Today is a great day to spare a thought for the rugby league followers of North Queensland. Over the years I have lived and visited the north and found it to be a great place, except if you came from NSW when the Origin series was being played. I was constantly told of all the great players, Boustead, Meninga, Miles, Slater, all the players that according to them won Origin almost single handed. When the side was getting beaten, well they had Barry Gommersall to referee them to a win. I remember hearing Peter Sterling talking about Bazza. He was penalised for putting the ball into the second row in a scrum. When he protested to Bazza saying it was Langer who just fed the scrum, Bazza told him he must have been offside then and promptly marched him ten metres for dissent.

Anyway, over the years when Qld won I just copped it and waited. When NSW went on any winning spree the call from the north was that Origin had lost its meaning and was no longer relevant. When they won again, all of a sudden it was relevant.

Well, after almost forty years of waiting by the fans of the north, an Origin game was to be played in the big new stadium at the league capital of North Queensland  in Townsville. The joint was packed to the gunnels with Qld supporters who did not notice who also came to watch. Lo and behold, it was that rugby league fanatic with a long memory, known as karma.

Forty years of waiting, of talking up the state, dubious refereeing decisions and karma gave it to them to the tune of 50 to 6. There is a god!