 However, as the Broncos were aligned with Super League, and due to the enforced unavailability of the Maroons star players, many of whom were Broncos, Bennett stepped down from the job claiming that Qld would be uncompetitive without its SL players and Paul Vautin, who had played 22 Origin games for Qld between 1982 and 1990 (including two games as captain in the absence of Lewis), was brought in to replace him.Unable to draw on the vast talents of the Brisbane Broncos whose Super League-aligned players were made ineligible for the Origin series by the Australian Rugby League, the Maroons selectors were forced to choose from a limited selection of Queenslanders from ARL-loyal clubs.Consequently, going into Game 1 at the Sydney Football Stadium, the Blues were unbackable favourites with nine internationals in the squad compared to Queensland's two in Dale Shearer and Papua New Guinea halfback Adrian Lam who had to be given dispensation to play for Qld, and an untested commentator-turned-coach in Paul Vautin.