersey above ourselves!”
That was the theme behind NSW’s 24-10 Origin III triumph at Accor Stadium on Wednesday night.
The win helped to restore pride in the NSW jersey after back-to-back series losses, but the Blues were playing for much more.
On the front of their jerseys, each Blues player wore the name of the place in NSW they were born or had grown up, and were now representing on the game’s biggest stage.
The idea was conceived by winger Josh Addo-Carr, who tugged at his chest - where the words Redfern/Doonside (Wiradjuri) were embroidered – after scoring arguably the individual try of the series in the 21st minute.
Five-eighth Cody Walker, who won player of the match in his first Origin appearance since 2020, also had the names of the Bundjalung and Yuin nations embroidered on his jersey, along with Casino, the Northern Rivers town he hails from.
Other places represented included Barmedman (Liam Martin), Helensburgh (Damien Cook), Whalan (Brian To’o), Wamberal (Jacob Saifiti), Dubbo (Isaah Yeo), Mona Vale (Jake Trbojevic) and Menangle (James Tedesco).
Blues debutant Bradman Best had Woy Woy embroidered on his chest but Origin splits his family, with his Queensland-based grandmother having to defend the 21-year-old’s NSW heritage at bingo as his father Roger had played for Queensland Schoolboys.
Each Blues player spoke about where they were from and the people they were representing at Monday night’s jersey presentation, which was attended by Steve Mortimer, who led the first NSW team to a series win in 1985.
However, the theme – “Putting the Jersey Above Ourselves” - extended beyond the 17 players who took the field as Blues coach Brad Fittler invited all of those who had been involved in the series to join the squad before the match.
The attendance of Nicho Hynes, in particular, was significant as the axing of the 2022 Dally M Medallist after the series opener at Adelaide Oval had been the source of much debate and criticism.
In the sheds | Josh Addo-Carr
In the eyes of Fittler, the likes of Hynes, prop Junior Paulo and second-rower Hudson Young, who were all dropped during the series, are members of the extended Blues squad, along with injured stars Nathan Cleary, Api Koroisau and Tom Trbojevic.
They joined the team for the pre-match warm-up at the NSWRL Centre of Excellence and walked with them through the under-road tunnel into Accor Stadium before watching the game together from the stands.
“It was great to see some of the blokes who were in the first couple of games turn up,” Fittler said.
“At the end of the day you need to go now with 30 players - 17 or 18 doesn’t cut it with the amount of injuries and things that go on throughout the year.
“If our players who didn’t play in this game are happy to turn up and support then all of a sudden you become a lot stronger outfit.”
In the sheds | Bradman Best
Fittler was reluctant to speak in detail about the concept of embroidering the place names on the Blues players were representing on their NSW jerseys, saying: “It was Foxx’s idea so he should be the one to talk about it”.
With players imposing a media ban on match days due to their ongoing CBA dispute, Addo-Carr’s role in helping to restore NSW pride won’t get the same publicity as Queensland players having their postcodes on the left sleeve of their jerseys.
Blues v Maroons – Game 3, 2023
Fittler said Mortimer had also provided a timely reminder of what the Blues were playing for as the image of the former halfback being chaired from the field after the state's first Origin series win adorns the front of the NSWRL CoE.
“We had Steve Mortimer come in to see the boys during the week and it was nice to have him there,” Fittler said. “He just made things a bit clearer for everyone. It was good to see him.”