Local youth enjoyed watching the NSW Blues take victory over the Queensland Maroons in State of Origin Two at Central West Family Support Group on Wednesday, 26 June. The match was played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, where the Blues took a commanding lead into half time, and eventually won the match 38 to 18. The third and deciding game will be played at Suncorp Stadium on Wednesday, 17 July. Of the 44 years that the State of Origin games and series have been played, Queensland have been victorious in 26, and New South Wales 16 times. Matches were first played in 1980, and the first series played in 1982. In 1987 there was an extra game played in the USA, won by NSW. The series of 1999 and 2002 are considered drawn series, as each team won a single game of the three-match series, with the final game concluding in a draw (there was no overtime rule at the time). Queensland retained the Shield in each of these drawn series, as they were the previous year’s title holders. Image Credits: Kathy Parnaby.