Before flying south to enemy territory on Monday, Queensland’s spine members and three of the greatest players of the modern era held a summit meeting on the training field in their Sanctuary Cove haven.
What happened next showcased how capable the Maroons are of winning a State of Origin clean sweep and putting NSW to the sword in game three of the series in Sydney on Wednesday night.
The Maroons will unleash Harry Grant as starting hooker, rather than bring him off the bench to replace Ben Hunt, and have devised a specialised game plan to get new fullback AJ Brimson into the game.
Before Monday’s training session started Maroons legends Johnathan Thurston, Cameron Smith and Billy Slater joined all six spine members – Brimson, Cameron Munster, Daly Cherry-Evans, Hunt, Grant and 18th man Tom Dearden – in a deep and meaningful pow wow.
Maroons coach Slater and his two assistants, three of the sharpest rugby league minds to lace a boot, passed on their wisdom to the next generation.
Slater drove the training drills that followed like a man possessed. He kept repeating “we play free flowing football” as the players went through their paces. Grant was slick out of dummy-half and Brimson chimed in with precision.
Game three could get close. That’s why Slater had his men prepare for a nailbiter. “It’s 20-all with two minutes left,” the coach said, as Grant positioned Cherry-Evans and Munster to slot field goals.
When asked about the spine chemistry after the session, Cherry-Evans said it was still a work in progress.
“A focus of how we play our footy is laying a foundation but then connecting as a spine. We talk about our footy a fair bit and with Harry starting I guess it is just going to give it a different look to start the game,” he said.
“Make no mistake. We are just trying to improve on what we have been doing (as a spine). It has been good, but not elite just yet.
“We know how crafty Harry is. He is a fantastic player. You could probably argue his best days are in front of him, which is crazy to think.”
Brimson will bring a different dimension to the suspended Reece Walsh at No.1.
“We are not just going to put AJ in and expect AJ to do Reece’s job. We have got AJ in because Billy and the selectors believe he is ready to be our fullback,” Cherry-Evans said.
“It is really important we connect as a spine and bring AJ into the game with his best strengths.”
