Queensland forwards draw line in the sand
Skipper Inglis insists the lessons have been learnt
AFTER a secret meeting between the Queensland forwards, Maroons captain Greg Inglis has backed Jarrod Wallace to rebound from his game one disappointment to play a key role in tomorrow night’s do-or-die State of Origin clash.
Inglis revealed his pack would be on a mission after coming together in camp at Sanctuary Cove to hash out a plan to beat the Blues.
Queensland was beaten in the ruck battle in Origin I in Melbourne, conceding too much ground too easily to the Blues, as front-rowers Wallace and Dylan Napa failed to make a major impact.
Origin’s all about winning the ruck and winning the forward battle. It always has been.
“They know they’ve got a challenge ahead and they do take it personally,” Inglis said of his forwards’ determination to make amends.
“I know when we came together on day one they got together as a group.
“I don’t know what’s been said in that group but I know they’re looking forward to the challenge down in Sydney.”
Starting in the front row in Melbourne, Wallace made just 43m in a lacklustre performance. Calls for his axing followed.
The Gold Coast Titans’ enforcer has vowed to make amends tomorrow night and Inglis believes he will do so.
“I back Jarrod. I know he’s going to be a different player and I know that he’s learnt from it – just like the rest of our forward pack, and the rest of our team actually,” Inglis said.
“We learnt a lot from game one and that’s why we picked them because we know they’re going to be better.”
Inglis wants to repeat his game one heroics in a match he regards as the most important he has played in the Origin arena.
“For me personally, this would be the biggest game I’ll ever play in the Queensland jersey – going in as captain and 1-0 down,” he said.
“I just need my team to play well and perform better than what we did in game one.
“It’s challenging, like every Origin game, but I’m not going to approach it any different to what I have in the last 30-odd Origins I’ve played.
“I just need everyone on my team to understand how important this game is and really play well.”
Wallace is keen to test himself against Blues prop David Klemmer, who narrowly avoided the axe ahead of the series-opener and rebounded from criticism to make 134m and get his team on the front foot.
“I don’t really understand why he was under pressure – I thought he was really New South Wales’ best forward last year over the three games,” Wallace said.
“We’ve just got to make sure we do a good job on him.
“If you let him run at you he gets his metres up and he gets a lot of post-line metres, but if we can get our line speed on him and get in his face, just to shut him down – because he’s got a good offload too.”
Napa is expected to line up for the Maroons, although a final decision will be made after this morning’s captain’s run to determine how well he has recovered from travelling.
He aggravated an old ankle problem last Friday night while playing for the Roosters, putting his Origin campaign in doubt. “Dylan’s trained well, he’s completed both sessions,” Inglis said yesterday.
“Kevvie (coach Kevin Walters) will give him every opportunity but Timmy (Glasby) has been in and out of the squad training as well (and is ready to go).”
THIS WOULD BE THE BIGGEST GAME I’LL EVER PLAY IN THE QUEENSLAND JERSEY.
GREG INGLIS