Captaincy ‘never on radar’ for Slater

NEW Queensland skipper Billy Slater says he never thought he would captain his state, let alone do it in his final Origin match.

Speaking for the first time since he was handed the captaincy for Game Three at Suncorp Stadium, the retiring fullback said he had been left humbled by the chance to lead Queensland next week.

The opportunity for Slater came after Greg Inglis broke his thumb on Sunday, in what will be just the second time the veteran has captained a team across his entire career.

Slater led Melbourne in one game earlier this year following the suspension of Cameron Smith.

And it is because of his longtime teammate Smith’s presence that Slater felt he would never get the chance to be a captain, especially at state level.

“To be perfectly honest, it’s never been on my radar,” Slater said of the captaincy.

“I’ve never been ambitious about being a captain. I don’t know whether that’s just because I’ve always had Cameron in my team.

“I suppose my leadership has evolved as it naturally does for people in their career.

“My game doesn’t change, my approach doesn’t change.

“It’s going to be special … There’s been some great leaders (of) this team and I’ve been behind a few of them – Cameron Smith, Darren Lockyer and Greg (Inglis).

“They’ve done a great job leading this state.

“Hopefully we can really get something out of this series.”

While Slater cannot finish his Origin career with a series victory – with NSW wrapping things up in Game Two – there is a lot of hope he can at least finish up with a win in front of his home crowd.

The 35-year-old said he was soaking up everything his last Origin camp had to offer, starting with yesterday’s fan day in Hervey Bay.