NSW Origin skipper Paul Gallen has welcomed Queensland putting a target on his head in State of Origin II, the rugged prop believing the tactic will play into the Blues’ hands.
Gallen ensured his ‘Public Enemy No.1’ status after unleashing a flurry of punches on Maroons forward Nate Myles in the series opener, with Queensland baying for revenge at Suncorp Stadium on Wednesday night.
The Blues captain said he would happily take the extra attention, especially if at allowed his teammates to thrive.
“That’s fine, if they want to target me I’ve got 16 other blokes behind me that are going to be right there with me,” Gallen said at Tuesday’s match-eve press conference.,
“If they want to concentrate on me, there’s a lot more strike power on the field than me.
“If they just want to worry about me I’ll be happy with that.”
Certainly Maroons fans are doing their best to make Gallen the centre of a hate campaign, with local radio station Nova producing a range of water bottles labelled ‘Paul Gallen Punch’, together with the slogan ‘I’ll let you go for Myles’.
With his experience and incredible work rate, Gallen is the undisputed leader of the Blues pack – the back-rower turned prop always putting his hand up for the first hit-up of the game.
Gallen said it would be no different on Wednesday night when the Blues attempt to wrap up their first Origin series win since 2005.
“I’ll be doing my best to play with a lot of energy and to get good line speed and some good touches early,” Gallen said.
“Hopefully the boys can feed off that.
“Like we did in game one, we feed off each other.”
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