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New coach Walters predicts Origin tryfest

29th March, 2016
6

New Queensland coach Kevin Walters believes the eight-interchange era could result in a barrage of points in this year’s State of Origin series.

While the Maroons poured on the points in last year’s decider at Suncorp, most contests in the interstate arena have been closely-fought affairs.

This especially rings true in series openers, where neither side has been able to score more than 20 points in game one of a series in the last five years.

However Walters said that could change in this year’s opening game on June 1.

“The players will have adapted a lot better, but I still think with the speed and the pace of Origin, that there’ll be even more scoring opportunities,” he said.

“And that’s what you want to see too, from a fan point of view, which is what Origin is about at the end of the day – the passion of the fans.

“I think they’d like to see more tries around the place if we can get that going.”

The NRL’s penchant for increasing fatigue – the bunker has also slashed break times during matches – is likely to ensure both teams will carry a supersub in game one of this year’s series.

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Queensland have often selected the likes of Daly Cherry-Evans and Michael Morgan in recent years, while NSW coach Laurie Daley has already admitted he would abandon his philosophy of having four forwards.

“It’s a bit scary, isn’t it, for the players. They’re the ones that are going to be out there slugging away,” Walters said.

“After 10 rounds in the NRL, most players would adjusted a lot better to what they have at the moment.

“But Origin is such an exhausting game, and so fast, you would think that there would be even more opportunities for a player like Michael Morgan, to come on and find some spaces there that he wouldn’t normally find at that level.”

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