“Once you’ve got the taste of State of Origin football, you do not ever want to let that go.”
That was the competitive mindset that drove True Blue Andrew Ettingshausen, one of three newly inducted members of the NSWRL The Star Hall of Fame, to forge one of the longest and most successful tenures in a NSW jersey.
Behind that drive was plenty of perseverance that led him to 27 State of Origin appearances – second all-time for the Blues – and more than a decade of being at the top of his game to earn selection time and time again.
“I worked as hard I could all of those years, making sure I was playing the best footy, so they had to pick me in that team,” Ettingshausen said.
Ettingshausen reflected on the effort he put in every season after being named among the greatest NSW players, having dreamt of representing his state from very early on. He went on to play a part in five series wins.
“It’s a great honour,” he said.
“It’s just that I’ve always loved playing for the Blues and my dream was always to make those Blues teams and do my best out on the field.
“I always threw everything at it, everything I could.
“It was fantastic to be part of those great teams over many, many years. I worked very hard.”
Versatility was another trait that worked in his favour in an illustrious representative career that also saw the Cronulla-Sutherland talisman play 25 Tests for Australia.
“I was fortunate I could play fullback, wing and centre so it gave the team some options if there were two really good centres playing that year, I had the opportunity to play on the two wing positions or at fullback,” he explained.
People think those positions are the same yet they’re all very, very different. You can put the best winger going around into the centres and they might be lost as anything; put him at fullback, the same thing.
“Generally these days, you’re a centre, you’re a winger or you’re a fullback, so It’s a great asset to be able to play all three.”
But on the rep stage it’s not uncommon to see that versatility on display, with Westpac NSW Blues Zac Lomax, Latrell Mitchell and Stephen Crichton having taken on several back-five positions at club level. Ettingshausen gave an insight into how he approached his game no matter the number on his back.
“I tried to always go into a match, even if I played centre or wing, as a fullback,” he said. “If you’re a fullback nobody’s ever marking you – you’re always that extra player.
“Even when I played on the wing – I was on the right wing – I spent a lot of time on the left-hand side, and so it always gave our team an advantage because opposition looked up and ‘Hang on there’s one more player there’ or ‘How do we mark that guy?’
“It put a lot of pressure on the opposition by having that in my head, not play as a winger should or as a centre should, but as a mobile player, pop up everywhere – whichever side of the field you felt there was an opportunity.
“That was certainly a big part of my game over many years.”
As for his favourite moments playing Origin, his recollection just proved how little could separate NSW and the men north of the border. Namely a special combination with club teammate Mark McGaw.
“Funny enough I won my first State of Origin, Mark McGaw scored, and we won the game on the bell,” Ettingshausen said.
“But over those years I lost two games on the bell and won two games on the bell.
“I think all those moments certainly play a role in your career but just showed how tough and close the games were.
“But I think the first game when we won it on the bell, was just amazing at Lang Park, massive crowd, everyone going for Queensland. It was a really special moment to win that first game in my debut match.”
