State of Origin III: Billy Slater dances clear of Cronk-Smith feud

Billy Slater is the captain you have when your other two captains are out of the reckoning.

Queensland’s fill-in captain Billy Slater is forced to talk about his relationship with Cameron Smith yesterday. Picture: AAP

Billy Slater is the captain you have when your other two captains are out of the reckoning. He’s welcomed ex-skipper Greg Inglis to the Queensland fold ahead of tomorrow night’s State of Origin finale but right when he’s trying desperately to distance himself from the sort of scuttlebutt that perhaps only Oprah Winfrey can get to the bottom of, the lead character in this fascinating Maroons’ melodrama, another former leader in Cam Smith, is on his way to Suncorp Stadium for a pre-match tribute that is bound to be awkward now some dirty laundry is being aired.

Should the private spats among these Maroons legends become public knowledge? Heck yes. When US president Bill Clinton recorded the audio version of his autobiography, he suggested they skip the part about his behind-the-scenes life. He said no one wanted to hear about that. Clinton was told in no uncertain terms by the producers: keep reading.

As soon as Cooper Cronk brushed Smith after the Roosters-Storm match at Adelaide Oval, and Slater emerged as a third party in the most unlikely breakup of men since One Direction, the cracked relationships have been worth investigating simply because of the gravitas of the people involved.

If the Maroons trio of Dane Gagai, Corey Oates and Tim Glasby have fallen out, no one gives a hoot. But Slater, Smith and Cronk are part of Origin history. And so their full and frank histories need to be documented. Whether or not we should be talking about slanging matches between WAGS and rocky relationships on the eve of Origin III is a moot point. Because it’s all anyone is talking about.

For Slater, there’s no escaping Smith — literally. Smith will appear on the field at Suncorp Stadium tomorrow night before Slater leads the Maroons from the tunnel. There will be an on-field presentation recognising Smith’s 42-game Origin career before a big-screen tribute is shown to Slater ahead of his 31st and final appearance. The greatest fullback of all is an inexperienced leader but it matters little because he only needs to do it once for the road … while the melodrama continues to play out around him.

It’s been reported that Slater and Smith have become strained after a dispute between Slater’s wife Nicole and Smith’s partner Barbara. Slater is said to have reached out to Smith to soothe tensions. Smith is said to have kept him at arm’s length, the sort of length Cronk has kept Smith at with the cold handshake he provided in Adelaide.

Meanwhile, back at the footy, Inglis has joined the Maroons camp but Slater isn’t interested in quizzing him about the art of being a captain. Because all Slater wants to do is what he normally does. Set the joint alight from fullback. Yap constantly in an effort to organise the defence of those around him. Chime into the attack like a bullet while the halves pairing of Daly Cherry-Evans and Cameron Munster call the real shots.

“I’m going to go out there and do my job,” Slater says. “I haven’t spoken about captaincy with anyone, really. I’ve learnt a lot as a captain just watching Cam and playing under Darren Lockyer. They’re great leaders of men and I will work it out myself. It’s good to have Greg in camp, that’s for sure, but our preparation is pretty much done.”

“Today is a day off so the boys just want to relax and get away from footy. We’ll go to Brisbane (from the Gold Coast) today and it gets pretty serious this afternoon. I hope I can play my part for the team. That’s my role. I’ve always contributed as much as I can and this is no different. I won’t try and be someone I’m not or try and do someone else’s job because I’m captain. I want to perform my role and hopefully we have 17 contributors and we come away with the win. That’s the ideal scenario.”

Slater has hailed Cherry-Evans’ input in his return to the Maroons after a three-year exile caused by his own falling out with senior figures.

“From what I’ve seen the last seven days, he’s really confident with what he can bring to the team. I think he can play in that No 7 jersey for a long time,” Slater says. “For a guy like Daly to come in with a bit of experience, he’s jumped straight into a leadership role. He’s been really impressive.”