By Nick Wright
Legendary Queensland Maroons coach Paul “Fatty” Vautin has declared Billy Slater will return to the State of Origin furnace a more formidable mentor, and implored him to take heed of the 1995 side he famously steered to victory.
After a storied start to his career in the Maroons’ hot seat, Slater suffered his first series defeat last year – his side beaten on physicality following the losses of star forwards Tino Fa’asuamaleaui, Thomas Flegler and Tom Gilbert.
While that disparity was covered in game one, when New South Wales centre Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii was sent off seven minutes into the contest, it could not be repeated in a 38-18 game two defeat, nor the 14-4 decider.
Paul Vautin and Craig Teevan embrace.Credit: Glenn Shipley
But Vautin believes Slater has the talent pool to rectify 2024’s failings.
After 64 minutes in their gruelling game three loss, the Maroons led 4-0, despite finishing with just 44 per cent of the possession, while making 98 more tackles defending in their half for 67 per cent of the game.
Vautin’s 1995 “Neville Nobodies” – stripped of talent during the Super League era – were built on defence, their 2-0 series triumph a remarkable clean sweep.
And he called on this year’s Maroons’ prospects to learn from those exploits 30 years ago.
“I hope at some stage during the year, the players that he picks get to mingle with these guys. My job was simple, but what they did was incredible,” Vautin said.
“What they did was give every possible thing within themselves to run as hard as they could for as long as they could, and tackle and tackle and tackle.
“We won that series on defence – we worked so hard on our on-line defence. Every single session we would finish with 15 or 20 minutes of defence.
“If Billy gets his defence right, he has so much talent in that team that they can do whatever they want. It is courage, determination and will – that is what Origin is all about.”
While Fa’asuamaleaui and Gilbert are expected to return from ruptured ACLs at the launch of the NRL campaign, Flegler will remain sidelined with nerve damage in his shoulder until at least mid-year.
But Slater’s line-up will still remain a mystery, with several men to put their hands up throughout the opening rounds to unseat the incumbents.
Dolphins recruit Kulikefu Finefeuiaki, versatile teammate Max Plath, and Gold Coast edge forward Beau Fermor headline the contenders, while David Fifita will be determined to earn a recall after his shock omission.
When Slater was questioned last year on why Fifita – whose 122 tackle busts in 2024 were the most by any forward – was left out, he alluded to “standards” he had failed to reach.
There were concerns the 24-year-old – who has donned the Maroons jumper eight times – would not be fit to open the Titans’ season after ankle surgery, but Maroons enforcer and Gold Coast teammate Moeaki Fotuaika issued a warning to the rest of the competition.
“He’s back to full training now. I think at the start of preseason he was having a few niggling injuries with it, and it wasn’t coming right. But once he pushed through that pain, he was back to full training,” Fotuaika said.
“He’s definitely come back in a lot better shape – this is probably the best he’s come back. He’s always got a high standard for himself … he’s harder on himself than anyone else, so I’m excited for him to have a big year, and I know he will.”
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