Since State of Origin became a three-game series in 1982, a decider in the cauldron at Suncorp Stadium has traditionally been a promoter's dream... and a Blues players' nightmare.
Starting in 1983 when Wally Lewis led his Maroons to a 43-22 victory in Game Three at Lang Park through to 2020 when the mercurial Cameron Munster guided Queensland to a 20-14 win, the men from north of the border have pretty much owned deciders in Brisbane.
The Maroons have wrapped up series wins on home soil 11 rimes while the only joy for NSW in deciders played in Brisbane came in 1994 and 2005.
From tense and tight struggles like 1987, when the Maroons prevailed 10-8, to one-sided romps like the 52-6 demolition in 2015, the Suncorp Stadium faithful have revelled in the series-winning exploits of heroes like Greg Inglis, Darius Boyd, Johnathan Thurston, Allan Langer, Paul Vautin and The King.
In the rich history of series deciders in Brisbane, the 2001 and 2005 clashes stand out for the heroics of Allan Langer and Andrew Johns, who played the role of 'messiah' for their state in a time of need.
In this extract from his 2020 book '40 Years of Origin: The Magic. The Moments. The Memories', NRL.com senior journalist Martin Lenehan talks to the men who played alongside Alf and Joey, sharing magical moments in Game Three deciders with two of the greatest halfbacks ever to lace a boot.
Return of the Prodigal Son
Almost 19 years have passed since the little bloke with the big secret climbed out of a cab at The Gabba and greeted his fellow Maroons with a trademark cheeky grin... but Petero Civoniceva remembers it like it was yesterday.
It was late June, 2001, and coach Wayne Bennett had hatched a plan to bring one of Queensland's favourite sons back from England for a series decider he hoped would exorcise the demons of a 3-0 shellacking in 2000.
Never mind the fact the messiah was four weeks shy of his 35th birthday and hadn't played Origin for 1107 days.
Never mind the fact he had walked away from the NRL just eight games into the Broncos' 1999 campaign saying he had lost his hunger.
Nope, none of that mattered to Petero and his mates when the little maestro Allan Langer arrived to answer an SOS from the man who had handed him his Origin debut 14 years earlier.
"For us young blokes it was an amazing feeling knowing that a Queensland icon had come back from the UK and was going to put that jersey on one last time," said Civoniceva, who had debuted in Game One of the series.
"We had idolised him as kids growing up and now we were getting the chance to play alongside him.
"There's something about blokes like Alf and also Artie Beetson back in 1980... they build confidence among their teammates because of who they are and what they have done and they have a huge aura because of what they stand for in the game.
"Alf really set the tone for us. It was an amazing week of preparation, and knowing we had Alf beside us built our confidence and made us believe we could do it."
They did it, alright, riding the emotion of Langer's return to wallop the Blues 40-14 and wrap up the series.
Match Highlights: Maroons v Blues
Having taken a punt on 10 debutants in Game One and an old stager from Super League in the decider, Bennett had once again proven himself the master, and the pain of a 56-16 defeat a year earlier had been well and truly erased.
That 40-point NSW win in 2000 had also featured Bryan Fletcher's now infamous 'hand grenade' post-try celebration, which would serve as motivation for Queensland sides for years to come.
"Coming into the side in 2001 we felt the rage and anger of blokes like 'Choppy' Close and 'Tosser' Turner about that celebration," Civoniceva recalls.
"The resentment was felt right across the state and we knew we had to avenge that."
That perceived lack of respect was clearly a driving force in '01 and again in '02 when a drawn series saw the Maroons retain the Origin shield. But from 2003-05 it would be NSW calling the shots on the back of such luminaries as Andrew Johns, Brad Fittler and Danny Buderus.
The three-year reign would be a a roller coaster for Knights legend Johns, who captained his state to a 2-1 win in '03 before a knee reconstruction forced him to watch from his lounge room in 2004 as the Blues went back-to-back.
With the '05 series looming, Johns broke his jaw against the Warriors and things looked grim. Many questioned whether at 31 years of age he could fight his way back to play any part in the quest for a three-peat.
After a heartbreaking extra-time loss in the series opener, playmaker Trent Barrett broke down at training in the build-up to Game Two and that's when coach Ricky Stuart decided to roll the dice on a 'Hail Joey' play.
Match Highlights: Blues v Maroons
Never mind the fact that the messiah had played just three games in 14 months and was on the wrong side of 30.
Never mind the fact that he and Braith Anasta had been paired together only once before in the halves and the Blues lost.
Nope, none of that mattered to Mark Gasnier and his mates when Johns strode into training full of passion and purpose.
"The first session Joey came to was at Woollahra Oval and we were blown away by how composed he was," Gasnier says.
"Trent Barrett's a good mate of mine and I loved playing outside him so I was just gutted he got hurt, but you just knew when Joey walked in he was going to control everything."
Magic of Johns provides King a second
On June 15, 2005, Johns produced one of the finest performances of his career to lead the Blues to a 32-22 win which levelled the series, and repeated the dose in Brisbane three weeks later to put a stunning exclamation mark on his 23-game Origin career.
"You remember some match-winning performances at club level but you never remember as many as you can rattle off for Origin," Gasnier says.
"Like Michael O'Connor's goal from the sideline in 1991 after Mark McGaw had scored, Mark Coyne's try in 1994, and Joey's comeback in 2005 is up with the best.
"The magic of Origin for a player is there's just this expectation that when you come into a team and you know what Origin is, you just have to play out of your skin."
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