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). Duke earned his selection after playing for Country in the annual
City vs Country 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 scooped it up, scored a try and won the game and the series for Queensland.
Duke later played two seasons with
Western Suburbs Magpies, 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