'Heart and spirit': Slater backs Maroons for journey ahead
- FOGS
- May 28
- 4 min read
Updated: Jun 16
Queensland face repeating their 2025 heroics to claim this year's State of Origin series after a heartbreaking loss in Sydney, and coach Billy Slater has vowed the team will bounce back.
“We will pick ourselves up off the canvas,” Slater said.
“We had four guys debut for Queensland and they didn’t get the feeling they wanted in the dressing room. Hopefully we can give them that in the future.”
Game One was a heartbreaker with the Maroons leading until the final moments of the 22-20 loss to NSW as they fought gallantly for the final 23 minutes without sent-off fullback Kalyn Ponga.
Last year the Maroons also lost the series opener but bounced back with wins in Perth and Sydney.
“We now have the opportunity we had in Perth last year,” captain Cameron Munster said.
“We spoke about this last year after Game One and I think we are a lot more developed in our game now. Now we have to bite down on the mouthguard in Melbourne because they are going to get better and we are going to need to get better.
Even NSW great Andrew Johns said Ponga was hard done by to be marched after his shoulder charge on Tolu Koula.
Slater did not buy into the controversy, but he said the team could hold their collective heads high.
"I thought it was a courageous effort from our players," Slater said.
“I am heartbroken for them.
"They fought with heart and spirit and had to play 23 minutes in a State of Origin game with 12 men.
“One moment at the end of the game and it could be a different story, but it’s not.
“This is the journey we have been put on, these are the cards we have been dealt and we will be playing that hand.
Maroons selectors made inspired choices in a new-look team with debutants Jojo Fifita, Sam Walker, Max Plath and Briton Nikora all performing well.
Walker was on track for man of the match until the final minutes.
There were questions asked about Walker's defence pre-match as there were about the great Allan Langer ahead of the 1987 series.
The new Maroons No.7, like Alfie before him, answered the critics with aplomb in a highly polished display with and without the ball.
Walker set up the first two tries, initially with a crafty short kick for Robert Toia to score.
The second was more straightforward, with a pass to send recalled prop Thomas Flegler over under the sticks, but he was in exactly the right position to accept Harry Grant's expansive offload. On top of that Walker kicked superbly in general play and landed four goals from as many attempts.
Langer, who was in camp with Walker in the lead-up, was proud of his display.
“It just shows he’s up to Origin level, which is good,” Langer said.
“I just said to play his own game and enjoy himself, and he sure does. He doesn’t stress out too much about things. I just think he did his job so well.
“We’ve got Tommy Dearden injured but we know that Sammy can do the job.”
Slater had full confidence in Walker before the match and he delivered on the biggest stage.
“I thought he was great,” Slater said.
“The longer the week went on, the more confident I felt that he would play like that. He is a clever little player.
“He’s tough and he dives into all the team things but then he brings his game and unlocks players. I am looking forward to him getting more opportunities and playing more footy at this level.”
Walker was crestfallen after the match with the result, but the 24-year-old relished the Origin cauldron.
“It's obviously a pretty big occasion. I loved every minute of it and it was an awesome week but it was just disappointing we couldn't finish it off,” he said.
“I got a lot of belief from the coaching staff to be able to go out there and play my game and back what I see. I was just thinking about doing my best for the team. They instil that confidence in you.”
Plath got through a power of work at lock forward with his 44 tackles and 11 tough runs. Fifita also impressed on the wing with 159m from his 15 charges.
Another masterstroke by Slater and the selectors was the recall of winger Selwyn Cobbo who was one of the best players on the field. Asides from making 181m with the ball, the most of any player on either side, Cobbo was brilliant under the high ball and defused several tough bombs with panache.
“He was great for us,” Slater said of Cobbo.
The decision to pick red-hot Ponga at fullback was working a treat until he was sent from the field.
Ponga was carving up until he was marched.
"For it to come down to the last minute and a half, it's pretty heartbreaking.”
Slater was not blaming Ponga at all.
“He feels like he has let his team down but I have played that position and know how hard it is. I was spur of the moment and when it is wet out there things happen,” he said.
The Maroons dominated for 60 minutes of the match and will back themselves in Melbourne.
“It is natural to feel heartbroken and disappointed, but we won’t be throwing the baby out with the bath water,” Slater said.
The Maroons invited Queensland warrior Jai Arrow into camp and then to the game in the team bus as their 21st man. Arrow's heartbreaking recent motor neurone disease (MND) diagnosis devastated the rugby league world.
Slater and the team wanted to give Arrow, FOG No.196, their complete support and have clearly also been inspired by the 30-year-old's incredible courage through adversity.
The Maroons brotherhood has bound together to wrap their arms around Arrow in his difficult journey ahead, where his strong character and competitive spirit will be supported to the hilt.
