Paul Kent: State of Origin’s years of fake hatred are disappearing as players refuse to motivate rivals

The state warfare that has defined Origin for 40 years is losing its lustre as players fail to buy into what made the concept unique, PAUL KENT writes.

There's unlikely to be any friendly fire between clubmates Daly Cherry-Evans and Tom Trbojevic in State of Origin.

One of the great beauties of rugby league was always that the game was a form of class warfare. It did not matter that much of it was manufactured.

Here in NSW, for instance, we couldn’t figure out whether Queenslanders were always so backward or whether they were just making an extra effort come Origin time.

In Queensland, in response, the feeling was that us folks here in NSW were an arrogant lot, dating back to those pre-Origin days when the Blues used to whip Queensland year after year after year …

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It was the perfect circle, one insult feeding the other, both states feeling completely legitimate in their outrage. And like the perfect circle, it looked like it would run eternally, even if there was nothing very real about it at all.

Class warfare has always been a rugby league favourite.

In an interview on NRL360 in April, Les Boyd was talking about his former Western Suburbs coach Roy Masters firing up the Magpies before a game with his special brand of social warfare.

“I know what you’re doing, Roy,” Boyd said to him one day.

He could see the narrative being invented even as Masters walked around the dressing room, hurling the supposed insults Manly inflicted on the poor old fibros from the western suburbs.

Boyd realised something as he looked around the dressing room.

Some got what Masters was doing, but most did not.

Boyd realised that not only were his teammates being whipped into an emotional frenzy, he could also see there was value in it so he was happy to stay quiet and let Masters perpetuate the myth of the Fibros versus the Silvertails and his teammates to happily believe it was true.

It is a similar narrative being played out in Origin, where Queensland continue to perpetuate the myth they are underdogs every year and hold onto the deep insult that the respect from NSW is missing.

Thankfully for Queenslanders, most here in NSW are nice enough to help.

With this year’s series already lacking a serious lack of insults, the Courier Mail’s Robert Craddock detailed a series of insults inflicted on the Maroons over the years, as if they might be picked up by some form of osmosis.

It included the perceived snubbing of Arthur Beetson as Australian coach (which had nothing to do with Origin), Queensland manager Dick “Tosser” Turner putting a Courier Mail poster outside every Queenslander’s room of Benny Elias saying the Maroons were a bunch of softies (he didn’t, it was the headline on the story), and the timing of the Alex McKinnon 60 Minutes interview where he criticised Cameron Smith the Sunday before the game (it had nothing to do with the Blues, but was a Channel Nine programming decision).

In each, the Maroons invented a reason to justify the NSW arrogance.

Cameron Smith in Queensland Origin camp shortly after the Alex McKinnon controversy in 2015. Picture: Liam Kidston

Over the years this belief galvanised the state and justified their hatred of the uppity Blues.

In recent years the genuine hate between NSW and Queensland has slowly disappeared.

This is being driven mostly by the players, who refuse to buy in.

They refuse to state anything even mildly offensive for fear of motivating their rivals ahead of the game even though most would argue it is difficult to find more motivation for an Origin game outside the moment itself.

While Queensland works hard to maintain the hatred, often finding even unintended slights from which to draw insult, the Blues instead long ago went down the fairly passive path of trying to convince themselves that their passion for Origin was the equal of Queensland, which some would argue always puts them behind.

Some years back the NRL recognised Origin emotions were watering down and secretly paid Paul Gallen $20,000 to stir the Queensland venom, unaware Gallen would have done it for half the price.

In his next press conference, he called Queenslanders “two-heads” and a state erupted. They could only have been insulted as they were if they believed it was real.

Those days are disappearing, though.

Even when delivered the perfect insult before this Wednesday’s match NSW thought through the decision, instead of buying in to any form of hatred.

When the NRL moved Game I to Townsville, overlooking Canberra and Bankwest Stadium in Parramatta as venues, many saw it as an ideal weapon to motivate the Blues.

Paul Gallen knew how to rile the Maroons. Picture: Getty Images

After all, the other way around, it would have fallen into the slighted Maroons narrative perfectly, another injustice.

It meant the Blues would have to play the first two games in Queensland for the first time since the original three-game series in 1982, when the Maroons won.

But no.

Blues coach Brad Fittler was pragmatic, pointing to the challenge of winning in Townsville than any perceived slight.

What he did not say was that Queensland might have outsmarted themselves.

Secretly the Blues believe the dry Townsville surface and warm night air will suit their backline perfectly, a match for fast, dry weather football, and so they remain mute.

Queenslanders would call it arrogant.