Maroons have history on side to beat Blues and bookies

Queensland will have to overcome the Blues and the bookies if they are to kick off the State of Origin series with a win in Adelaide

Maroons hooker Jake Friend passes the ball at Queensland’s captain's run at CBUS Super Stadium on the Gold Coast Picture: Getty Images

The bookmakers and most of the pundits – at least those with a NSW bent – suggest Queensland need a miracle. Queensland Rugby League chair Bruce Hatcher responds to the damnation of the Maroons by pointing to the past 40 years and the belief that comes from upsetting the oddsmakers on more than one occasion.

“Some people don’t believe the Queensland way and what it means to pull on a Queensland jersey – but they haven’t been in close proximity (to the team),” Hatcher said.

“They are more than a football team. It is all about doing their best for the people of Queensland. I went every year religiously.

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“You would go home (before Origin) with your chin on the ground. Then when Artie (Beetson) led them out 40 years ago we just had hope.

“If I could go every year and see Queensland win 3-0, I would never get bored.”

NSW will start the Origin series on Wednesday night in Adelaide as the shortest-priced favourites to win the opening game since betting on the interstate rivalry began more than 20 years ago.

The are prohibitive odds to win the series as well, the odds tumbling as Queensland lose one player after another. On Tuesday, centre Brenko Lee sent the latest scare through the Maroons camp as he limped off the training track with a calf problem.

There are concerns over utility Kurt Capewell. Hymel Hunt spent time in the centres in place of Lee and will be on standby to make his Origin debut if Lee is scratched.

“It wasn’t serious, Lee just felt something (in his calf),” Bennett said.

“I expect them both (Lee and Capewell) to play. It is a big challenge for the centres but I feel Brenko is the best guy to handle it.

“He is football savvy and mature, he also has Felise Kaufusi defending inside of him and he is as good as anyone in the game there.

“So that will help Brenko as well. I am confident without being over confident. It’s a tough game Origin and the other team will be up for it.

“We have trained well and we have no regrets about what we have done. I have faith in the quality of players here. We have been beaten 3-0 in a series before, that can happen, but this is about the present and a little bit about the future as well.

“There are eight or nine new players and another five in the 27-man squad who haven’t played Origin so we have to get them up to speed like we did in previous years when we have had these moments over 40 years.

“We just have to handle it.”

Queensland’s centre pairing is likely to be emblematic of the wider malaise that has inflicted the Maroons as the code experiments with Origin at the end of the season. Few would have imagined Lee or Hunt for that matter making their Origin debut before the season began. Yet here they are.

There is a menacing look to the forward pack. They have quality in the spine, most notably with Cameron Munster and Daly Cherry-Evans.

Halves aside, Queensland’s greatest strength likely lies with their brain’s trust. Between them, Bennett and Mal Meninga have towered over Origin.

They have won more series than anyone could care to remember. They know what it takes to beat the odds, even odds as lopsided as those that will be available for punters in the lead-up to Wednesday night.

They have an unwavering faith in the players who pull on the Maroons’ jersey. So does Hatcher. He has watched Queensland overcome insurmountable odds before.

He expects them to do it again.

“In my career I can remember some of the best wins were when we couldn’t win,” Hatcher said.

“It all comes together under the coaching and leadership of three outstanding coaches (Bennett, Meninga and assistant Neil Henry).

“My view is the coach does have an influence particular when you are young. You look for strong leadership and they are three of the best.

“I like a lot about them for some reason.”