So much has been written and will be written about the greats of the current Maroon side.
There will be libraries dedicated to Johnathan Thurston, Cameron Smith will have his accounting folios and journals, Cooper Cronk will be remembered for Queensland losing when he doesn’t play.
Greg Inglis, Billy Slater, Matt Scott – the list goes on.
But while there will be tomes written about the man I want to mention, none of them will list him as a Queensland great.
That man is Paul Gallen.
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In his early Origin career, the man could be relied on to somehow conjure a penalty for Queensland. Time and time again, he would produce a mystery pass which would end up in the hands of a Queenslander.
As he matured he became a focal point, a galvanising talisman for a whole state to rally against – yet secretly I loved him.
I loved the way he fought every metre in a tackle, allowing the Queensland players time to get their defence settled. You only have to look at the yards James Tamou makes in club games after Scott runs the ball, then look at the yards Tamou doesn’t make after Gallen runs the ball.
I loved the way he would pop up in attack as a halfback and slowly pass the ball to his outside backs, only for them to be greeted by a Maroon wall.
I loved the way he was an automatic selection – he got the loyalty Queensland are famous for, despite having an average club record (Cronulla win just as many games without him as with him), and also featuring in far more Origin losses than wins.
He should be dropped for the third match to make ways for some fresh blood, but as he is a Queenslander he will be shown loyalty and allowed to farewell his home crowd – with another courageous Origin perfomance and a Queensland victory.
Thankyou, Paul Gallen.
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