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NSW Blues player Tariq Sims knows how tough it will be to gain favour with a North Queensland crowd when State of Origin I is played in Townsville.
Tariq Sims spent four years of his NRL career playing in Townsville and knows better than most how deep the hatred runs for NSW during State of Origin time up there.
NRL CEO Andrew Abdo will confirm at a press conference at 3.45pm AEST that Queensland Country Bank Stadium will host the series opener on June 9, instead of the MCG, leaving the Blues to digest the thought of playing the first two games of the series in enemy territory.
Second-rower Sims made his NRL debut for the Cowboys in 2011 and left at the end of 2014, a good four years before he pulled on a Blues jersey.
And still he felt the heat from the Maroons-crazed locals.
“They’re mad. They’re mad as cut snakes for football in North Queensland,” Sims told AAP.
“That’s one of those things that I admired about them actually.
“Is how much rugby league is a religion to them… Playing in front of some pretty passionate fans up there… that will be interesting.”
The opening match of the series has been forced to move Melbourne as Victoria deals with its latest COVID-19 outbreak.
It’ll be the first time since 2017 that either NSW or Queensland has hosted two matches of the series, but the first time since 1982 a state has hosted the opening two games.
In both cases Brisbane was the host city.
Adding to the worry is the Blues’ poor record in Queensland, winning just 19 of 59 games in the state, including just two of the past 14.
A Townsville game is a big boost for Queensland but coach Paul Green is not getting carried away in the lead-up to his maiden Origin match in charge.
“It is good to have the home crowd on your side; it creates an atmosphere but it doesn’t put points on the board for you,” he said on Monday.
“It’d be enormous for Townsville but they don’t make the tackles for you or score the tries.”
© AAP
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