Written off as “Dad’s Army”, Queensland’s stunning response suddenly has them again in sight of a more familiar tag – State of Origin champions.
Maroons skipper Cameron Smith looked every bit of his 30 years on Thursday after suffering an eye injury that will force him to miss Melbourne’s weekend NRL clash with Wests Tigers.
But after emerging as man of the match from Queensland’s ruthless 26-6 Origin II win over NSW that kept alive hopes of an eighth straight title, Smith was not feeling any pain – or his age.
One of six players in Queensland’s starting line-up on the wrong side of 30, Smith had heard the inevitable “Dad’s Army” comparisons – calls that had only got louder after NSW’s 14-6 game one victory.
However, Smith hoped Queensland had shown old dogs could be taught new tricks in their four-tries-to-one romp at Suncorp Stadium on Wednesday night.
“It was nice to show we are not a Dad’s Army, that we are still a good footy side,” said Smith, who was cleared of serious eye damage by a Brisbane plastic surgeon on Thursday.
“But we need to play better if we are going to get a victory down there.
“We set a standard for ourselves, set ourselves a challenge to go down to Sydney in a couple of weeks and replicate what we did.”
It will be a hard act to follow.
In scenes reminiscent of Trevor Gillmeister in 1995, Queensland playmaker Johnathan Thurston overcame an overnight hospital stint with severe stomach cramps to help spark the Maroons’ Origin II blitz.
“There’s shades of Gilly I suppose. But he’s a fierce competitor. I expect nothing less from Johnno,” Maroons battering ram Matt Scott said of Thurston, who set up winger Darius Boyd’s try-scoring double.
Then there was Queensland’s relentless opening.
When the Maroons jumped to a 14-0 lead after 17 minutes, NSW had made 108 tackles and just 83 metres compared to Queensland’s 31 tackles and 433m.
“You could sense it all week … but the effort was extraordinary. It was ruthless,” coach Mal Meninga said of their start.
And from what Maroons assistant Michael Hagan saw of Smith in their Origin II camp, NSW should expect more of the same in the series decider in Sydney on July 17.
Hagan believed Smith – in his second straight Origin series as Maroons captain and third overall – had emerged from Darren Lockyer’s shadow as a great leader.
“He took on more responsibility (in camp), talked more in preparation and kept it going during the game – it was a stand-out factor,” Hagan told NRL.com.
“The senior players, some who had been criticised, laid the platform, and Smithy led from the front.”
Two players who benefited from Smith’s influence were impressive debutants Daly Cherry-Evans and Josh Papalii.
“We want more,” Cherry-Evans said.
“They (NSW) want to start something after being on the bad end of it for so long but we are not going to let that happen with hopefully another performance like game two.”
But Smith added: “We are not getting too carried away. It’s one-all. We look forward to the challenge of Sydney.”
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.
It’s that time of year when Queenslanders like to remind their saner cousins south of the border that State of Origin is some form…
Jake Trbojevic opened up on what it meant to be given the Blues captaincy, admitting he was initially "overwhelmed" with the decision.
A unique way to practise thinking on your feet ahead of Origin 1... Fletch and Hindy entered the Maroons camp and chaos ensued.
This Queensland side is more improvisational, and shall I say risky. There are more mavericks, more game-breakers, some might say more of those who have a laissez-faire mentality.
The stark difference between the NSW and Queensland game plans last year was laid bare in the opening minutes of what was ultimately a…
