Andrew Johns and Danny Buderus’s 2003-05 era of heroes have been crowned by fans as NSWRL’s “Best In Blue”, brought to you by The Star.
After thousands of votes, the duo claimed almost 60 per cent of the online poll and will be honoured at a “Best In Blue” celebration, hosted by Ray Warren, at The Star’s 24/7 Sports Bar on Wednesday, 25 May.
They pipped three finalists for NSWRL’s “Best In Blue” comprising the 1985-86 era (led by Steve Mortimer), 1992-94 era (Daley) and Paul Gallen’s 2014 team.
"It’s a massive honour and privilege to be recognised for our achievements during that golden era," Buderus said. "Some of the guys during that time will go down as legends of Origin footy.
"I’m really looking forward to Wednesday night at The Star and catching up with some of these guys. We really enjoyed some good times around camp and we are still great mates today because we achieved something special together.
"We had a lot of players in that Blues side who were leaders of their respective clubs and that was one thing that really stood out to me. In tough times, those guys knew how to get us out of trouble by their actions as well as their communication."
Featuring some of rugby league's biggest names, the event will bring together members of the team which claimed the 2003, 2004 and 2005 Origin titles, including captains Johns and Buderus, Mark Gasnier, Craig Wing and Shaun Timmins.
The members of the winning era will take part in a special one-off panel discussion that relives the key moments which defined the series victories.
All voters are in the draw to win State of Origin tickets and a special State of Origin experience at Game One, ANZ Stadium.
