State of Origin 45 Years

The book covers 45 rich years of State of Origin football, reflecting the triumphs, the pain, the controversies and the incidents that shape rugby league's greatest spectacle. Written by league expert Liam Hauser, State of Origin: 45 Years is a fascinating celebration of rugby league and the legendary State of Origin series, which has been one of the most widely followed sporting events since it was established in 1980. Every game of each series is explored in detail, with a blow-by-blow account of all of the key incidents that determine its complexity and outcome. These colourful field reports illuminate the ebb and flow of the games and how fine the line can be between success and failure.

About the Author

Liam Hauser is a sports journalist and author who has written about cricket and sports for more than 15 years. His previous books include State of Origin: 30 years (Rockpool, 2010); A Century of Cricket Tests (New Holland, 2013); State of Origin: 35 Years (Rockpool, 2015); A History of Test Cricket (New Holland, 2016); The Great Grand Finals: Rugby League's Greatest Contests (New Holland, 2017); Immortals of Australian Cricket (Rockpool, 2018); State of Origin: 40 years (Gelding Street Press, 2020); The Great Grand Finals: Rugby league's greatest contests (New Holland 2019 and 2021); and The Immortals of Australian Rugby League (Gelding Street Press 2019).

With a Bachelor of Journalism from Queensland University of Technology, he has worked for regional newspapers since 2007 as a reporter, including covering sport.

Over the years Liam has written about many sports including cricket, rugby league, rugby union, Oztag, touch football, soccer, gymnastics, campdrafting, equestrian, tennis, bowls, boxing, hockey, golf, rifle shooting, horse racing and archery. He has appeared on radio many times to speak about his in-depth knowledge of rugby league and in particular his expert opinion on the State of Origin and the history of Test cricket.