Monday Buzz: Suncorp Stadium is no match for the adversity NSW Blues players have already dealt with

What they’ll cop at Suncorp in the Origin decider is nothing compared to the adversity Michael Maguire and his Blues squad have dealt with as individuals, writes BUZZ ROTHFIELD.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JUNE 26: Angus Crichton and Connor Watson of the Blues celebrate after winning game two of the men's State of Origin series between New South Wales Blues and Queensland Maroons at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on June 26, 2024 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

The thing you’ve got to admire most about the NSW State of Origin side is the manner in which coach Michael Maguire and almost half his team have overcome extreme adversity in their lives to be one game away from an unlikely series victory.

The stories of personal pain and endless setbacks that these brave Blues have had to deal with are so inspiring.

Men who have refused to give up and fought back from the toughest of individual circumstances to earn their NSW jumpers on the game’s biggest stage – dealing with issues far more painful than any crunching tackle or big hit.

We all have problems in life but the difference is elite rugby league footballers have theirs played out in public.

Payne Haas, Angus Crichton, Latrell Mitchell, Connor Watson, and Zac Lomax – think of the turmoil they have experienced over the last two years.

Haas has both his parents behind bars. His mum facing manslaughter charges, accused of causing a horrific car crash on the Gold Coast that left three dead.

Payne Haas has dealt with so much yet continues to play his best. Picture: Mark Stewart

His dad, an alleged drug trafficker, facing a possible death sentence in Indonesia.

He is now raising his two youngest brothers and a child of his own.

Then Angus Crichton. From a psychiatric facility last year, diagnosed with a bipolar disorder, to the MCG and that barnstorming performance last Wednesday night.

And the fact it was all played out in the public eye: “I had the outside world trying to figure out what the hell was going on with me,” he said in an interview in March, “It became a bit of a circus. People creating ridiculous rumours.”

The Roosters star has fought back from what some thought was potentially a career ending situation.

Maguire speaks so proudly of his players’ resilience and their durability.

He’s been through the odd crisis himself, twice sacked as an NRL head coach at the South Sydney Rabbitohs and then the Wests Tigers.

Plus the backlash from one episode of the documentary ‘Wild Wests: Tales from Tiger Town’ in which he dropped the F-bomb on 113 occasions.

Angus Crichton and Connor Watson have overcome plenty of adversity in the past few years. Picture: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

“I’ve seen and experienced adversity at all different levels … it affects your family and everyone around you.,” he says, before changing the topic back to his players.

“Caring about the people that you coach and their different issues … sometimes it’s more important than their actual footy,” he says.

“I like to talk to players about life as much as footy. If a player is to be at his best he needs to be in a good head space. I needed to understand where they’ve come from, what they’ve been through.

“I did a bit of work prior to the campaign to find out about each individual. There’s got to be a care factor about. And then a bond among the group.”

No other sporting code can throw up a drama or headline like rugby league.

And the hard-time stories in this NSW side don’t end with Haas and Crichton.

Latrell just a couple of months ago was dealing with the F-bomb tirade on Triple M, the falling out with Indigenous legend Anthony Mundine, a three week ban for the reckless cheap shot on Shaun Johnson and the hopeless form of his South Sydney team.

Spencer Leniu was wiped out for eight weeks for the racial slur in Las Vegas.

Anthony Mundine had a public feud with Latrell Mitchell.

Lomax, so disgruntled and so dirty of the world after being shunted to the wing, that he quit St George Illawarra for Parramatta.

Watson. Wow. No player has overcome such a wretched run with injuries. Had 18 months off and 10 weeks in a wheelchair.

As his Roosters coach Trent Robinson says: “Connor’s super power is his mentality. He has an ability to find a way out of the anger or the pity and turn it into positivity.”

Maguire says the negatives can be character building.

“At the end of the day all the tougher moments can definitely add to the strength of the players,” he said, “I love the challenge of bringing a group of men together and striving to do something special. That’s what this NSW team is about. We’re all there for each other.”

This mental resilience is so powerful.

And the fact they’ve already overcome bigger hurdles than the lunatic Queensland fans on Caxton Street and the fortress that is Suncorp puts the Blues in a great place for the decider.

Originally published as Monday Buzz: Suncorp Stadium is no match for the adversity NSW Blues players have already dealt with