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Maroons plot response for Origin decider at Suncorp Stadium

(Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

Queensland mostly have their current coaching staff to thank for an incredible record in State of Origin deciders.

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But Harry Grant knows Maroons legends Billy Slater, Cameron Smith, Johnathan Thurston and Greg Inglis can only do so much from the sideline at Suncorp Stadium on July 13.

That quartet have been a thorn in the side of NSW as Queensland chalked up an incredible eight wins from the past nine series deciders.

Their standing as Origin greats and the knowledge Queensland will be playing at home, soothes some burns after NSW beat them to a pulp in a 44-12 Perth domination on Sunday.

The Blues made seven changes for that game, something hooker Grant doesn’t think Queensland need to follow to get a similar response in Brisbane.

Instead, they want to get the errors out of their game and vacuum as much up from their all-star coaching staff’s collective rugby league IQ to swing the tide.

“If anyone’s to sit in our meetings or listen to our coaches, we have a wealth of knowledge that’s been through everything in our game, especially in Origin and in deciders,” he said.

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“They know what it’s like. A lot of us will be looking at them, trying to get as much out of them as we can.

“They’ve probably been the ones playing them (the deciders). It’s good to have them in our corner but it won’t just happen because of that stat.

“We’ve got to make it happen.”

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Grant again came on early but this time shared the field with starting hooker Ben Hunt in a tactical shift from game one forced by the injury to Reuben Cotter.

Josh Papalii again was used briefly to bookend the game, while bench backrower Jeremiah Nanai was quiet in his second game.

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A shoulder injury for Cameron Munster and Kalyn Ponga’s concussion that will keep him out of Newcastle’s NRL clash on Friday are also issues for Slater.

Grant felt like Queensland were in the game though before errors mounted and weight of possession told in a five-try second half for NSW.

“It was a few small moments that accumulated,” he said.

“I don’t think you can question our efforts. They just played a good brand of footy.

“That’s (the prospect of changes) for Billy and the coaches but we have a really close group here and everyone’s earnt that jersey.”

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Flankly 2 hours ago
'Absolute madness': Clive Woodward rips into Borthwick in wake of NZ loss

Borthwick is supposed to be the archetypical conservative coach, the guy that might not deliver a sparkling, high-risk attacking style, but whose teams execute the basics flawlessly. And that's OK, because it can be really hard to beat teams that are rock solid and consistent in the rugby equivalent of "blocking and tackling".


But this is why the performance against NZ is hard to defend. You can forgive a conservative, back-to-basics team for failing to score tons of tries, because teams like that make up for it with reliability in the simple things. They can defend well, apply territorial pressure, win the set piece battles, and take their scoring chances with metronomic goal kicking, maul tries and pick-and-go goal line attacks.


The reason why the English rugby administrators should be on high alert is not that the English team looked unable to score tries, but that they were repeatedly unable to close out a game by executing basic, coachable skills. Regardless of how they got to the point of being in control of their destiny, they did get to that point. All that was needed was to be world class at things that require more training than talent. But that training was apparently missing, and the finger has to point at the coach.


Borthwick has been in the job for nearly two years, a period that includes two 6N programs and an RWC campaign. So where are the solid foundations that he has been building?

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