Phillip Duke (born 14 March 1960) is a former professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer who was selected to represent the New South Wales Blues in game III of the 1982 State of Origin series. Duke, playing for the Moree Boomerangs, was the first of three players in the

Country Rugby League The Country Rugby League of New South Wales (CRL), formed in 1934 and disbanded in 2019, was the governing body for the sport of rugby league football in areas of New South Wales outside the Sydney metropolitan area until it merged with NSW Rug ...

who were selected to play Origin without having played in first-grade competition (then the

New South Wales Rugby League The New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) is the governing body of rugby league in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory and is a member of the Australian Rugby League Commission. It was formed in Sydney on 8 August 1907 and was ...

). Duke earned his selection after playing for Country in the annual

City vs Country A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

confrontation and he was placed on the for the third and deciding match of the Origin series. Although he scored the only New South Wales try in the game, Duke's performance was marred by a missed pass from

Phil Sigsworth Phil Sigsworth (born 31 January 1959), (also known by the nickname of Whats-a-packet-a) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer. He played primarily in the position. Sigsworth attended Newtown Boys' Junior High School wher ...

. The ball intended for Duke went astray and Queenslander

Wally Lewis Walter James Lewis AM (born 1 December 1959) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, and coached in the 1980s and 1990s. He became a commentator for television coverage of the spo ...

scooped it up, scored a try and won the game and the series for Queensland. Duke later played two seasons with

Western Suburbs Magpies The Western Suburbs Magpies (legal name: Western Suburbs District Rugby League Football Club Ltd) are an Australian rugby league football club based in the western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales. Formed in 1908, Wests, as they are commonly r ...

, mainly as a winger.

References

* Australian rugby league players New South Wales Rugby League State of Origin players Western Suburbs Magpies players Living people Rugby league wingers 1960 births Place of birth missing (living people) {{Australia-rugbyleague-bio-1960s-stub