Campo's Corner: The life and death of City v Country — how the legacy of league's much loved rep game lives on

Tariq Sims did the same thing every single year. First played in 1911, by the end of City-Country's long life span it was regarded as a remnant of a world which no longer existed, a holdover from a different era of rugby league, when country footy and the Sydney competition were of truly comparable quality and somebody could still earn state or national selection by playing anywhere in New South Wales. "You don't go in the sheds after the game, you stay on the field and the fans come to you, and it just has that nice country vibe, which I've always really enjoyed," Sims says. Tamou, in his first and only match for City, played one of the games of his life, Gallen rolled back the years in what proved to be the final rep game he ever played and managed came together in what remains one of the great feats of Fittler's coaching career to down a far more star-studded Country side 20-10 and win eternal bragging rights, because what's already happened can't ever change. Even that last day in Mudgee proved to be a hotbed of future Blues stars despite so many withdrawals as 11 players, including Sims, Cleary, Damien Cook, Josh Addo-Carr, Cody Walker and Dale Finucane, went on to play for New South Wales in the years since "Even though we're playing against other New South Welshmen we all did the same moves and same plays so once we did get into Origin it was seamless," says Sims, who made his Origin debut the year after City-Country wrapped up and has gone on to appear five times for the Blues under Fittler.