The last time the Maroons tried to win in Sydney, Billy Slater was playing in his 28th home game, Val Holmes was in his debut and current assistant coach Johnathan Thurston was challenging the pain of a broken shoulder for get the winning conversion of the match in the second game. 2017.
Slater would continue to play three more Origins and would retire as one of the greatest Maroons of all time, also Thurston, whose representative career ended that night with 37 Origins in his name.
The big ‘JT’ was hoping to get an Original Swan song in the third game and then be part of the Australian World Cup campaign in late 2017, but shoulder surgery paid off those plans.
Meanwhile, Holmes is heading to Queensland for the eleventh time on Wednesday night, while Josh Papalii and Dane Gagai were also there five years ago and had a chance to break Sydney’s deception in the first game.
Five years without a win in Sydney may seem like a long drought, but with more games playing in neutral places, especially during the COVID pandemic, the streak of defeats is only three games … and it hasn’t kept rookie coach Slater awake at night. .
As much as he likes the Origin story, Slater is adamant that the 2018, 2019 and 2020 losses will have no bearing on Wednesday night’s result or his team’s psyche.
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Press conference: Billy Slater
“It’s irrelevant where we play and it’s irrelevant what happened in the past. Actions on the field will determine the outcome, “Slater said Tuesday.
“The only statistic that matters is what will happen tomorrow night. I’m sure our group will play very well, they will make their state, their families and themselves very proud.
“We have focused on what we can control and that has been our preparation. This game means a lot to so many people.
“This team has been important to me since I was a four-year-old. I had the opportunity to be one of the players who wore the shirt and inspired other people and now I have the opportunity to help our group to be those players who inspire our state. “
From his debut series in 2004, when his pursuit attempt illuminated Suncorp Stadium to his 31st and final game when he led his beloved Maroons to an 18-12 home victory. his, Slater has been a key figure in some cases. of the most important moments of Origin.
In concert with Thurston, Cameron Smith, Cooper Cronk, Darren Lockyer and Greg Inglis, he helped Queensland win eight straight series between 2006 and 2013, a record that will simply never be matched.
And while the magic moments were his trademark, the new Queensland coach said he has explained to his players the importance of one percent, the truth, the efforts that fans do not see but mean the world to the teammates.
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Open lines: DCE praises Slater’s communication
“We all have this perception that Origin is about great moments and history tells this story and this team has had very big moments in the 42 years of Origin, but the small moments are very important and we talked about that,” he said. . .
“The big moments will pass, they will come, but they will never pass if you don’t make the small moments.
“If you go out chasing the big moments, you will forget about the small ones.
“We have had a great preparation and we are all waiting for the game now. There’s a bit of stress with this job, but once we had a couple of sessions under our belt, I relaxed.
“I’ve been very comfortable since Saturday. The players have given me a lot of confidence. My job is to give them faith, but they have instilled in me a little belief and I just know they will be proud of Queensland.
“We didn’t have to dive too deep into what it meant to the Queenslanders. These players understand that and remember how they felt growing up and what that shirt meant to them.”