1984 State of Origin series
| 1984 State of Origin series | |
|---|---|
| Won by |
 Queensland (3rd series title) |
| Series margin | 2-1 |
| Points scored | 91 |
| Attendance | 79,309 (ave. 26,436 per match) |
| Top points scorer(s) |
 Ross Conlon (18) |
| Top try scorer(s) |
Kerry Boustead (4) |
The 1984 State of Origin series was the third time the annual three-game series between the representative rugby league football teams of New South Wales and Queensland was played entirely under "state of origin" selection rules. With Queensland wrapping up the series in the first two matches it produced the first dead-rubber finish and an infamous opening minute brawl in game II.
The New South Wales attitude to State of Origin had changed somewhat for the 1984 series, with the Blues squad being excused from their club duties the weekend prior to the first match and undergoing an intensive training camp, signalling the NSWRL's commitment to taking the series seriously.Canterbury-Bankstown halfback Steve Mortimer was originally selected as the Blues halfback, but withdrew with a hamstring injury. Mortimer later confirmed he had actually faked the injury as he wasn't happy with the selection of long-time rival Peter Sterling on the bench. Mortimer felt that with Sterling's Parramatta team mate Ray Price as team captain, he would not have a voice or be able to run the team on the field as he wished to. Sterling was elevated to the starting line up after Mortimer's withdrawal with St George's Brian Hetherington selected as the reserve back.
Queensland were motivated by the announcement that New South Wales coach Frank Stanton had been appointed as Australian national coach for the upcoming Ashes series against Great Britain. Queensland's own coach and favoured Origin son, Arthur Beetson was being dumped in favour of Stanton and notwithstanding that Stanton was merely returning to the helm having previously steered the national side on two triumphant Kangaroo tours, the Maroons were keen to avenge the honour of Beetson who had been dumped as Australian coach following the Kangaroos 19-12 loss to New Zealand at Lang Park in 1983.
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