 In 1982, after captaining New South Wales in the inaugural three-match State of Origin series, Krilich led Australia to victory in two Tests against New Zealand.He was then named as captain of the 1982 Kangaroos, the Frank Stanton-coached side which swept aside all before them becoming the first team to go through Great Britain and France undefeated to become known as "The Invincibles".Krilich was forced to retire as a player in August 1983 because of a chronic neck injury.