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Incredible rugby league mystery solved after 35 years

John Cusack, pictured here wearing an Australian rugby league jersey the movie 'The Sure Thing'.
John Cusack was wearing a Kangaroos jersey in the 1985 film 'The Sure Thing'. (Image: 20th Century Fox).

Actor John Cusack stunned the rugby league community in 1985 and the mystery that has lasted nearly 35 years has finally been solved.

Rugby league fans have long asked why Hollywood star Cusack was wearing a Kangaroos jersey in the US hit film ‘The Sure Thing’ way back in 1985.

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But without social media and limited resources in the mid-80s, it was near impossible to find out about how this unusual choice of jersey appeared in the Hollywood film.

In 2018, Australian fans tweeted Cusack to see if he could shed light on how the green and gold jersey made the scene and if he knew what it stood for.

“Nope I knew nothing except it was a rugby shirt - random choice,” Cusack responded.

For a further two years people wondered how the jersey came to appear in the movie.

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But now, Fox Sports has uncovered just how that specific jersey made the cut 35 years ago.

Durinda Wood, who was a costume designer for the film, said the jersey was picked to reflect the character’s open mind.

“So at the time, sports jerseys were more colourful and fun and I wanted him to have jerseys from around the country and around the world,” she told Fox Sports.

But she admits, after claiming she most likely grabbed the jersey from a Salvation Army shop, that without much time to research she wasn’t aware of the origins behind the jersey.

“There was no internet or cell phones etc in those days so (it was) a little hard to research,” she said.

“I remember thinking it was a British soccer jersey or something. Somewhere outside the USA.”