Queensland Origin officials have defended the decision to avoid kicking off to Blues wrecking ball Spencer Leniu on Wednesday night, insisting it was “smart business” rather than “weak”.
TV cameras captured Leniu mouthing profanities and throwing his arms in the air in frustration after Val Holmes spotted him come on to the field at the half-hour mark, then aimed his kick-off towards the opposite side away from the Roosters prop.
It denied a fired-up Leniu – one of the game’s most destructive front-rowers – the chance to run the ball hard back at the Queensland defence and deprived viewers of a contest that had been eagerly anticipated due to the simmering tensions between Leniu and Queensland fans.
The 24-year-old was painted as NSW’s biggest villain because of his sideline run-in with Maroons legend Johnathan Thurston at Suncorp Stadium six weeks earlier. Local newspaper The Courier Mail ran a photo of Leniu on their back page the day before the game with the headline, “Smash This Blues Grub”.
Former NSW firebrand Willie Mason claimed Queensland had been “shit scared” after watching Leniu run over the top of NSW teammate Max King in the Roosters’ match against Canterbury a week earlier. In that same game, Leniu took another kick-off carry and knocked out Daniel Suluka-Fifita.
Spencer Leniu runs it hard back at the Maroons on Wednesday.Credit: Getty Images
“To him [Leniu], it’s like, ‘You don’t even have the balls to kick it to me’, Mason said on his Levels podcast. “You called him out, a call to arms if you will, and then you kicked it the other way. Yuck.”
However, Maroons assistant coach Josh Hannay said it made sense to avoid Leniu because he was so damaging when coming off the back fence. He said Queensland also tried to avoid kicking to where Payne Haas was standing.
“It’s not weak to do that, it’s smart – it’s smart business to try and take away someone’s strength,” Hannay said.
“Our tactic was to take the smartest kick-off, which is commonplace. I don’t think we kicked off to Payne Haas either. It was also no different to [us asking], ‘Do you kick high to Zac Lomax, or kick high to Brian To’o?’ You take the smartest kick.”
Spencer Leniu celebrates the Blues’ game one victory.Credit: Getty Images
Hannay said Leniu’s name had barely been mentioned in the lead-up to game one, despite the blizzard of media coverage about the perceived disrespect he had shown to Thurston.
“It’s State of Origin, you don’t need to get into every camp and manifest this hatred for NSW or any individuals,” Hannay said.
“The media do a good enough job for that. The Blues are the same, and they don’t need to fire up any of their blokes to hate us. The rivalry is set in stone.”
In fact, the Maroons were far from the first team to kick to the opposite side of the field to deny Leniu a full head of steam off the back fence.
Premiers Penrith, where Leniu won three premierships, have also made a point of giving Leniu a wide berth when kicking off three times in two games he has been on the field.
The Dolphins avoided kicking off to Leniu during Magic Round, as did the Broncos on the two occasions Leniu was in a position to receive the ball in round six. The Dragons, however, kicked off to Leniu five times on Anzac Day. Leniu’s Roosters won that match 46-18.
It remains to be seen what Canberra do on Sunday, when they meet Leniu and the Roosters on Sunday evening.
Blues prop Haas knew Leniu was upset when he was denied the first carry after coming on. “I saw that on the big screen, and that’s ‘Spennie’,” Haas said. “He wears his heart on his sleeve. He’s so powerful – I haven’t seen anyone as powerful as him – and I’m happy he’s in my team.”
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