Harry so flash in great debut
HARRY Grant has answered Queensland’s prayers as the long-term Maroons No.9 with a scintillating display on debut in Suncorp Stadium’s decider.
It took Wayne Bennett just 24 minutes and 30 seconds before deciding to throw the Yeppoon product into the foray of Origin footy and he didn’t disappoint.
It was a performance that was reminiscent of Queensland’s former No.9 great – Cameron Smith – and the parallels between the two are uncanny.
Smith played 18 first grade games before making his Origin debut at Suncorp Stadium, and the rest as they say are history.
Seventeen years later, and with 17 first grade games under his belt, Grant made sure he will remain in the Queensland team for many more years to come.
After warming to the game in the first half with some exciting dummy-half runs, the 22-year-old lit it up in the second half.
The electric hooker had two linebreaks in the space of three minutes, both of which almost resulted in Queensland tries.
Such was his spark in the second half, it elicited this comment from Queensland legend Paul Vautin.
“Harry Grant will be the Queensland hooker for the next 10 years,” Vautin said.
“Wayne Bennett took a gamble and decided to put him on, give him a run and look what he can do.”
The rising star put the icing on the cake in the 63rd minute with a crucial four-pointer to stretch out Queensland’s lead.
Queensland have been searching for a mainstay No.9 since Smith retired from Origin footy back in 2017.
Jake Friend, Ben Hunt and Andrew Mccullough have been rotated through the role
in the past few series but Grant’s performance on Wednesday night has all but ensured he’s the future No.9.
Having come off the bench, Grant finished the match with four tackle breaks, two linebreaks, a try and a monster 22 tackles.
It was another story for the other three Queensland debutants.
Maroons fullback Corey Allan had a rollercoaster evening, going from hero to villain within the space of a few minutes.
His first touch of the match was a crisp pass on to Valentine Holmes to score the opening try of the match.
But five minutes later, the Queensland fullback fumbled a high ball on his try line which resulted in a James Tedesco equaliser.
He was a little shaky in his first Origin match and probably didn’t do enough to claim the Queensland No.1 jersey over the likes of Kalyn Ponga for next year’s series.
His brain snap in the 77th minute – a professional foul on Josh Addo-carr – saw him sent to the bin in a crucial moment of the game.
Edrick Lee, meanwhile, had some strong early carries
Brenko Lee was solid at right centre before he was taken off in the 70th minute with what appeared to be an aggravation of his calf injury.