State of Origin: Reuben Cotter embracing front-row size mismatch with Payne Haas ahead of game two

Reuben Cotter is a staggering 23kg lighter than his NSW rival Payne Haas. However, the pint-sized Maroons ironman has vowed to muscle up to the challenge, drawing comparisons to another former Queenslander.

GOLD COAST, AUSTRALIA – JUNE 24: Reuben Cotter during a Queensland Maroons State of Origin Training Session at Sanctuary Cove on June 24, 2024 in Gold Coast, Australia. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

Reuben Cotter has been dubbed Queensland’s new-age Trevor ‘The Axe’ Gillmeister as the pint-sized Maroons ironman vowed to muscle up to NSW monster Payne Haas in Origin II.

There are few players in the NRL as courageous as Cotter, who goes into Wednesday night’s return bout against the Blues as the smallest prop in Queensland’s 44-year Origin history.

At 95kg and 180cm, Queensland front-rower Cotter will give up a staggering 23kg in weight and 14cm in height to his NSW rival Haas, who at 118kg and 194cm will be one of the biggest men on the park at the MCG.

The Maroons have produced generations of big-bopper enforcers with Petero Civoniceva (193cm and 116kg) and Nate Myles (187cm and 105kg) at the vanguard of Queensland’s most imposing props.

Cotter is only marginally bigger than Queensland fullback Reece Walsh (177cm and 88kg), underlining his remarkable bravery and willingness to fight fire with fire with NSW in Origin’s midfield trenches.

Haas is under pressure to dominate the Maroons in Game Two by winning the midfield and that challenge sits fine with Cotter, who says he won’t take a backward step against NSW’s hulking forwards.

Reuben Cotter isn’t shying away at the prospect of going toe-to-toe with Payne Haas. Picture: Chris Hyde/Getty Images

Payne Haas has the physical edge on Cotter, but can he dominate come Wednesday? Picture: Rohan Kelly

“I take it as a challenge,” Cotter says of the prospect of taking on Haas.

“I am not the biggest bloke out there – but I will try my heart out.

“I actually don’t think size matters too much anymore in Origin.

“The way the game has gone and how fast it is, you can use it (smaller frame) to your advantage, but you still need to get physical.”

Getting stuck in won’t be a problem for a Maroons terrier who played the Origin campaign of his life last season to clinch the Wally Lewis Medal as player of the series and Ron McAuliffe Medal as Queensland’s best-and-fairest.

The sight of Cotter ripping into the Blues evokes images of Gillmeister, the inspirational former Queensland Origin who famously checked out of hospital with a badly infected leg to skipper the Maroons to a 3-0 sweep in 1995.

Ironically, Gillmeister suffered the leg cut in Game Two at the MCG, where Cotter’s Maroons will attempt to break a 29-year hoodoo on Wednesday night.

A back-rower, Gillmeister, who played at 178cm and 89kg, was given the nickname ‘The Axe’ for his hitting power and there is the same technical purity in Cotter, who can also defend on an edge.

Comparisons have been made between Reuben Cotter and former Maroons captain Trevor Gillmeister.

“Reuben reminds me a bit of Trevor Gillmeister in that they just never take a backward step,” said former Maroons prop Greg Dowling.

“They just never let you down.

“Cotter plays 80 minutes. His workrate is phenomenal. You build sides around him. He gives 100 per cent for the 80 minutes. We have seen that in the past.

“This guy is incredibly fit. He gets through 40 to 50 tackles a game, he chases in broken play and when he has to get back he runs when everyone else is walking.

“Reuben and ‘Gilly’ are the sorts of players you like going in to battle with.”

Incredibly, Cotter played all 240 minutes of the 2023 series without being benched. He was given a spell for the first time in the 2024 series opener, demonstrating his incredible aerobic engine in the code’s toughest arena.

The 25-year-old says he will happily play 80 minutes at the MCG and revealed how being named Cowboys co-captain in pre-season has imposed a new level of responsibility.

Size hasn’t stopped Maroons ironman Reuben Cotter in the past. Picture: Matt King/Getty Images

“I have just taken a closer look at how I approach my weeks and my training away from footy as well. There is a lot more expectation,” Cotter says of being an NRL leader.

“I was always pretty average in size compared to everyone else.

“As we left high school, everyone kept growing and I don’t think it matters too much these days to be honest with the speed of the game.

“For me, it’s not wanting to let yourself down and your teammates down.

“When you are given an opportunity to wear this Maroon jersey, there is so much expectation and that has a massive part to play in it.

“I don’t want to let my family down and you don’t want to let five-and-a half-million Queenslanders down.

“Throwing yourself into it is the best way to do it I reckon.”