It’s a hot topic at the moment. So you are in favour of the rules regarding concussion?

AIt is good. There’s a lot more responsibility there for the doctors and club officials and when the doc says it’s over I think that’s a great idea. Especially with all the legal stuff to be considered.

QIn your days players had employment. You’d go to work then when you finished it’d be off to training. Do you believe players these days have too much spare time on their hands? My first job was with an engineering company at Mascot. I used to start at 7am and work through to three o’clock, then go to training. I’m not knocking players these days but I think they do have too much time on their hands. They must be bored to tears. I know there’s the promotional stuff but they don’t do that unless they get paid for it.

AQYou played in a pre-Origin era when many Queensland players were lured to cashed-up Sydney clubs and ended up playing for NSW. What do you think of the concept of state versus state, mate versus mate? It has been fantastic. A lot of people have taken credit for it but it was Ron McAuliffe who got it all going. A lot of blokes have come forward and said ‘me, me me, me’ but that’s a load of bulls**t’. Everyone has an opinion at the moment but who do you think will win the series this year? Some are writing off the Maroons. I think Queensland will win it again. People are saying they haven’t got the players, they haven’ got this, they haven’t got that. But the young blokes coming through, they aspire to play in that State of Origin and they lift a heap when the time comes around. That’s a really good point but a complex one. Why do you think it is so?

AQ AQ