In the lead up to State of Origin matches, coaches traditionally invite former champions into camp, or celebrities who have made good from their home state.
Two stories sum up the essential difference between NSW and Queensland in terms of commitment to the cause: the Blues’ false bravado versus the Maroons’ deep-felt fealty.
Before last year’s deciding Origin match in Brisbane, the Blues were in camp in Kingscliff. Chris Johns, a former NSW centre who played the majority of his career with the Broncos after leaving St George, joined Brad Fittler’s team for dinner. Johns, who owns a successful car wash franchise in Brisbane with former Australian wicketkeeper Ian Healy, sniffed an ambush. He asked Fittler if he could address the team, a request Freddy hesitatingly agreed to, an understandable reaction given Johns shoots from the hip.
“Listen you blokes,” said Johns, a man who loves a schooner and could never deny anyone the same joy, “I see you are having a good time but I live in Brisbane and they are setting up a massive ambush.” (This was the Suncorp match where the Cowboys Tom Dearden was drafted in to replace five eighth Cameron Munster who tested positive to COVID-19).
“The crowd will be screaming for your blood and the Queensland players will get off on it.”
NSW five-eighth Jarome Luai interjected to ask, “You don’t think we can win?”
Jarome Luai can only look on during Queensland’s “ambush” victory in last year’s series decider in Brisbane.Credit: NRL Photos
Johns responded to the effect: “No, I think you can win but I’m just warning you they are setting up to shock you”.
The Panther’s pivot responded confidently, “We’ll beat them.”
As the group left the function room, Luai invited more karmic comeuppance, calling out to Johns, “We’ll win.”
Luai followed with a derisive, “Look at you in your fancy jacket”, to which the former Kangaroo and double premiership player replied, “If you win, I’ll post it to you.”
Johns kept his jacket. Queensland won the decider 22-12.
Compare this with the attitude of Dallas Johnson, a lightweight tackler who played 12 Origin games for Queensland between 2006-09. One Origin eve, Maroons coach Mal Meninga took his team to the home of broadcaster Alan Jones, who was born and educated in Queensland.
Jones lived in ‘The Toaster’ building across from the Sydney Opera House. He catered for the team, a generous gesture given that anyone watching footballers attack a spread quickly realises humans are not so advanced from the rest of the animal kingdom.
Unfortunately, Dallas (not the one from Wests who once ate an entire platter of spicy meatballs) succumbed to food poisoning.
Dallas Johnson said of playing for Queensland: “My biggest fear was letting my teammates down and also letting the state down.”Credit: Fairfax
“The power went out for a while but I was the only one who got crook,” Johnson recalled. “I spent the rest of the night vomiting with diarrhoea and was only a bee’s dick away from pulling out.
“The day of the match, Mal came to see me and I told him how crook I was. I looked up at him with those big bushy eyebrows and he said, ‘You’ll be right, eh?’ And I said, ‘I’ll be right, Mal.’”
Johnson can’t recall the year but it was probably 2007, when the Maroons won 10-6 and clinched the series, with Johnson playing 77 minutes and earning two Dally M points of the three possible.
Johnson says, “My biggest fear was letting my teammates down and also letting the state down.”
At a time in our history when too many athletes and entire teams have long forgotten the concept of home, and too many children have never known it, the Queensland players understand their attachment to their state.
Coach Billy Slater has reinforced it with home post codes patched on their jumpers. He takes them to Brisbane’s Caxton Street Hotel, some still in their football gear, rather than dress up in a suit and accompany the QRL board to a post-game dinner.
Sure, Penrith is home to Luai and many of his fellow Panthers, but is NSW?
Home can be a place where you kicked a football with your kids, long after you left the neighbourhood for another suburb or state. It endures in your memory and comforts you on a return visit, reinforced by the respect of rekindled relationships.
“Home game” is more than a geographical entitlement. Accor Stadium is a place where the NSW players can pause and peruse the vast blue sea of people on Wednesday night and understand that they have a state on their side too, and reciprocate the passion accordingly.
Watch State of Origin exclusively live and free on Channel 9 and 9Now.
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