Queensland Maroons embrace the underdog status as they bid farewell to Daly Cherry-Evans in Brisbane

Queensland aren’t strangers to outsider status – nor is their captain Daly Cherry-Evans. Now, facing a fresh wave of doubters, DCE has the chance to put one last cherry on top for the Maroons and inspire an underdog series win.

It’s the 45th anniversary of State of Origin rugby league and Queensland are back where they started.

Way back in July, 1980, The Courier-Mail previewed the first State of Origin won 20-10 by Queensland with the words “the Blues look the best team on paper and Queensland will have to scrap like madmen to win it … but don’t write them off”.

We’ve seen that sentence a few times over the years and you could slot it in right here and it still perfectly catches the vibe of tomorrow night’s Origin opener at Suncorp Stadium.

Immortal Wally Lewis spoke last week of his memory of the team arriving at Suncorp (then Lang Park) for the 1980 game walking through the public bar to the change rooms.

The crowd went off when they saw the players and shouted things like, “C’mon boys, you can do this”.

Maroons fans will likely see Daly Cherry-Evans in his final Suncorp Stadium origin game. Picture: Lachie Millard

“At that stage we were all working out what State of Origin was because we hadn’t played a game and just sensing people were behind us really gave us a lift,’’ Lewis said.

Off they went to create a culture which has seen Queensland win 21 series to NSW 17 yet, curiously, often start as the underdogs they are this year.

It seems every key position in the Queensland team has some sort of shadow over it.

Is Harry Grant match fit enough? Is Daly Cherry-Evans too old? Is Kalyn Ponga in form? Is Robert Toia ready for the big time?

But Queensland’s most iconic wins have been built on the team bursting through the dense fog of allegedly being too old, too young, or simply not good enough and somehow getting the job done.

The 30th anniversary of the freakish Maroon win in 1995, when a Queensland team robbed of its Super League stars thumped New South Wales 3-0, has come at a good time for the very sight of Billy Moore, Fatty Vautin and Trevor Gillmeister talking about those days proves to the current underdogs anyone can do anything if you want it badly enough.

Cherry-Evans has been part of some iconic victories in his Origin career. Picture: Annette Dew

When the three of them got together at the Trade Coast Hotel at Pinkenba last week, match highlights of their wins in 1995 were shown on loop on in-house televisions as they spoke. It was a stirring backdrop.

Just as Gillmeister was saying “you just have to never stop competing … just keep scrambling’’ there was – by chance – footage of the first Origin game in 1995 where NSW powerhouse Terry Hill stormed over the tryline with the force of a four-wheel drive in first gear only to be somehow held up by Matt Sing, who rolled with him, Mark Hohn and Danny Moore.

It was utter desperation. The scramble of all scrambles. Ability meant nothing. Attitude everything.

You could worse than show the clip to the current side and say “forget about the game plan … just scramble like that and we win”.

This could be Queensland skipper Cherry-Evans’ final State of Origin game at Suncorp and if so, he will leave feeling the Brisbane experience delivered him every emotion – good and bad – the game had to offer.

When he first played State of Origin there were whispers his game style confused older players who would say things like “he runs across field too much”.

Cherry-Evans with the 2020 Origin shield. Picture: Chris Hyde/Getty Images

Then he was booed on to the ground after he withdrew from a long-term deal with the Gold Coast Titans way back in 2015.

Then came the glory years like two winters ago when he led the Maroons to a series clinching 32-6 win including a 50m break to set up an early try.

But the game has never stopped throwing him down challenges.

This time, since Queensland entered their training camp, there has been talk that his likely arrival at the Roosters from Manly next year could cost the team some young talent.

No lesser judge than Andrew Johns has questioned whether Cherry-Evans and the Roosters are the right fit and for most players the whole episode would scream out the word DISTRACTION.

But for more than a decade Cherry-Evans has been one of rugby league’s coolest cats. Rarely does he look rattled or fatigued.

When Cameron Munster was swapping jokes with Wally Lewis on stage at the Maroons long lunch last week, Cherry-Evans was doubled up laughing.

He takes the game in his stride.

If there could be one last cherry on top for the Maroons at Suncorp it would be a magnificent way to say goodbye.

Originally published as Queensland Maroons embrace the underdog status as they bid farewell to Daly Cherry-Evans in Brisbane