June 11: Turvey's Blue heaven

On this day in league history, Steve 'Turvey' Mortimer kisses the SCG turf after the Blues broke their Origin drought and Brad Fittler takes the coveted top gong in the annual RLW players' poll

1972

Kiwis legend Stephen Kearney is born. Kearney played 45 Tests for New Zealand and also won an NRL premiership with the Storm in 1999, before going on to coach the Eels, Warriors and Kiwis.

1985

Steve Mortimer leads New South Wales to their first State of Origin series victory over Queensland. The Blues win 21-14 and Mortimer falls to his knees at full-time to kiss the turf as the magnitude of the achievement sinks in.

1988

Led by Wally Lewis, Australia beat Great Britain 17-6 at the SFS in the 100th Test between the traditional rivals. It is the first Test match played at the stadium. 

1997

Rugby League Week's annual players' poll again installs Brad Fittler as the No.1 player in the game.

2003

New South Wales take opening honours in the first State of Origin match, winning 25-12. Anthony Minichiello bags a double for the Blues while Luke Bailey takes man of the match honours. The Suncorp Stadium clash is rated one of the best Origin games of all.

2008

Queensland rout New South Wales 30-0 in one of the most emphatic performances in State of Origin history. Centre Greg Inglis tends a commanding display to outshine his opposite Mark Gasnier and claim man-of-the-match honours.

2009

The NRL confirm that the Round 14 match between Brisbane and the Bulldogs will go ahead as scheduled despite Broncos fullback Karmichael Hunt returning a positive test for swine flu.

2016

Winger David Fusitu'a crosses for four tries as the Warriors crush Newcastle 50-14 at Hunter Stadium. The haul is one short of Francis Meli's club record of five in one game against the Bulldogs in September 2003.

2019

The Sydney Roosters win the race to sign a player rated one of the most gifted young talents in the game when 16-year-old Ipswich schoolboy Sam Walker agrees to a two-year-deal worth at least $150,000 a season. Former NRL star Ben Walker confirms that his son will link with the Roosters at the end of the year.

2021

NRL boss Andrew Abdo announces plans to expand the NRLW competition to six teams in 2021, with Parramatta, Newcastle and the Gold Coast added to the mix and the Warriors dropping out for a year due to COVID-19 restrictions.

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