1988 State of Origin series
| 1988 State of Origin series | |
|---|---|
| Won by |
 Queensland (5th series title) |
| Series margin | 3-0 |
| Points scored | 126 |
| Attendance | 75,168 (ave. 25,056 per match) |
| Top points scorer(s) |
Gary Belcher (28 points) |
| Top try scorer(s) |
Allan Langer (4 tries) |
The 1988 State of Origin series was the seventh annual three-game series between the New South Wales and Queensland representative rugby league football teams to be contested entirely under 'state of origin' selection rules. Queensland enjoyed their first ever 3–0 series whitewash, mirroring a feat New South Wales had first achieved two years earlier. The series produced an ugly and enduring Origin image when in Game II the parochial Queensland crowd showered the Lang Park playing arena with beer cans in protest at the sin-binning of their captain Wally Lewis.
New South Wales had a new home for Origin football in 1988. The A$68 million, 40,000 capacity all-seat Sydney Football Stadium, a rectangular stadium more suited to rugby league than the round Sydney Cricket Ground, had been built in 1987 and opened in time for the 1988 NSWRL season. The SFS was described in its early days as a white elephant and lacking in the character and history of its predecessor, the SCG. Queensland players described playing at the SFS in 1988 as like playing on neutral ground.
Coming into the 1988 opener, Queensland had not yet experienced an Origin match without Wally Lewis. Supporters were stunned when he was ruled out of game I with a shoulder injury. He had captained the Maroons on 20 occasions (out of 21 appearances) and won eight man-of-the-match awards, establishing himself as an Origin great. The selectors' answer to his absence was Peter Jackson the Canberra Raiders' resident comic who prided himself on wisecracks and high jinks. However Jackson had honed his organisational and kicking skills at Canberra and was ready to fill Lewis' role.
After 42,048 fans had attended the only Origin game in Sydney at the SCG in 1987, the Sydney fans voted with their feet at the new SFS when only 26,441 attended Game 1. The low crowd number was largely due to the NSWRL charging A$32 per seat. Supercoach Jack Gibson said in his television commentary during the game that, with an hours wait fans could watch the game at home on television for free rather than pay the high ticket price.
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