Dick Tosser Turner, the Godfather of Queensland State of Origin, wakes up. The cancer is no longer eating him up.

A see-through Peter Jackson, is doing his best to chat up an attractive nurse who is closing the eyes of some poor, passed on patient on the bed. That happens to be Tosser – or the shell of the great man that was.

“Jacko! Leave the girl alone.”

“You can’t blame a bloke for trying, Tosser. Hey, I thought I saw Benny Elias outside, that cocky Cockroach hasn’t be annoying you has he?”

“That’s the Devil himself. He’s been trying to sell me a get-out clause … eternal life if I support the Blues just this once in Origin III. I told him that’s eternal damnation and told him to go to Hell.”

“I’ll get the Grasshopper to give him 10 in the Sin Bin, while we check out of here.”

“Where are we going?”

“I’m to take you to see the Big Boss ... after we break the bank at the Casino.”

“It will be good to see Senator Ron again. Jacko, a wonderful thing happened just before … my life flashed before me. There were some great times with Jan and my three boys and then there was mighty 70s with the Dolphins.”

“Anything with me in it?”

“Plenty … all the Origin stuff was there – the good, the bad and the ugly.”

“The good would be the time I starred as a stand-in for King Wally, the bad would be the King’s bus driving and the ugly is a toss up between Slamming Sam Backo and angry pants Marty Bella.”

“It was all there Jacko … the first Origin dust-up when Big Arthur put the cleaners through NSW – and ’81 when Choppy Close gave that backhander 'don’t argue' to Eric Grothe in the play the ball on his way to a try … Wally scoring a dazzler to get the Maroons firing and Big Mal scoring a try and kicking five goals. What a game … Queensland got home 22-15 after being 15-0 nil down. Then there was that skinny blonde-haired kid from the Ipswich Jets throwing up in the dressing room at Lang Park in ’87 wondering what the hell he was doing there. Alfie had a blinder, despite Mark McGaw stealing the game for NSW in the final seconds with a lucky try.

“And then there was ’94, with less than a minute on the clock, the Blues up 12-10 and us down near our line when the most sublime bit of ball movement you’ve ever seen results in that miracle try to Mark Coyne. They say it travelled through nine sets of hands with Alfie passing twice before Coyney beat Brad Fittler, Ricky Stuart and Benny Elias for the almost impossible to happen.

“What’s your pick for the best moment of all Tosser?”

“That’s simple, Jacko. It’s the tingle I still get down my spine every time I see the look of wonder and awe on the faces of every Queenslander who puts on that Maroon jersey for the first time. That utter commitment to do your state proud or die trying can’t be coached or bought it’s got to be bred into you.”