The incredible stories behind State of Origin's one-game wonders
David Peachey
David Peachey scored the match-winning try in his only State of Origin appearance, at Stadium Australia in Game One of the 2000 series.
In a controversial match, the Maroons had Gorden Tallis sent off by referee Bill Harrigan for dissent, after it appeared both David Furner and Terry Hill had knocked on in the lead up to a Ryan Girdler try that levelled the scores with just nine minutes remaining. Tallis was marched after allegedly calling Harrigan a "f---ing cheat".
With just four minutes left on the clock, Peachey crossed out wide to give New South Wales a 20-16 victory.
But a hamstring injury ruled Peachey out of Games Two and Three, with his replacement, Tim Brasher, turning in a Man of the Match performance in the Blues' 28-10 win at Suncorp Stadium in the second match.
Peachey remained at Cronulla until 2005 before a season with Widnes.
He returned to the NRL for two seasons with Souths, hanging up the boots at the end of the 2007 season.
Matt Ballin
Matt Ballin was unfortunate to play in the same era as Cameron Smith, but he did get one appearance for the Maroons, in Game One of the 2010 series at ANZ Stadium.
With Smith out with an elbow injury, Ballin started at hooker in Queensland's 28-24 win, the first time Queensland had won a series-opener at Homebush.
There was never any doubt however, that once Smith was fit again he'd reclaim the No.9 jersey, and so Ballin's Origin career was done.
Voted the 'Sexiest Man in League' in 2008, Ballin enjoyed success at Manly, playing in the club's 2008 and 2011 premiership wins.
Late in the 2015 season, he ruptured his ACL in what would be the last of his 217 games for Manly.
He suffered another season-ending ACL injury in 2016 when playing for the Wests Tigers, and announced his immediate retirement midway through 2017.
Phil Duke
Phil Duke, pictured at the SCG prior to his only State of Origin match in 1982, was picked for the Blues straight from the Moree Boomerangs, having not previously played first grade.
Picked on the wing for the deciding third game of the series, Duke scored a try in the first half, but it's his performance in the second half that has gone down in Origin folklore.
With the Maroons clinging to a two-point lead, Blues fullback Phil Sigsworth tried to pass to Duke in his own in-goal. Duke fumbled the ball, watching in horror as Wally Lewis pounced to score a simple try.
Duke never played another Origin match.
"I've forgotten about it - I wish you would," he told media years later.
Duke eventually came to Sydney, playing two seasons for Western Suburbs in 1987-88.
Jarrod Mullen
Jarrod Mullen played his only State of Origin match as a 20-year-old in Game One of the 2007 series.
Having played just nine first grade matches at halfback prior to his Origin selection, and 31 matches in all, he was something of a bolter.
In a match where New South Wales had an 18-6 lead at Suncorp Stadium, the Maroons staged one of their famous Origin comebacks to win 25-18.
Mullen's axing for Brett Kimmorley meant New South Wales used four halfbacks in the space of four games, having also tried Brett Finch and Craig Gower.
Despite appearing in more than 200 first grade games for Newcastle up until 2016, he never again donned the Blues jumper.
Mullen made headlines after testing positive to anabolic steroids in the 2016-17 off-season, and in 2019 pleaded guilty to a charge of supplying cocaine.
But the most serious incident was a 2018 drug overdose which he says he was lucky to survive.
"When Mum and Dad got home four hours later I was unresponsive, grey, choking. If I was living by myself, I'd be dead," he told the Sydney Morning Herald in 2020.
"I knew I was taking hardcore drugs, but I still didn't think I had a problem, which is amazing. It's insane."
Mullen now has a TAFE qualification in drug and alcohol counselling.
"I don't want a sob story. I'm taking full responsibility for the road I went down," he said.
"But I know I'm a good person."
Scott Sattler
Scott Sattler is perhaps more famous in State of Origin circles for being dropped, than being picked.
Named on the bench for Game Two of the 2003 series at Telstra Stadium, Sattler shared the dummy-half duties with fellow debutant Michael Crocker, as the Blues wrapped up the series with a 27-4 win.
Despite assurances from coach Wayne Bennett that he'd played well on debut, Sattler found himself out of the squad for the final match of the series three weeks later.
His replacement was a 20-year-old from Melbourne named Cameron Smith, who went on to re-write the rugby league history books.
"Cameron Smith doesn't realise what an important role I played in his life. I think he's ignored that," Sattler joked to the QRL in 2020.
"I am still really proud. I was 31 and playing one Origin was like playing 10 for me."
Sattler's 2003 season is perhaps better remembered for his try-saving cover tackle on Roosters winger Todd Byrne in Penrith's grand final win. After a season with Wests Tigers in 2004 he retired, before being appointed football manager at the Gold Coast Titans.
Jamie Buhrer
Jamie Buhrer was picked on the bench for the opening game of the 2012 series at Etihad Stadium, but New South Wales coach Ricky Stuart gave him just seven minutes of game time.
The utility then found himself dumped for Game Two, never to pull on the NSW jersey again.
"It was an emotional rollercoaster," he told NRL.com in 2020.
"I'd had a good couple of seasons and was picked off the back of some good footy. I'd played a bit of hooker throughout that season and was picked as the utility to spell Robbie Farah if he blew out or if any of our back-rowers needed a break.
"It turned out that Farah and our big men rolled out some big minutes so I was grateful to Ricky that he got me on.
"I wasn't really surprised when Ricky called me to say I wasn't in the 17 for Game Two. I'm not going to lie, I would've liked a few more minutes or another game, but I got on the field so for that I'm grateful."
A member of Manly's 2011 premiership-winning side, Buhrer spent seven seasons with the Sea Eagles, before moving to Newcastle to finish his career.
Buhrer retired from the game at the end of the 2019 season, and is now the RLPA player operations manager.
John Hopoate
John Hopoate, pictured here playing for Manly, played his only State of Origin match in Game Two of the 1995 series at the MCG.
That match saw the Paul Vautin-coached Queensland team score a 20-12 victory to take an unlikely 2-0 series lead, in a year when Super-League aligned players weren't considered for selection.
Hopoate was involved in an all-in brawl that broke out just minutes into the game, facing up to Manly teammate Danny Moore.
Replaced by North Sydney winger David Hall for Game III, Hopoate's Origin career was done at the age of 21.
But he was never far from the headlines. During his stint for the Wests Tigers, he was suspended for 12 weeks for inserting his finger into the backsides of several North Queensland players, described by the judiciary as "disgusting, violent, offensive behaviour".
While playing for Manly in 2003, Hopoate used a false name to play fifth-grade rugby union, while in 2005 he was suspended for 17 weeks after knocking out Keith Galloway. He was later banned for 12 months for threatening an official at a junior rugby league match.
Post-football, he became the Australian heavyweight boxing champion in 2008. In 2019, he was knocked out in the second round of a bout with Paul Gallen.
Terry Campese
Terry Campese, played his sole State of Origin match for New South Wales at Docklands Stadium in Game One, 2009.
At the time he was the reigning Dally M five-eighth of the year, and had played a single game for Australia at the 2008 World Cup.
Queensland's 28-12 win in the opening match of the 2009 series meant New South Wales swung the axe for Game Two, and Campese was a victim, replaced by Trent Barrett.
A horror run with injuries in subsequent years left him with little chance of regaining his spot. The final match of the 2010 season saw him suffer a knee injury that sidelined him for nine months, while his 2011 season lasted just eight minutes when he badly tore his groin in his first game back from the knee reconstruction.
His 2012 season was over by April, when he again tore the ACL in his left knee.
Dumped to NSW Cup by Canberra coach Ricky Stuart in 2014, he finished his career in England.
Michael Buettner
Michael Buettner, pictured here playing for North Sydney, played his one State of Origin game off the bench in Game Three, 1997 at the Sydney Football Stadium.
That match, won 18-12 by Queensland, was a dead rubber, with NSW having already wrapped up the series, in a year when the competition was split into two by the Super League war.
In 1998, despite scoring a club-record 21 tries for North Sydney, the reunification of the competition meant Buettner was squeezed out of the NSW side.
He played a grand final for Parramatta in 2001, and finished his career with the Wests Tigers in 2004.
After retiring from the game, he spent seven years as the NRL's match review co-ordinator, and he's currently the Australian Oztag director of coaching.
Owen Cunningham
Owen Cunningham's single State of Origin match came in Game Three of the 1996 series at Suncorp Stadium, a match that saw New South Wales secure a 3-0 clean sweep.
Part of Manly's premiership-winning side in 1996, Cunningham spent 16 seasons in the top grade.
His Origin career, however, came to an abrupt halt after 1996, when he joined the rebel Super League competition for 1997.
Despite being North Queensland's player of the year in 1997, he, along with all Super League players, was ineligible for Origin selection.
His sole Origin match ended in heartbreak for Queensland, with New South Wales winning 15-14, after the Maroons had a try disallowed with just 28 seconds left on the clock.
