Josh Papalii determined to help Queensland pack win forward’s battle after Game I struggles
QUEENSLAND’S engine room are ready to up the ante in Sunday’s clash with the NSW pack, after being outmuscled by the Blues in Game One.
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QUEENSLAND’S engine room are ready to up the ante in Sunday’s clash with the NSW pack, after being outmuscled by the Blues in Game One.
The Maroons forwards have come under heavy criticism for their performance in Origin I, with the Blues led strongly by debutant hooker Damien Cook and starting props Reagan Campbell-Gillard and David Klemmer.
While Campbell-Gillard has been ruled out of the showdown at ANZ Stadium with a broken jaw, NSW are not expected to take a backward step as they try to seal the series on home turf.
But a determined Queensland pack is ready to meet fire with fire.
Enforcer Josh Papalii says he takes the criticism personally, despite being one of the stronger forwards in Game One.
“I do take it personally because that’s where games are won, in the middle,” he said.
“I wasn’t too happy about my own game. Playing well in a losing team is probably a good thing, but in saying that, we still lost the game which I hate doing.
“Being involved with the likes of Matty Scott and Nate Myles (in the past), it’s big shoes to fill with us young fellas coming through.
“But we obviously lost that and I take that upon myself to try to help us win on Sunday.”
Game One debutant Jai Arrow is also determined to experience his first win in a Maroons jersey.
While he was happy with his own initiation to Origin football, he said the forwards have to take responsibility for the loss and cannot shy away from the challenge that lies ahead.
“If your forward pack is not doing a job then your backs outside you can’t score points,” he said.
“If we weren’t scoring points, it comes back to the middle. We’re confident in the boys we have here and we’re not going to shy away from a challenge.
“We’ve been in this position before and Queensland’s a side that doesn’t give up and always looks forward.”
The Maroons pack is expected to be boosted by the presence of star prop Dylan Napa, who has been trying to overcome an ankle injury in the lead up to Sunday’s clash.
The Roosters forward trained again on Thursday in a positive sign that he recovered well from Wednesday’s testing.
He is yet to be officially cleared by Maroons officials, but it is understood they are happy with his progress so far.
Queensland will travel to Sydney on Friday, giving Napa the chance to rest his foot after two days of training, with the team to hold a captain’s run at ANZ Stadium on Saturday.
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