BY STAFF WRITERS
Outgoing Queensland legend Billy Slater says New South Wales have beaten the Maroons at their own game in the 2018 series as the legendary fullback prepares for his final ever State of Origin appearance.
Slater will also captain QLD for the first and last time.
“A lot of these guys (Maroons), it is their first series and for me it is important for them to feel that winning feeling in Origin,” he said.
“The Blues have played really well and in that last game they didn’t do anything brilliant but they won the game.
“Sometimes you have got to do that in Origin. In our successful decade we have beaten them, just resilience and turning up – through heart and effort.
“This group of guys deserve something to take out of this year’s series – it is about celebrating after the game. That is my goal.”
Slater has a mighty job ahead of him stopping a NSW whitewash.
https://twitter.com/OutrightRL/status/1001714020909535233?s=19
Greg Inglis has been ruled out with a thumb injury while Slater will work with a spine consisting of Andrew McCullough, Daly Cherry-Evans and Storm teammate Cameron Munster.
The 35-year-old Slater won’t have the old combination of Cameron Smith, Cooper Cronk and Johnathan Thurston to fall back on.
I feel that maybe “Gus” likes to play mind games under the guise of a football commentator. If you take into account his less than spectacular commentary in Game II, his constant comment on what Qld should or should not be doing, most having little or no relevance, it’s starting to look like Gus is overstepping his role.
IMHO, Hunt and McCullough are not up to speed for Origin. Hunt shines in Club Land, but that’s when he has 6+ months of constant daily training and living with his team and players around him. McCullough is too slow from dummy half and a lot of his passes from there where high and/or wide. That split second slows the attack and allows the defence to get up.
In reality, take away Maloney’s forward pass in the first game, and his so called play the ball leading up to Mitchell’s try in the second, coupled with a dubious No Try decision with Gagai’s try, and I wonder how much input Gus would be having, and if the press would be heralding the start of a new dominance 🙂