1990 Rugby League State of Origin series
| 1990 State of Origin series | |
|---|---|
| Won by |
 New South Wales (3rd title) |
| Series margin | 2 - 1 |
| Points scored | 50 |
| Attendance | 98,451 (ave. 32,817 per match) |
| Top points scorer(s) |
 Gary Belcher (8) |
| Top try scorer(s) |
Mark McGaw (2) |
The 1990 State of Origin series saw the ninth time that the annual three-game series between New South Wales and Queensland representative rugby league football teams was contested entirely under "state of origin" selection rules. It was the first year that the Australian Rugby League took an Origin match to Melbourne to showcase the code in Victoria. New South Wales broke an eight-game losing streak in game I and took the series for the first time since 1986.
Game I at the Sydney Football Stadium was a typical Origin arm-wrestle and resulted in the lowest score in the series' 10-year history to that point. Queensland's Wally Lewis withdrew pre-match due to a hamstring tear (only the 2nd Origin match he had missed in the series' history), Maroon's hero Gene Miles had retired and Tony Currie, Michael Hancock and Kerrod Walters were all out with injuries.
New South Wales' captain Benny Elias played what was regarded as his finest representative performance with a copybook dummy-half display. Blues' centre Mark "Sparkles" McGaw scored the only try of the match. He outplayed his opposite, the Mal Meninga and pulled off a covering tackle on winger Alan McIndoe that was so comprehensive that both McIndoe's boots came flying from his feet. The win was the Blues' first since the post-series exhibition match in 1987.
The public relations exercise to showcase the game in Melbourne proved a success with a sell-out crowd of 25,800 cramming into Olympic Park. The game was highlighted by NSW halfback Ricky Stuart racing 70 metres to score, easily outpacing Qld winger Les Kiss who made no ground on the former Wallaby.
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