State of Origin 2021: Maroons coach Paul Green hoping Game I isn’t ruined by sin-bins
Jarome Luai and Brian To’o have been brilliant for Penrith – but that counts for nothing when they make their Origin debut for NSW, says Queensland coach Paul Green.
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Queensland coach Paul Green has appealed for the NRL not to ruin State of Origin by sin-binning players for high shots as he played mind games with the Blues ahead of the series opener on Wednesday night.
Green is revelling in the theatre of Origin in his debut as Queensland coach.
The premiership-winning mentor labelled the Maroons underdogs as he turned up the heat on Blues debutants Jarome Luai and Brian To’o.
The Maroons mentor then applied the blowtorch to ARL Commission boss Peter V’landys and NRL hierarchy, imploring match officials not to allow Origin I and the series to be marred by a spate of sin-bins.
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NRL head of football Graham Annesley insists there will be zero tolerance for high shots on Wednesday night, but Green wants the Origin opener to be decided by the players, not overzealous refereeing.
“If you take the hitting of the head issue to the side, we would hate to see an Origin decided by an innocuous, incidental contact to the head,” he said.
“Safety aside, I don’t think we want to see an Origin game or a series decided by decisions like that.
“It’s very difficult to play Origin. It’s hard enough playing with 13 men, we have the best players out there and when teams get down to 12 or even 11 ... that would go a long way to deciding the outcome of (an Origin) game.
“Part of Origin is the collisions and the contact and the aggressive side of it, all legal (tackles) I am talking about, too.
“That makes Origin special so I would hate to see that go out of the game.
“It is a concern, but it’s out of my control. I can’t waste too much energy on it. It’s an awareness thing. (The players) have to be extra cautious if that’s the right way to put it.”
Green played seven Origin games between 1999-2001 and is acutely aware of the baptism in-form Panthers duo Luai and To’o are about to confront as NSW greenhorns.
While conceding Luai and To’o have been outstanding for Penrith, Green says superb club form is no guarantee of success in the Origin arena.
“Different people have made debuts where they have killed it and some guys have found that they just haven’t got themselves into the game,” Green said.
“How it pans out (on Wednesday night) for him (Luai) I’m not sure.
“It is certainly a step up and until you experience it, it’s another level up playing Origin.
“I’m not saying he (Luai) is going to be up to it or not up to it, but it’s a step up so we’ll see what happens.”
Maroons winger Kyle Feldt will oppose To’o and at 192cm, he is 10cm taller than the Blues rookie. Green warned To’o to brace for an aerial raid.
“He (To’o) has had mixed results under the high ball so that’s an area for us,” Green said. “Both our wingers are good under the high ball so either side there is an opportunity for us.
“He (To’o) has been a great player at club level and he has been one of the form players of the competition, that’s why he got selected. He will look to do what he does well. It’s about us trying to counteract that and limit his opportunities.”
The Maroons enter the series as defending champions but Green insists the Blues are in the box seat following Queensland’s injury dramas.
“We are the underdogs,” he said. “We have had a disrupted preparation and on paper they are a better team. They probably feel they let one slip last year (losing 2-1) so they’ve got a fair bit of pressure on themselves, too.”
THE LARRIKIN TIPPED TO BE NEXT MAROONS CAPTAIN
By Peter Badel
Daly Cherry-Evans has anointed Cameron Munster as Queensland’s next captain, declaring the Maroons five-eighth maestro is the most instinctive player he has seen in his glittering 10-year career.
The Maroons have received a huge boost with Munster overcoming the odds to be cleared of a foot injury for Wednesday night’s Origin opener against the Blues at Townsville’s Queensland Country Bank Stadium.
While Cherry-Evans is Queensland’s standout choice as skipper, the veteran Maroons playmaker believes it is only a matter of time before he passes the captaincy baton to Munster in the code’s toughest arena.
Munster terrorised the Blues in last year’s series, withstanding knee-ligament damage to win the Wally Lewis Medal, an achievement that Cherry-Evans believes demonstrated the larrikin pivot’s leadership qualities under pressure.
“He wouldn’t let Queensland down if he was to succeed me as captain,” the 32-year-old Cherry-Evans said.
“Last year our senior playing group was me, Jake Friend, ‘Papa’ (Josh Papalii) and ‘Munny’.
“‘Friendy’ is retired and Papa is nearly as old as me (30 next May), so I think Munster can be an Origin captain one day.
“I don’t think it’s an issue that he hasn’t captained Melbourne yet.
“In this arena, with what Cam brings to the team, I just know how respected he is and the players look up to him when he speaks.
“He knows the game back to front.”
Munster plays his 11th game for Queensland on Wednesday night, but it is a tribute to his humility that in the lead-up to last year’s series, he privately asked his closest confidantes: “Do you think I’m good enough to play Origin?”
As his halves partner, Cherry-Evans insists Munster should have no fears about his Origin bona fides, rating him without peer in terms of instinct.
That is a massive call considering Cherry-Evans has played Origin alongside Maroons legends Johnathan Thurston, Cameron Smith and Greg Inglis and won an NRL premiership at Manly with Kieran Foran.
“Cam is one tough bloke, he’s the Origin specialist,” Cherry-Evans said with a laugh.
“I would have to say Cam is the most instinctive player I have ever played alongside.
“He just plays eyes-up footy. Sometimes I don’t think he knows what he plans to do next, but that’s the best part because how would the other teams game plan for him?
“He is just a free-flowing style of player but it’s balanced with this extreme competitiveness. It’s a really good blend.
“In the team room, whether it’s cards or table tennis, he wants to win every time. He is that sort of dude.
“I was lucky enough to play with guys like Billy (Slater), ‘JT’ (Thurston) and Cam Smith and they were super competitive and Munny has that in him.
“He just has that fire inside ... he brings a special vibe into Queensland camp.”
Munster plays down suggestions he is born for the big stage.
“I have been very lucky with the players around me and I’ve had some good leaders around me, particularly at Melbourne,” he said.
“I have been hanging around the ‘Big Three’ (Smith, Cooper Cronk and Slater) for the past five or six years and I’ve had Craig Bellamy as coach as well.
“I wouldn’t say I’m made for big games, I just go into big games backing my ability and backing what I have done and it’s worked for me.
“Last year was a crazy moment for myself, but I would rather play a shit game and us win the series and I’d be a happy man.
“I don’t go out there in Origin games for the accolades, I just try and do my job for the team and the state and I’ll be doing everything I can on Wednesday night to make sure we have the same feeling we had last year.”
FROM HATED QUEENSLAND EXILE TO MAROONS SAVIOUR
Daly Cherry-Evans has opened up about the pain of being hated by Maroons fans with the skipper claiming last year’s epic boilover of the Blues helped him win back the faith of the Queensland people.
Cherry-Evans will lead out the Maroons to resounding cheers at a sold-out Queensland Country Bank Stadium in Origin I on Wednesday night, but there was a time when he was public enemy No.1 in his own state.
In a nightmare two-week period in 2015, Cherry-Evans sensationally reneged on his planned move to the Titans, then was axed by the Maroons after Queensland’s 26-18 loss in Game Two at the MCG.
For the next three years, Cherry-Evans found himself in Origin exile, a pain compounded by the crushing moment he was booed by Queensland when he led Manly onto Suncorp Stadium for a club game against the Broncos.
But his fightback to win the Maroons’ No.7 jumper, coupled with his epic title-winning breakthrough as Origin captain last year, has convinced Cherry-Evans he has finally won over the Queensland public ahead of this year’s series opener.
“There’s no doubt for me I went through a difficult time with the Queensland team and the fans,” Cherry-Evans said.
“Last year (captaining Queensland to a 2-1 series victory) was really special for me.
“It was made a lot more special with the journey I had taken ... falling out of the Queensland side and I fell out of favour with the fans and the people of Queensland.
“As you go through your career you face some challenges. I was dropped at one point (by the Maroons) and I’ve been booed by fans at Suncorp.
“There are moments in time where you can sway the opinions of people. My first game back in 2018 for Game Three ... the series was lost but I helped us win that game and that for me was a step in the right direction from the public perception battle I was having.
“So when I held that Origin shield up last year, it was the moment where I felt I won back some support from the Queensland fans.”
Amid the injury drama that has engulfed Queensland over the past week, the one selection certainty has been Cherry-Evans, who will start his eighth consecutive game as Maroons halfback on Wednesday night.
There is talk Cherry-Evans is under siege from NSW rival Nathan Cleary for the Australia No.7 jumper, but the 32-year-old is so pleased with his form he believes he can be an Origin force beyond his 35th birthday.
Cherry-Evans’ Manly deal expires at the end of 2023 but he hopes to be in Queensland and Sea Eagles colours for another term in 2024.
“As you get more experience and the way I see things now is way clearer than three or four years ago,” he said.
“I have three years left. I know I have to uphold my end of the bargain and play good football, but I am pretty confident I can play well enough to see out my contract and maybe a few more years.
“I’d like to think I can play on. I’m optimistic. I know things can change quickly. I would like to think I can sign one more deal.
“Cam Smith played until 37, he is a bit of a unicorn, but it’s not too uncommon for players to play until their mid-30s now.
“I don’t think that’s out of reason.”
Of the Cleary threat, he said: “It’s not for me to rank who is No.1 and No.2. I have a lot of respect for the way Nathan has played, but I haven’t been disappointed in my performances as well.
“You guys go ahead, you can rank us, but I’m loving footy and the opportunity to play for Queensland again.”
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