He was one of the most feared New South Wales forwards of his time but Blues great Willie Mason has revealed just how much emotional investment players put into State of Origin rugby league.

“When it comes to a State of Origin game you’ve been building for something and building and building and building,” Mason told SKIPI.tv.

“And it was emotional as hell because everybody’s in on it. Your family, your friends, your club, the fans.

“It’s a genuine hate between two states and you see that every year.

“If you get the chance to play in a State of Origin game you gotta understand that 20 or 30 thousand have probably played our game but only a bit over 400 have played State of Origin. So when you do win you’ve got this sort of gratitude.

“It’s a very emotional time and it’s probably one of the best feelings you’ll ever get.”

Willie Mason on #StateofOrigin #uptheblues #nsw #Origin #maroons #queenslander #nrl #rugbyleague #footy #skipitv #tribalapes #unfiltered pic.twitter.com/wVidLTvJzb

— SKIPI TV (@SkipiTv) July 11, 2017