Origin 2021: No pot-stirrer Gallen, but could Blues be triggered into action by simple motivational ploy?
It’s a role Queensland have played to perfection over the years - a team fuelled by perceived injustices. Now the shoe is on the other foot and that spells trouble for the Maroons.
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The worry for Maroons fans in the State of Origin opener is that for one night only, NSW may morph into Queensland.
As in the team fuelled by perceived injustices and enlivened by the feeling they are not getting a fair go.
From the moment Queensland snatched the first Origin game from Melbourne and followed up by grabbing the plum hotel in Townsville before the Blues had time to even think about it, there has been a sense of bewilderment in the NSW camp at how Queensland picked their pockets.
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We will know on Wednesday night whether this anger destabilised the Blues or became a powerful smelling salt under their nostrils.
But for the first time in his Origin coaching career, Blues mentor Brad Fittler has the right to steal Queensland’s long time motivational narrative of “everything is against us here … stuff these blokes … this is a deadset stitch-up.’’
It sounds like schoolboy banter but many great Origin deeds have been triggered by simple motivational ploys.
A fiery-eyed Queensland were once driven to victory by what they felt was a 60 Minutes stitch-up on Cameron Smith even though, in retrospect, no-one was quite sure what the show had to do with the Blues.
In the end it didn’t matter. The fact that the Maroons sensed the timing of it on Sunday night in Origin week was a ploy to unsettle them, but it sent them into emotional overdrive and away they went.
Back in the 1980s, Queensland team manager Dick Turner plastered a Courier-Mail poster outside every players door, in which NSW hooker Benny Elias said Queensland were “a bunch of softies.’’
The headline used those words. Benny was not as provocative, but never mind. The poster did its job and Queensland won easily.
On one Origin day, an underdog Queensland team learnt that Arthur Beetson would be snubbed for the Australian coaching role no matter how his Queensland team performed that night.
Beetson did not raise it with his team. but he didn’t have to. They saw in his face how shattered he was and duly went out and won for him.
No matter what the referees decide about the enforcement of high tackles. this much is certain … the old pre-match spice has not been the same since Paul Gallen retired.
Talk has now turned to protecting the head instead of Gallen suggesting Queenslanders actually had two of them.
Instead of Mal Meninga saying NSW officials were “rats and filth’’, as he did a decade ago, most references to a lack of cleanliness normally refer to people sanitising their hands.
Origin has changed, for better and for worse.
Crash Tackle: Maroons’ clever crackdown tactic
Queensland sense the behavioural broom is about to sweep through State of Origin and have taken measures to cope with it.
At various stages of their training in the lead-up to Wednesday night’s Origin the Maroons have trained with just 12 men in a bid to learn how to cope if they are left with a man short.
While the whisper is referees will be encouraged to minimise sin bins and deal with matters later on report the Maroons are taking no chances. It makes sense.
BILL LIKES HIS BELLY
Cricket icon Bill Lawry is an AFL man who grew up supporting Fitzroy but that has not stopped him admiring Melbourne Storm coach Craig Bellamy.
“Bellamy has to be one of the best coaches in any sporting code in Australia,’’ Lawry told News Corp during an interview about his life.
“It’s remarkable how much success he has had and how consistent his teams have been. You have to admire what he has done.’’
Lawry fell short of airing one of his signature lines and declaring Bellamy “a great Victorian.’’
FAR NORTH, FAR OUT
Former State of Origin forward Steve Jackson has pulled off the improbable by arranging with the QRL for 25 former north Queensland Origin stars to be honoured before the kick-off in Townsville.
Among those who will form a guard of honour will be Kerry Boustead, Colin Scott, John Buttigieg, Jamie Goddard, Mick McLean, Neville Costigan, Matt Bowen, Carl Webb, Nate Myles, Paul Bowman and Gavin Allen.
“It’s going to be a fabulous night,’’ Jackson said. “Origin won’t be coming back to Townsville in our lifetime so this is a great chance to salute the players who came from the north and grew into Origin players.’’
You could pick a State of Origin team to take on the world from players who were raised through the northern nurseries. How does this sound?
Billy Slater, Kerry Boustead, Gene Miles, Justin Hodges, Dale Shearer, Kalyn Ponga, Daly Cherry-Evans, Greg Dowling, Jamie Goddard, Matt Scott, Gorden Tallis, Martin Bella, Gavin Allen.
GRASSHOPPER GLORY
Northern officials are trying to think of a way of this week honouring one of their most colourful identities, the late Origin referee Barry Gomersall who died of cancer 14 years ago.
“The Grasshopper’’, who hailed from Sarina, used to drive NSW’s fans spare with lines like “I refereed nine Origins and Queensland won seven but anyone can have two bad games.’’
After one Queensland win Gomersall infuriated the NSW media by declaring “I cannot believe the fuss over my effort – I thought I had a blinder.’’
BIRD’S BLUE
Jack Bird looked highly motivated for the clash against his old club the Broncos last week and there was commentary chat about him being a key voice among the Dragons players in the lead-up to the game.
Surely he cannot be too dirty on the club. Due to injury he played just 17 games for the Broncos in three years while banking close to $2.4 million.
Bird spoke this year about how he felt under acute pressure to perform in Brisbane and may have tried almost too hard to succeed. He looks more relaxed and settled at the Dragons where he has been injury free and in solid form.
GETTING USED TO IT
The Broncos are silencing their critics – but not the way they want to.
In most of the Broncos 34 year existence a 52-24 loss to the Dragons would have triggered a torrent of angry feedback yet the outrageous has suddenly become the norm.
What was one of the club’s least impressive efforts this seasons whizzed by without major interest, partially because Origin is upon us but also because fans and critics have become desensitised to the club’s landslide losses.
It is not a good place to be.
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Originally published as Origin 2021: No pot-stirrer Gallen, but could Blues be triggered into action by simple motivational ploy?
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