At a time when the hate is peaking in and around State of Origin football again, Leniu has emerged as the game’s most unlikely peacemaker – admitting he was “proper sorry” for his racial slur towards Ezra Mam in Las Vegas 18 months ago.
Leniu is the biggest firebrand in the NRL. His eyes-bulging, ferocious approach to the game has become his trademark and he has been at the centre of some of the biggest flashpoints in recent times, including the conflict with Mam and feud with Jonathan Thurston.
His very public and heartfelt embrace with Mam in the moments after the Perth Origin match were revealed by the Herald’s Michael Chammas and on Nine News.
But Leniu’s thoughts on the matter have remained a mystery. He put himself on a media ban not because he’s afraid to have an opinion, but rather because he knew the only questions he’s going to be asked are about Mam and Thurston.
He took a significant amount of heat out of at least one of those situations on Wednesday night. When I approached Leniu just before the Blues got on their team bus to Perth airport for their flight back to Sydney, he knew the vision of his embrace with Mam would cause a huge reaction.
He didn’t want to go over everything that has happened between the pair or reveal what was said on the night, but he did offer a few words.
“Out of respect to Ezra and I, I don’t really want to comment on it,” he said. “All I will say is that, from the start, I never wanted my apology to be public. I wanted to tell him to his face, that I never knew what that word meant to him and his family and that I’m proper sorry for bringing all that shit back up for his people. I wished him all the best and that’s that.”
Spencer Leniu and Ezra Mam embrace after Wednesday’s Origin match in Perth.
Say what you want about Leniu, but he is always straightforward with people. He is a man of his word and his story has not changed since day one. He has maintained he was not aware of the connotations of the word “monkey”.
It’s time to let him be the beast he is on the field, and it’s worth taking the time to know him off the field. He is a young man making the most of his ability to help his team and set his family up. He will make mistakes on and off the field, but there is much more good than bad with Leniu.
Origin strain starting to tell on Slater
Billy Slater was a couple of ignored offside penalties or missed conversions away from finding himself in a position where serious questions would have been asked about his future as Queensland coach.
Instead, he has been saved by his team and his brave selections after the Maroons held off a fast-finishing Blues side 26-24 to square the series in Perth.
The most telling part of Slater’s apology to the family of Paul Green on game day was that he had to make it in the first place.
It revealed he hadn’t cleared his comments the previous day – when he referenced the late former Maroons coach in a response to being called a “grub” by Aaron Woods – with Green’s wife, Amanda.
It also laid bare the pressure he was under. At a press conference designed to promote the Origin blockbuster in Perth, Slater’s emotional reaction instead took it to a dark place which did no one any good.
Slater’s apology showed considerable character.
Those close to Green in his last months weeks and days have said he felt terribly isolated and neglected by the game he loved so much. Losing big jobs can do that to even the toughest men, of which Green was one.
He fought demons throughout his post-football career due to the effects of undiagnosed CTE.
Slater’s over-reaction at the pre-match presser again proved State of Origin coaching is not for the faint-hearted, and it makes you marvel at the achievements of greats of the game like Wayne Bennett and Phil Gould.
Misstep: Maroons coach Billy Slater.Credit: Getty Images
Those hardened coaches knew how to absorb pressure, handle media, handle players and handle setbacks. Champions like Slater have dealt with difficulties on the field but not in the coaches box. It would appear the two are mutually exclusive.
Slater is a polished media performer, but at the end of the day, he was schooled by a person in Woods who has been lampooned as a reserve-grade front-rower.
Some of the things said about Woods have been highly insulting. It was Gorden Tallis who first misrepresented a story about Woods, his Triple M colleague, asking Slater for a photo with his son. Tallis got it wrong.
He should never have brought Woods’s son into the equation. He had the chance to bag Woods face to face on TV, but instead unloaded on radio where Woods had no immediate right of reply. His death stares seem to intimidate some, but wouldn’t have had any effect on Woods.
The Courier-Mail’s back page calling Spencer Leniu a ‘grub’.
Woods did introduce his son to Slater and asked him to shake Billy’s hand as they got out of a lift at a game. He did it as part of an education process most fathers do with their sons when meeting someone of note.
There is also more to Woods’ branding of Slater as a “grub” than just Slater’s at-times questionable actions as a player. The worst was not his physical actions on the field but his take-down of former Knights forward Cory Paterson, who had suffered from depression, during a game in 2010. His on-field comments at the time showed zero empathy towards those battling mental health issues.
Woods was also defending Spencer Leniu, the NSW prop branded a “grub” on the front page the Courier-Mail. That didn’t sit well with Woods as people don’t realise Leniu and Woods became friendly on a promotional trip to the United States.
Woods, Leniu, Campbell Graham and Billy Walters were sent by the NRL in late 2023 to whip up interest in the Las Vegas experiment before the first matches at Allegiant Stadium. Woods didn’t know Leniu before the trip but got to know and respect him over the week they spent in the States.
Spencer Leniu and Aaron Woods with Campbell Graham and Billy Walters on a promotional trip to Las Vegas in 2023.Credit: NRL Photos
He had Leniu’s back and while not everyone liked the attack on Slater, at least he owned it.
In the end, Slater’s side won game two and that’s what matters to him as a coach.
Zero chill: To’o’s pocket rocket fuel
If you want hard proof of Brian To’o’s incredible game-day formula for success, here it is.
At a Perth cafe on the morning of the game, To’o’s Blue buddies Jarome Luai, Stephen Crichton and Leniu were waiting for him – with five cans of Coke Zero. “And that’s his caramel latte, too,” said Luai.
Jarome Luai, Stephen Crichton and Spencer Leniu wait for pal Brian To’o at a Perth cafe with five cans of Coke Zero and a caramel latte.
This was at about 9.30am on game day. The unusual pre-match fuelling routine certainly works a treat. To’o is an absolute machine and was the Blues’ best player, scoring three tries and running for more than 200m despite pre-match injury concerns.
Afterwards, he could barely walk. He had ice on his hamstring and foot. “It’s just gout,” he joked.
Sly Fox: Reason behind Origin-bashing
The annual bash-up of State of Origin by News Corp is looking a tad embarrassing after historic ratings and full houses in Perth and Brisbane.
We regularly hear about how terrible the club football is during the Origin period, how unfair it is on fans and how the schedule has to change. Meanwhile, the TV ratings are reaching new heights.
But just think for a moment about why journalists employed by Fox Sports would want to kick Origin. The reason is because it does impact on Fox’s product. Their “every game, every week” slogan falls flat when it doesn’t include four of the four biggest games of the year: State of Origin and the NRL grand final.
If Fox had the rights to Origin, we’d hear how great it is, how under-strength teams just have to suck it up and how it’s the greatest money-maker in the code.
We all know the quality of club football does suffer as the biggest stars are cherry-picked for the interstate series, but it allows us to see some young talent in first grade that would otherwise take years to break through.
The drama-filled clash in Perth was another fantastic advert for the game.Credit: Getty Images
As well, every team knows that to win a competition, you need four or five Origin players in your team. Players improve in the environment and come back to their clubs as improved individuals.
Yes, it’s taxing. Yes, we will see upsets. But we’ve been dealing with the same issue for years and no one has come up with a better solution.
Rarely will a Fox Sports/News Corp journalist admit they are pushing the anti-Origin line on behalf of their company, but there was a slip-up before game one when it was mentioned in dispatches that Fox would prefer a different set-up. So next time you read something criticising State of Origin, just remember why it’s been pushed.
This column thinks we should embrace Origin as the showpiece it has been for the last 45 years. It’s the game that actually generates money for those who pay for the free-to-air rights, and also something the AFL is extremely envious of.
The passion and the quality of football at Origin level is mind-boggling. We are lucky to have it and should appreciate the concept.
New Blue’s jersey drama
Jacob Preston’s late call-up to the Blues side as 20th man was a huge honour for the young Bulldog, but it meant a scramble to get a jumper for game day – and more immediately for the jumper presentation evening.
The Blues had to ring the local Rebel Sports to see if they could purchase a replica jersey to hand him symbolically on the presentation evening. Fortunately, a store at Joondalup had one in stock to make do until Preston received his official jersey pre-game.
Longley goes from Bulls to Blues
The Blues did everything possible to prepare their team for Origin II, including bringing Boomers legend Luc Longley into camp.
He blew the Blues players away with his stories of his time in the NBA with the Chicago Bulls.
Isaah Yeo asked what made a good teammate. Longley told how Scottie Pippen would often notice if someone was having a rough day on the court, and put on a play to make them look good to raise their confidence.
I had the pleasure of sitting with Longley for 20 minutes or so, and he was keen to gain an Origin insight before he spoke to the team. He was very open about his life in our chat.
Cricket fan Zac Lomax had the pleasure of picking Michael Hussey’s brain at the team dinner, while Nathan Cleary was placed next to Justin Langer. The pair might well have bonded over their superior mindwork and resilience.
Maroons miffed at NSW late show
Queensland were nonplussed when the Blues were 10 minutes late for their joint media conference. But they changed the time to suit them a few days prior. They were warned the Blues may struggle with punctuality, as they trained that morning and had to eat at a certain time, given the game was the next day.
The perceived slight suited Queensland, feeding into their siege mentality. What was unknown at that time was that Cleary had injured his adductor at kicking training that morning. That caused an issue in Blues camp.
I took a video of the last kick Cleary took as I walked into training, but didn’t see him show any pain.
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