is credited as the player who finally brought passion into the Blues Origin jersey and led a new wave of NSW players that would be the core of the team for many years to come including those such as Wayne Pearce, Brett Kenny, Michael O'Connor, Garry Jack, Royce Simmons, Steve Roach, Noel Cleal, Ben Elias, and his brother Chris Mortimer. Mortimer played 8 Test matches for Australia between 1981–84 where he scored two tries in his Test debut against France at the SCG with Australia winning 43–2. Also making his debut in that Test match was future rugby league immortal Wally Lewis, who played outside Mortimer at five-eighth. Between 1980–85, the breakdown of appearances for halfbacks at Test level was Steve Mortimer 8 Tests, Peter Sterling (Parramatta) 6 Tests, Mark Murray (Qld) 6 Tests and Des Hasler (Manly-Warringah) 1 Test. Mortimer was named vice-captain of Australia's 1985 mid-season tour of New Zealand, but made himself unavailable due to business reasons, with Murray and Hasler sharing the halfback position. Mortimer later regretted standing down as a major conflict erupted between coach Terry Fearnley and captain Wally Lewis. Fearnley was NSW coach in 1985 and Mortimer previously played alongside Lewis in Test and Kangaroo Tour campaigns (Mortimer and Lewis were room-mates on the undefeated 1982 Kangaroo tour where both actually lost their test spot to Sterling and Brett Kenny). He believed that had he toured New Zealand he might have been able to calm the situation between the coach and the captain. Coaching career Mortimer played under four coaches during his 13 seasons at Canterbury. His enterprising and brilliant style of football was encouraged and enhanced under the coaching of Malcolm Clift and Ted Glossop. Mortimer's style was reined in during the "Wozzaball" era under Warren Ryan between 1984–87. Mortimer and Ryan often clashed but through all of that they formed one of the most successful coach-captain combinations winning two Premierships and runners-up another year during Ryan's four years at Canterbury, which Mortimer was captain for all that period except the first half of the 1984 season. Mortimer's performance in the 1985 Grand Final was one of his finest tactical efforts where he followed Ryan's game plan to a tee with the Mortimer's kicking game with his bombs into the ingoal area too much for the St. George Dragons to handle. Mortimer's final year at Canterbury was under the coaching of Phil