For the first time since 2010, the State of Origin series does not require a decider, and game three in Brisbane will be a ‘dead-rubber’. The predictable calls from small-minded sections regarding the match’s worth when the series result has already been confirmed are trickling through: What’s the point? Why put the players through another gruelling game with nothing on the line?

Well, besides being an enormous cash cow for the NRL and the players involved, dead-rubbers – an unflattering term that should be wiped from the Rugby League lexicon – have produced some of the greatest games and most iconic moments of Origin’s rich narrative.

• Not a fan of Origin? Here’s why you should be
• How the Blues broke the drought

Other sports have also witnessed thrilling contests and pockets of history in their so-called dead-rubbers, and we’ve delved into the archives and pulled out some of the greatest matches that were seemingly insignificant on the surface – including a few of Origin’s best.

2009 State of Origin game three

NSW scored a morale-boosting 28-16 upset at Suncorp Stadium after losing the opening two games convincingly, but the result – and several spectacular tries – was overshadowed by wild brawling in the dying minutes. Steve Price and Brett White went toe-to-toe in gladiatorial fashion, while Trent Waterhouse became the first Blues player to be sent off in an Origin game.

1998 FIFA World Cup third place game

Croatia was the fairytale team of the ’98 World Cup, its maiden appearance at the tournament, upsetting Germany in the quarter-finals before falling to eventual champs France. But Croatia finished a landmark campaign on a glittering high, downing heavyweight the Netherlands 2-1 to grab third place in front of 45,000 fans at Paris’ Parc des Princes; Davor Suker’s winner clinched the Golden Boot honour.

1987 Rugby World Cup third place playoff

Wales took a 49-6 beating from the All Blacks while the Wallabies were pipped by France in the inaugural RWC semi-finals. But the deflated sides staged a classic playoff for third place. Spurred on by the packed house at Rotorua, Wales snatched a 22-21 victory via Paul Thorburn’s towering sideline conversion of Adrian Hadley’s late try.

2008/09 Australia v South Africa third cricket Test

Comprehensively beaten in the first two Tests, Australia was hell-bent on a face-saving victory in the third and final Test at the SCG. The hosts won by 103 runs, but the match will be remembered for the courage of South African captain Graeme Smith, who broke his hand in the first innings. Smith came out to try and save the Test on the final day, but after bravely seeing off 17 deliveries, he was bowled by Mitchell Johnson in the second-last over.

1988 third Ashes Rugby League Test

Great Britain snapped a 15-Test losing streak against Australia in the third and final encounter at the SFS. The Lions scored a number of sensational long-range tries in a 26-12 boilover to finish a disappointing tour on a high, laying the platform for a string of desperately close Ashes challenges in ensuing series.

1993 State of Origin game three

The 1993 Origin dead-rubber is chiefly remembered for the one-on-one stoush between enforcers Paul Harragon and Martin Bella, while bitter No.9 rivals Ben Elias and Steve Walters also locked horns during the same melee. Queensland overturned a halftime deficit to prevail 24-12 for its first win of the series, sending retiring great Bob Lindner out a deserving winner.

1986/87 fifth Ashes cricket Test

England wrapped up the Ashes on Australian soil with two emphatic wins in the opening four Tests, but Australia saved some face with a thrilling 55-run win in the fifth Test at the SCG. Known as ‘Taylor’s match’ after virtual unknown Peter Taylor produced a man-of-the-match performance on debut, the Test was won in the second-last over of the final day when leg-spinner Peter Sleep bowled John Emburey.

2010 Hong Kong Bledisloe Cup Test

The All Blacks had subdued the Wallabies in 10 consecutive Tests when the trans-Tasman rivals travelled to Hong Kong for a historic Bledisloe Cup clash in late-2010. But Australia pulled off a heart-stopping 26-24 triumph thanks to an after-the-siren try and ice-cool conversion by wunderkind James O’Connor.

1990 FIFA World Cup third place game

Italy and archrivals England played out a thrilling battle for third at Italia ’90, won 2-1 by the hosts after all three goals were scored in the final 20 minutes of regulation time. A 51,426-strong crowd watched the match in Bari.

2013 fifth Ashes cricket Test

Ebbing low after failing to regain the Ashes in England by losing three of the first four Tests, Australia laid the foundations for its incredible whitewash a few months later at The Oval in the fifth Test. Rain appeared to thwart the tourists on day four after they had amassed a big first innings lead, until Michael Clarke made a game of it with an aggressive declaration on the final day. England looked set for another victory until play was controversially called off due to bad light, needing just 21 runs from four overs with five wickets in hand.

2002 FIFA World Cup third place game

Turkey and co-hosts South Korea shocked the world by reached the semi-finals of the 2002 World Cup and, fittingly, played out a wonderful battle for third place in front of a 63,483-strong crowd in Daegu. Turkey scored the fastest-ever World Cup goal after just 11 seconds and went on to win 3-2.

1995 State of Origin game three

A Queensland side decimated by the blacklisting of Super League-aligned players pulled off the most unlikely triumph in Origin history in ’95, sealing an extraordinary 3-0 cleansweep with a 24-16 win in a pulsating dead-rubber. Captain Trevor Gillmeister famously checked himself out of hospital to lead Queensland to victory, while Maroons prop Tony Hearn infamously cost himself a Test jumper with a vicious head-butt on Mark Carroll.