NSW players used a “Turvey” call to inspire them to dig deep for one another in Wednesday night’s epic Origin decider as the final piece of a detailed campaign by Blues coach Michael Maguire to honour Steve Mortimer paid dividends.
Maguire united the 1985 team, which Mortimer led to NSW’s first series win, with the current squad at a dinner after the Origin I assembled on May 27 and continued to build the “Turvey” theme until the Blues created their own history.
Mortimer’s wife, Karen, shed tears when Maguire showed her the 'Turvey' trophy he had designed from the famous photo of the Blues captain being chaired off the SCG and former team-mates re-enacted that moment at a dinner with the NSW squad.
“I cried,” Karen said. “Michael spoke to us about it, and he felt that he wanted the team to not only understand the people who went before and created the pathways that they are now walking, but to really embrace that spirit.
“He said that Stephen, for him as a younger person watching [in 1985], embodied what real spirit and passion was, and he just felt that was a touchstone that everyone needed.”
The trophy, weighing 20kg, was taken everywhere by the Blues in the lead up to Origin III as a reminder of what they were playing for and what they could achieve if they adopted the advice Mortimer gave to his players to “love one another”.
The players celebrated Mortimer's 68th birthday two days before the Origin decider by recording a series of messages for him, in which the vowed to honour the "spirit of Turvey".
“Madge just gets it,” said Mortimer’s brother, Peter, who was also a member of the 1985 NSW team.
“I think Madge wanted the current crop of boys to understand what it takes to win an Origin game and he used Stephen as an example because way back then we hadn’t beaten Queensland and Stephen identified the problem.
“It’s not always about having the most gifted players but if you’ve got someone willing to bleed for the bloke next to him, that’s a big part of winning those games.
“Stephen identified it, and that is what Madge has put into this side. [Blues team performance manager] Frank Ponissi was telling me that when they had their backs against the wall on the field, they have this call named ‘Turvey’.
“He said they heard that ‘Turvey’ call a fair bit on Wednesday night, and for us that’s special.”
Mortimer has dementia and is in care, but Maguire organised for him to attend the dinner at the SCG, along with 1985 team-mates, family members and the team for Origin III, who were to become the first NSW side to win a decider in Brisbane since 2005.
However, Maguire was warned that there could be no guarantees about how Mortimer would react on the night.
“I organised for our brother Peter to bring mum down and when he walked into the room, all the boys were there, but he looked over and said, ‘hi mum’,” Chris said.
“That got me, and I know it got mum too. He went over and gave her a big cuddle. It was so good, and all the boys saw that. It was a very genuine night.”
Karen said: “Fortunately the stars aligned. Stephen felt relaxed, and he was comfortable, so it was fantastic, and for us as a family it was special”.
Australian cricket greats Steve Waugh and Michael Whitney addressed the dinner party, along with Blues greats Steve Roach and Ben Elias, before they walked onto the SCG to the spot where Mortimer had kissed the turf at fulltime in 1985.
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Maguire had prepared a video that was shown on big screen, and he then asked Peter Wynn, Noel Cleal and Wayne Pearce to lift Mortimer as they had in victory on that historic night 39 years earlier.
“When Madge unveiled the trophy and we then re-enacted the photo it was a pretty surreal experience,” Cleal said.
“The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. It was really humbling, and I felt honoured just to be part of it.
“I was impressed by the fact that Madge was actually doing something to bring the old and the new together, and even though it happened 40 years ago they bought into us, and we bought into them.”
Karen Mortimer hadn’t realised that Turvey’s former team-mates were going to lift him for the photos, which included others with the two groups of players.
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However, she was overwhelmed by the reaction of the current team.
“It’s a great photo, it was joyous and what really warms my heart is that this current team … they’re faces are alive. It didn’t feel like a posed photo, it was real, everyone was happy. It was so uplifting,” she said.
“These kids are a different generation, but Michael got all of those players on the same page, and they were one unit. That’s what Stephen used to do.
“Michael has done an absolutely superb job in creating that line of respect and learning of what went before, because everyone talks about it when State of Origin comes up, but he embraced it and he made it the culture.
“He has created a new culture - or bought it back.”