State of Origin: Queensland has lost its winning way, but is the culture broken?
Queensland are languishing at one of their lowest ebbs and Paul Green may not survive beyond next week. Where they possibly turn to next is a choice of the ages and certainty over volatility.
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Paul Green is in a fight to retain the Queensland coaching job as the Maroons face the prospect of suffering the worst series defeat in State of Origin’s 41-year history.
An investigation by The Sunday Mail has delved deep into the debacle of Queensland’s 2021 Origin series as a potential 3-0 whitewash loss to New South Wales looms.
The Maroons have been outgunned 76-6 across the first two games of the series, including a record 50-6 Origin I defeat in Townsville before last Sunday’s 26-0 Suncorp Stadium shutout.
While the scintillating Blues have been in cruise control to claim their third series win in four years, Queensland has gone from one disaster to the next.
The Maroons have been accused of bungling key position selections, training poorly and endured allegations of staff being involved in late-night casino booze-ups.
The scenes of last year’s against-the-odds series victory under Wayne Bennett are now a distant memory as the Maroons fight to salvage some pride in the July 14 dead rubber.
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THE COACHING CHANGE
Green, 48, stepped into the Maroons hot seat this year on the back of Bennett’s fairytale 2020 series win, when a Queensland side dubbed “the worst ever” overcame the odds to snap a two-year losing streak.
It was always going to be a challenge for Queensland to win back-to-back series given a worrying player drain and the talent NSW had at their disposal.
But the nature of Queensland’s two losses this year has rung alarm bells and thrust the spotlight on Green’s approach and the future of the Maroons.
The Maroons were so far off the pace in Townsville it was embarrassing and they were disjointed with the ball in Game Two after losing fullback Reece Walsh on match eve and ineligible winger Ronaldo Mulitalo on game day.
Green, who declined to comment for this piece, had a seven-year stint as North Queensland Cowboys coach, delivering the club its first NRL title in 2015 and taking them to the 2017 grand final.
He was sacked midway through last season as the Cowboys hurtled towards a third straight bottom four finish before securing the Maroons job on a one-series contract, with an option for 2022.
With Bennett gone and Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga unavailable, Green retained Neil Henry as an assistant coach and drafted in Queensland legends Johnathan Thurston and Nate Myles for support.
He punted fitness coach Alex Corvo and recalled Gavin Allen as a team manager.
There were some significant changes to a Queensland system which delivered success seven months earlier.
“If you appoint a coach you’ve got to allow him some discretion with what he wants to do,” Queensland Rugby League chairman Bruce Hatcher said.
“He didn’t change that much in terms of our system. He might have changed a few personnel.
“Paul Green is an outstanding coach and a very decent human. He has had significant success as a coach.
“He is not lacking in any of the skills of coaching. You can’t say it was the coach’s fault.”
THE MAROON WAY
The formula for Queensland’s Origin success has always been simple.
Past players say it’s been more about effort, passion and camaraderie than tactics and outsmarting the Blues.
That’s why the Townsville massacre came as such a shock, with the Maroons admitting they were beaten to the punch by a more determined Blues team.
Green, a seven-game Maroons representative, carried a number of players with injury concerns into Game One.
Key playmakers Harry Grant and Cameron Munster hadn’t played for a month. Fullback Kalyn Ponga was selected despite having no chance of overcoming a groin injury.
Utility AJ Brimson had concerns about his knee injury all week but was urged to play, managing only 16 minutes and missing the next two Titans games.
While Green should have selected fit hooker Reed Mahoney to debut, he had few options for the other key positions.
But the nature of Queensland’s Game One effort raised concerns about the Maroons’ mindset going into the contest.
Green admitted post-match that Queensland’s training execution had not been up to standard and being a first-time coach he was hesitant to address it.
However The Sunday Mail has discovered that Queensland players had also not responded to Green’s coaching approach, which included having more meetings than his predecessors.
Hatcher said the QRL would commission an independent review into the series.
“There are players that haven’t performed as they’d like to have performed, but that’s sport,” he said.
“I don’t look for blame – I look for what went wrong. That’s why a full assessment with independent people will determine how we go next year.
“We are in a rebuilding phase and we’ve got to make sure we produce much more available talent.
“One of the things we’ve agreed to do is look at our top five players in every position and what we’ve got to do to get them able to just slot in seamlessly.
“We have to make people State of Origin ready.”
THE BOOZE UPS
Bonding sessions have long been considered to be part of State of Origin.
The Queensland team enjoyed one early in the Game One camp but a short turnaround leading into Game Two meant the focus was purely on the match.
The Sunday Mail has not uncovered any suggestions of Maroons players acting out of order.
However the movements of Green and his support staff have raised eyebrows following the two poor performances by the team.
On the Monday night before Origin I in Townsville, the Queenslanders held a team dinner at a popular restaurant on The Strand.
Some of the support staff were playing drinking games at the restaurant while Green left the dinner to catch up with personal sponsors.
The coach was also spotted at the casino bars, where the team was staying, late in the lead-up to the game.
On the eve of Game Two in Brisbane, one key Queensland figure was spotted at the casino in the early hours of the morning.
The staff could argue that this is not different to any other series in Origin’s 41-year history.
However Queensland is staring down the barrel of its worst Origin performance ever, raising questions about what is happening in Camp Maroon.
THE FUTURE
Green and the QRL view the coach’s appointment as short-term, given his desire to return to the NRL.
Earlier this year, Green said he would be gunning for the head coach’s role at Brisbane’s new NRL club if expansion is given the go-ahead from 2023.
“I am certainly committed to the Maroons job but if the opportunity to coach in the NRL came along, I would be interested,” he said.
“I am a proud Queenslander and a proud Brisbane boy and I would relish the opportunity to contribute to the game in Queensland by coaching a possible second Brisbane team.
“I never felt like my NRL coaching would be over after my time at the Cowboys. I like the challenge of it, the competition of NRL and seeing blokes improve.”
If that is the case, the QRL hierarchy have a big decision to make following this series.
Maroons legend Billy Slater is widely-tipped to be Queensland’s next Origin coach but will be hesitant to take on a team that is struggling. Cameron Smith and Thurston have been mooted as other potential candidates.
Bennett will finish as South Sydney coach this year and is without a job for 2022. He declined to comment on the chance of a Maroons return next year when contacted this week.
There is no doubt Queensland is lacking the talent pool to be an Origin force against this star-studded Blues team, but the Maroons have been badly exposed this series.
“Can you imagine if you’re a former player that coached those two games this year – what do you reckon your future as a coach would have looked like?” Hatcher said.
“There is no doubt our depth has been exposed. We’ve been working for two years on developing a performance and pathways system to get more players, coaches and match officials to NRL standard. That is going to take time.
“There is not going to be any quick fix. There is nothing lacking in terms of commitment from the players.
“I don’t want to make excuses. We weren’t good enough. We’ve got a lot of hard work to do and we always review our Origin performance.”
What that review discovers will play a key role in how Queensland responds in 2022 and who is leading the Maroons.
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