Darren Lockyer has revealed an untold story behind Queensland’s eight-year State of Origin dynasty after it was revealed the 2023 Maroons’ right edge was torn apart by Ipswich Jets during an opposed session.
The Jets – who sit bottom of the Queensland Cup ladder – scored two tries during a scrimmage session ahead of Wednesday’s State of Origin opener, infuriating Maroons captain Daly Cherry-Evans
The skipper sprayed the right-edge combination of Selwyn Cobbo (wing), Valentine Holmes (centre), and Tom Gilbert (second row).
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Maroons legend Lockyer has since made public the Mal Meninga coached side he featured in encountered similar problems.
“We’ve had opposed sessions … there was a Queensland Residents side once that towelled us up and I think maybe the Queensland under 18s might’ve put a few tries on us at some point too,” he revealed on Wide World of Sports’ QLDER.
“This is under Mal’s era when we won most of the series so maybe it’s a good omen.”
Lockyer then stated it’s likely current second-rower David Fifita was part of that 18s side.
Since the incident with Cherry-Evans and his right-edge defence, assistant coach Josh Hannay has turned it into a positive with the Blues likely to feature Stephen Crichton and Brian To’o on that side after Latrell Mitchell’s withdrawal.
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“You always get worried when practice is perfect because it can lull you into a false sense of security,” he said on Nine’s The Billy Slater Podcast.
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Wally Lewis was of a similar mindset, revealing his preference for a bad training when preparing for Origin.
“It’s something you can’t sidestep, you can’t get around it – to be honest I used to really enjoy having a not so good training session,” he said.
“The very last training session you knew you had to be at your best, you knew were a little bit dirty at yourself and disappointed in some of your teammates that you didn’t present your best possible training session to go into the game.
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“Your very last run before the game you presented your best … and knew that the players all feared failure, and there was one way to get that out of the system and that was to present their very best on the field and be able to communicate and join together as a team in your best possible way.”
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Lockyer believes Cherry-Evans’ approach to his teammates shows the strength of his leadership.
“I think the standard you walk past is the standard you accept, it’s a great call by the captain,” he said.
“Preparation is everything in Origin and if the intensity is not there or the execution is not there at training then you need to address that.
“I think it’s good from a leadership perspective for the captain to do that and then that edge was put on notice. It’s not just about having a blow up, it’s about sitting down and working out what is it we can do better.”
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