Billy Slater’s five-word Queensland Maroons Origin mantra is ‘haunting’

On-top-of-the-world Queensland coach Billy Slater has revealed his team’s Origin mantra and it will send chills down the spine of the Blues.

Billy Slater delivered five minutes of gold during the post-match on Channel 9.

Billy Slater has made all the right moves and pulled all the right strings in two years as Queensland coach – and has arguably never been better in the coaches box as he was during the Maroons’ 32-6 game two win which delivered another shield north of the border.

But he was just as impressive in the post-match during a five-minute appearance on Channel 9 where he oozed the passion and leadership that has made him an instant success.

Slater provided insight on how he goes about forming his squad, the mantra they lived by this year and the motivation behind their spirited displays in a silky interview that will make Maroons fans beam and Blues fans look on with envy.

Billy Slater explains how Queensland pulled off their Game 2 masterclass. 🗣️#9WWOS#NRL#Originpic.twitter.com/Yu5Qwc6pag

— NRL on Nine (@NRLonNine) June 21, 2023

Slater is in the sweet spot NSW coach Brad Fittler was in 2019 after he delivered back-to-back successes in his first two years in charge.

The former Melbourne Storm fullback will be looking for more success than the one series win in four years Fittler has delivered since.

And if the chilling five-word mantra he revealed Queensland used in camp this year is anything to go by, you can bank on the wins to keep coming.

“I can, because we are,” Slater said.

Rugby league podcaster ‘RugbyLeagueGuru’ reacted to what he heard by tweeting: “That is f***ing haunting and if you don’t get it, you don’t get it. Slater might be more dangerous as a coach than a fullback which is terrifying.”

5 games, 2 series wins for Billy Slater as the Queensland coach.

A risk to bring him in, especially when you consider the context at the time, but what an absolute masterstroke it has been.

He has always lived and breathed Queensland excellence and it shines through the squad.

— Braden (@bradenstwit) June 21, 2023

Not enough attention paid to the guile of coach Billy Slater. It feels like this result was inevitable when it was the least likely option at the start of the series. Slater has motivated and orchestrated an incredible result for #Queensland#SOO

— Jamie Pandaram (@JamiePandaram) June 21, 2023

Slater has begun as an underdog in both series but has found a mix of players who are showing signs of beginning a dynasty.

“It’s a really special group, this group. They just get what it’s all about, they get who it’s for,” Slater began.

“It’s for themselves, it’s for their families, it’s for the people who have worn the jersey before them. But most of all it’s for the Queensland people and that’s not lost to this group.

“That keeps their feet moving through those tough times in the first half when they just had to continually defend their try line and then they got a chance to get their footy on in the second half.”

Billy Slater embraces his wife Nicole following the game. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)

There were plenty of hugs for his players too. Picture: NRL Imagery

Slater revealed he spends the first 12 rounds of the season specifically watching the habits of potential Queensland players, seeing the little things that are often overlooked but become crucial in the Origin arena.

That includes the two man of the match winners from the first two games – Reuben Cotter and Lindsay Collins.

“If you watch Lindsay Collins, and you watch Reuben Cotter and Pat Carrigan, the work that they do off the football is incredible,” Slater said.

Slater also hailed the effort of his skipper Daly Cherry-Evans, who produced one of the defensive highlights of the game when he chased down Stephen Crichton after a breakaway.

But he was quick to bring it back to what the team did in that situation.

“Yeah, ‘want’ is a very under-utilised stat in our game and you could see the ‘want’ (from Cherry-Evans),” Slater said.

“It was the reaction time, and he had to react quick because he’s not as fast as Stephen Crichton, so he had to get a head start.

“The effort he put in to not only get there, but to make the tackle … and then there was 12 Queenslanders behind him that backed him up.

“They were back there for the very next play and they defended the try line with their skipper.”

Billy Slater and Daly Cherry-Evans celebrate a job well done. Picture: NRL Imagery

But defending is only half the job and you can tell by the way he speaks how Slater encourages his men not to just be brave when they’re back up – but to be brave with ball in hand.

“It’s courageous to play football under pressure. It’s courageous to use the football, to put your plays on,” he said.

“We made some errors in the first half. Reece Walsh put a ball down and the first thing I said to him at halftime was ‘are you perfect?’. And he said ‘no’. I said ‘neither am I, so go and get that on again’.

“You want to get your footy on, you have to get your footy on. They’ve got so much toughness and courage to defend their tryline but you need to play football, you need to play to your strengths. I thought they did that really well in the second half.”

Originally published as Billy Slater’s five-word Queensland Maroons Origin mantra is ‘haunting’