Blues Origin predicted team: Maguire set to overhaul squad in search of winning combination
New coach Michael Maguire is considering as many as 50 players for the State of Origin series opener with not even captain James Tedesco…
Outgoing Queensland playmaker Johnathan Thurston has stuck the boot into NSW’s culture in the wake of coach Laurie Daley’s axing.
The NSWRL board on Friday opted not to renew Daley’s contract after Queensland came from one-nil down to clinch what appeared to be an unwinnable series.
Daley’s leadership was questioned after it was revealed Josh Dugan and Blake Ferguson were drinking at a Lennox Head pub just five days out from the State of Origin decider.
The NSWRL have been forced to defend their decision not to put the players on a tighter leash on their day off.
Thurston, who only played game two of the series because of a shoulder injury and has retired from representative football, said the Dugan-Ferguson incident showed a lack of respect and leadership.
“We get put in the same situation as well with Kevvie (Walters) and Mal (Meninga) before him, where on our days off they trusted us to do the right thing and basically treated us like adults,” Thurston told Triple M.
“With that trust, it’s a mutual respect between the coaching staff and the players.
“That’s the difference in the culture, I believe when the coaching staff give you those days off you do it in the right way and in the right manner.
“Some of the boys will go play golf, some of the boys go sit at a cafe or whatever.
“But certainly we’re not on the piss five days out from a game.”
Reckon you can pick the winning team? Build your own dream team with Draftstars daily fantasy and compete on any match. For great odds on the NRL head on over to PlayUp. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.
New coach Michael Maguire is considering as many as 50 players for the State of Origin series opener with not even captain James Tedesco…
Queensland often has the right mix of generational talent, playmaking brilliance and these nuts-and-bolts players that bind them together like glue.
Despite a poor season by his own high standards, Latrell Mitchell is still a chance to force his way into the NSW team for…
Michael Maguire is saying all the right things about how he wants to guide NSW back to State of Origin supremacy but the inescapable…
Wayde Egan's rise to star hooker status at the Warriors should earn him a place in conversation to play at No.9 for NSW in…
Hilton Cartwright and Joel Paris have powered Western Australia to a five-wicket win over NSW in the one-day cup final, securing a historic third…