June 14: Huge injury toll can't stop Maroons

On this day, the Queenslanders overcome injuries for a famous victory, Adam Mogg savours a magical Origin debut and Brett Kimmorley suffers an unlucky break.

1947

The interstate series begins in Sydney, with NSW scoring a 29-15 win over Queensland. The Maroons become the first interstate team to travel by plane (TAA Skymaster).

1989

Queensland confirm their status as one of the finest sides to ever emerge from the Sunshine State with a miraculous 16-12 win in the second State of Origin match at the Sydney Football Stadium. The Maroons finish a man short after a horrific injury toll.

1989

Brad Takairangi was born. The son of another Eels first-grader, Louis Takairangi, he made his NRL debut in 2010 for the Roosters and played 27 games in three seasons at the club before a two-year stint at the Titans yielded another 39 appearances. He shifted to Parramatta in 2015, racking up 110 games for the Eels before moving to Super League in England at the end of 2020.

2003

Cronulla captain Brett Kimmorley suffers a broken jaw in his team's 28-26 defeat of the Wests Tigers at Toyota Park. X-rays reveal that Kimmorley played more than 50 minutes of the match with the injury.

2006

Queensland produce one of their greatest against-the-odds victories, pounding NSW 30-6 at Suncorp Stadium. Winger Adam Mogg scores twice on debut, while five-eighth Darren Lockyer, maligned for his performance in the series opener, is named man of the match.

2019

Manly prop Martin Taupau informs New Zealand coach Michael Maguire of his decision to transfer his representative allegiance from the Kiwis to Samoa.

2020

The game mourns the loss of Team of the Century hooker Noel Kelly, who passes away at his northern beaches home in Sydney at the age of 84.

A coronavirus scare forces the NRL into a dramatic 11th-hour rescheduling of matches. A teacher at a southern Sydney school attended by one of Canterbury prop Aiden Tolman’s children tests positive to COVID-19, forcing Tolman into isolation and 49 Bulldogs players and officials to take immediate tests to ensure they have not contracted the virus. NRL officials postpone the Bulldogs-Roosters clash until Monday night (7pm) and bring forward the Cronulla-St George Illawarra fixture from 6.30pm to fill the 4pm free-to-air television timeslot.

This article contains information from the official records of NRL historian David Middleton.