State of Origin 2024: Queensland legends back Pat Carrigan as future Maroons captain ahead of Game 1
Two of Queensland’s greatest locks, Billy Moore and Corey Parker, believe Pat Carrigan will join the NRL’s Hall of Fame and eventually succeed Daly Cherry-Evans as Maroons captain.
Maroons
Don't miss out on the headlines from Maroons. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Two of Queensland’s greatest locks believe Origin ironman Pat Carrigan will become an NRL “Hall of Famer” and eventually succeed Daly Cherry-Evans as the Maroons’ next captain.
The assessment from Billy Moore and Corey Parker came as Carrigan vowed to step up in the wake of Queensland’s injury crisis and lead the Maroons pack to victory in Origin I this Wednesday night.
In the blink of an eye, Carrigan has become Queensland’s State of Origin specialist.
The Broncos vice-captain claimed a rare and remarkable quinella in 2022, winning the Wally Lewis Medal as player of the series and Ron McAuliffe Medal as Queensland’s best-and-fairest in his rookie Origin campaign.
Carrigan then charged to Dally M Lock of the Year status last season in Brisbane’s fairytale surge to the NRL grand final, but this Wednesday night’s Origin opener shapes as one of the toughest tests of his career.
With key forward trio Tino Fa’asuamaleaui, Tom Gilbert and Tom Flegler sidelined through injury, Carrigan must shoulder the burden against a formidable NSW pack boasting power, size and speed.
Former Maroons No.13 Moore says Carrigan is not only up to the task, but on a path to Origin greatness that will see him captain Queensland and join the state’s elite 30-game club.
“Pat Carrigan can be our greatest lock ever and to sum it up simply - he will be a Hall of Famer,” said Moore, who played 17 games for the Maroons from 1992-97.
“That’s what he will become.
“Carrigan is so good that he will be as good as any lock we have seen.
“With the way sports science is these days, I believe Pat Carrigan will play 30 Origin games.
“His consistency blows me away. He rarely wavers and even his average game is superior to the best games that other NRL locks produce. That’s how good he is.
“In sport, life or business, the hardest thing to achieve is consistency.
“Anyone can be good now and then. But it’s 10 times harder to be consistently good, week after week, especially when the opposition know what you will do, and yet Pat still delivers.
“He and Lindsay Collins are the cornerstones of this forward pack on Wednesday night and it’s only a matter of time before Pat captains Queensland.
“When Daly Cherry-Evans moves on, I would look at Pat Carrigan as captain.”
Carrigan, who plays his seventh Origin game this Wednesday night, has bittersweet memories of Sydney’s Accor Stadium.
It was the scene of his sensational Origin debut in 2022, when he came tearing off the bench and ripped into NSW with a rise in tempo that inspired a 16-10 upset in Queensland’s first win at Homebush in five years.
But Homebush has also been Carrigan’s house of horrors, with the 26-year-old left devastated by Brisbane’s crushing collapse to lose last year’s NRL decider against Penrith.
Now Carrigan returns to Accor Stadium determined to set the standard for Queensland, whom he has captained at under-20s level.
“I have that internal drive to make the most of any opportunity I have been given,” he said.
“Every game you have to re-earn everything. That’s my attitude and the standard I set.
“I am really grateful to be at this level, but as a young fella, my mum and dad put that drive into me.
“My dad always said, ‘You might not feel like going to work, but you have to go to work’.
“That’s how I have approached things. I just get the job done.
“It is a hostile place, playing NSW at Homebush. You are coming up against the best 17 NSW have in the game, so you have to bring your best brand of footy or you get caught out.”
Of his ambitions to captain Queensland, Carrigan said with a wry grin: “’Chez’ (Cherry-Evans) is never ageing, he keeps hanging around like a fine wine.
“Of course those captaincy honours are special.
“Personally I won’t change if I got the captaincy or not. If the honour happens for me, it would be great, but if another guy got the honour, I’d be equally happy for them.
“There’s a special friendship in this group and that’s a reason for our success. It’s like a big Maroons family when we come back into camp.”
As a youngster in the Broncos Academy, Carrigan was groomed to succeed Queensland workhorse Corey Parker, who says the Brisbane vice-skipper is on track to be a future Maroons leader.
“Pat has evolved his game, he is one of the most complete forwards in the game now,” said former Broncos skipper Parker, who played 19 Origin games for Queensland.
“He isn’t just a worker any more, he has a great pre-line pass and can be a linkman in attack.
“The thing that’s caught my eye is Pat’s leadership and emotional intelligence.
“I saw Xavier Willison score a few weeks back for the Broncos and a few of the guys were carrying on and celebrating and Pat was the guy who brought them back down and got them focused again.
“I just like the fact Pat is always in control of his emotions. He has great awareness for a situation and combine that with his work rate and commitment, and without a doubt he is our next captain.
“If Pat was chosen tomorrow as Queensland captain, I don’t think there’s one person who would say he isn’t ready for it.”
CAMP MAROON: CARRIGAN WARNED OFF VEGAS RACISM REVENGE
Maroons star Pat Carrigan has been warned not to “poke the bear” and seek revenge on Blues firebrand Spencer Leniu over the Las Vegas racism scandal.
Leniu will come face-to-face with some of Ezra Mam’s Broncos teammates for the first time since the Vegas controversy in Wednesday’s State of Origin opener in Sydney.
The NSW debutant copped an eight-match ban after calling the indigenous Mam a “monkey” during the fiery season-opener in the United States.
The saga didn’t end at Allegiant Stadium either after Leniu was involved in a heated spat with Mam and other Broncos players, including Carrigan, at the team hotel after the game.
Leniu’s ban meant he sat out the Broncos-Roosters return bout at Suncorp Stadium in round 9 and the Origin opener will be his first on-field confrontation with Brisbane players Carrigan, Reece Walsh and Selwyn Cobbo, while Mam is in Queensland’s extended squad.
But Queensland great Billy Moore urged the Maroons to not make it personal with the hot-heated Leniu, one of the NRL’s most potent interchange players who could change the game for the Blues.
“My advice to Queensland is don’t poke the bear,” he said.
“I believe Spencer Leniu is the best player off the pine in the game and since his return he has made a statement.
“My recommendation to the Queensland players is leave him alone. He has served his time. He has shown his remorse and we need to move along.
“I don’t believe Spencer is racist. I just see it as a big man up against little man. Things got heated in battle and Spencer articulated things in the wrong way.
“If I’m Queensland, I wouldn’t fire him up.”
Leniu has already lit the fuse for an explosive showdown after declaring: “If I see maroon, it’s on.”
Carrigan produced one of the great Origin debuts at Accor Stadium in 2022 with a number of bellringing hits and will be looking to lead a Maroons pack missing enforcers Tino Fa’asuamaleaui, Tom Flegler and Tom Gilbert.
Carrigan said he was shocked at the Vegas incident but he respected Leniu.
“I was a little shocked at the time, but time has passed and I know Spencer is a good person,” he said.
“That’s in the past. I respect him as a footy player and as a person.
“For Ezra, I could see why he was upset. I know what a man of culture he is and if you have seen him to go to the Torres Strait … I have gone up there with him and you see him mix with the Indigenous kids, they go crazy because they see something attainable for them.
“Ezra does his Torres Strait Islander dancing with his family and he is proud of his heritage. It was a good learning for us as a game and hopefully it doesn’t happen again moving forward.”
Apart from his physical presence, Leniu doesn’t mind getting into verbal wars and isn’t afraid to take on anyone in the game.
Queensland prop Moeaki Fotuaika said the Maroons had to ensure they didn’t take Leniu’s bait if he tried to get under their skin.
“Spencer Leniu is a great player and he will definitely bring a lot of energy on the field so we have to contain him when we can and try to stop his momentum,” he said.
“I haven’t been on the other end of him talking. I just do my job and go about my work.
“I’m not someone who goes out there and chirps at other players. The times I have played him, he has gone about his work and that’s what I do.
“He’s a great player and he has done some great things over the last couple of years. He has won three grand finals (with Penrith) so that speaks for itself what kind of player he is and why the Roosters wanted him.”
HIT MAN INSPIRATION
Jaydn Su’A is taking inspiration from former Maroons hit man Ben Te’o as Queensland’s hard-hitting back-rower pledged to be the defensive bodyguard for rookie playmaker Tom Dearden in Origin I.
The Blues have named a formidable pack featuring firebrands Spencer Leniu and Liam Martin and Su’A vowed to muscle up for Queensland in Wednesday’s Origin series opener at Sydney’s Accor Stadium.
The Maroons have a history of deploying defensive weapons on an edge. Tonie Carroll famously protected Darren Lockyer in the Origin arena and the likes of Josh Papalii and Te’o were the Maroons’ standover men who shielded champion halves Johnathan Thurston and Cooper Cronk from a NSW assault in defence.
Now, after a three-year hiatus from the Origin arena, a rejuvenated Su’A is back and the Maroons back-rower declared he won’t take a backward step in his favourite part of the game - whacking opposition ball-runners.
Su’A says if the Blues attempt to steamroll Dearden in his second Origin game - and first in Sydney - they need to get past him first.
“That’s the plan ... I will try my best to protect him,” Su’A said.
“I’m happy for Tom. He is a great defender himself and has played some good footy in what hasn’t been their (the Cowboys’) best start to their season.
“I feel Billy (Slater, Queensland coach) has selected me because I am doing well this year.
“I just want to bring my own approach to this game and do everything I can to stay in the Queensland team.”
Maroons hooker Ben Hunt backed his Dragons teammate Su’A to add an intimidating edge to Queensland’s defensive line.
“He won’t be just a hit man, but he moves well defensively, too,” Hunt said.
“He reads defence well and can get off lead lines and hunt guys from the inside.
“He is a good all-round defender.
“I am very happy for Jaydn Su’A that he is back here. I have seen the work he has put in this pre-season and to start the season, he has been exceptional.
“I am excited for him to get another opportunity, he will be great in this arena.”
As a kid, Su’A’s defensive steel was fashioned by his father, who compelled the former Broncos young gun to finetune his hitting technique.
The 26-year-old played the last of his four Origin games in 2021 and says his exploits in Maroon have been driven by Te’o and super coach Wayne Bennett, who handed Su’A his Queensland debut in 2020.
“Definitely Ben is my hero,” Su’A said.
“His footy spoke for itself.
“He had that Origin style with his brute force.
“Ben was a hit man as well and in my career, being a second-rower at Brisbane, he was someone I looked up to.
“He was at the Rabbitohs as well and then I went to the Rabbitohs and that was pretty cool.
“I got to sit down with him and have a chat and he was awesome for me.”
Su’A paid tribute to Bennett for throwing him a lifeline at Souths and saving his NRL career after he lost his way at the Broncos under Anthony Seibold.
“It is about instilling belief with Wayne,” he said.
“He makes you feel 10 feet tall and understands how to connect with you as a player.
“That is why players want to play for him.
“One of the boys sent me something the other day from Dolphins media about how he builds an environment where people enjoy coming to play.
“It is so true. Everyone loves coming to training under Wayne and I think that is why the Dolphins are performing so well.”
Walsh comes clean on unseen Sua’ali’i act
The rugby league world could forgive Reece Walsh for holding a grudge against the rugby-bound Joseph Sua’ali'i after his Origin 1 KO.
‘Extremely serious offence’: Abdo claps back at Origin ban critics
Despite calls by club officials for change after Cameron Murray and Haumole Olakau’atu copped bans over the Origin III brawl, NRL boss Andrew Abdo has hit back at critics.