But Queensland great Darren Lockyer has finally come out and said it - the Maroons would not have launched a State of Origin dynasty without Greg Inglis.

Blues supporters will forever rue Inglis' decision to pledge his Origin loyalty to Queensland despite being born in Kempsey and playing the majority of his junior footy in NSW.

Under revised Origin eligibility rules introduced in 2012, Inglis would be a Blue.

But back when a fresh faced Inglis was in the Melbourne Storm feeder system, it ultimately came down to a simple tick of a box.

And Lockyer will be forever grateful that Inglis chose the Maroons.

"There's all this debate about (whether) he should have been playing for NSW," Lockyer told Wide World of Sports.

"I mean we were lucky, very lucky, to have him on our team.

"There's no way we would have won all those series in a row and had the dominant decade that we did if Greg had been on the other team."

Inglis revealed in a 2017 interview that he chose the Maroons because he had made good friends and enjoyed the Queensland camaraderie while living in Brisbane for two years after being sent to Wavell State High by the Storm.

It was a decision that changed Origin history.

After making his Maroons debut in 2006 at just 19, Inglis was a key to Queensland's stunning run of 11 series wins in 12 years and eventually captained the state.

His 18 tries from 32 games for Queensland is still an Origin record.

Not that Blues fans have to be reminded.

Maroons fullback Billy Slater was also grateful that Inglis chose Queensland, saying his ex-Storm teammate seemed destined for greatness when he arrived at his first Origin camp.

"You always sensed something," Slater told WWOS.

"He was really young at that stage of his career, it was only the second season of playing in the first grade squad, but nothing seemed to faze him.

"He was this young, skinny kid with so much ability, he didn't really care who he played against, what their reputations were.

"He just had this aura of confidence about him. That gave me a lot of hope for Queensland, given the fact that guys like Greg Inglis were stepping into that Maroon jersey."

Australian Associated Press