Broken Billy vows Origin redemption
MAROONS champion Billy Slater has assured Queensland fans he will do everything possible to avert a dreaded finale to his glittering Origin career — a possible 3-0 clean sweep at Suncorp Stadium.
Slater will celebrate a special milestone at Origin III on July 11 when he equals Maroons icon “King” Wally Lewis with his 31st and final game for Queensland in the dead-rubber at Suncorp.
The prospect of sending Slater out a winner will be the ultimate incentive for an embattled Maroons outfit attempting to stave off a NSW Blue-rinse for the first time in 18 years.
On a night when he joined Queensland’s Statesman’s Club with his 30th game, Slater was magnificent in Origin II and while his brilliance couldn’t prevent an 18-14 defeat, he vowed to go down swinging in his Maroons swansong.
“I don’t want us to lose 3-0. None of us want that,” said Slater, who had a hand in Queensland’s first two tries for an early 10-0 lead.
“The focus for me is to give the younger guys in this team something to savour. Guys like Andrew McCullough and Ben Hunt have worked so hard in the first two games and they have nothing to show for it.
“But if they continue to work hard, we’ll take something home in Game Three. Hopefully we can go to Suncorp and finish on a brighter note than this game and pick ourselves up for next year.”
Slater missed the Origin opener at the MCG with the first hamstring problem of his 15-year career, but the injury did not hamper him as the Maroons custodian terrorised NSW at ANZ Stadium.
In the process, Slater became Queensland’s 10th Statesman, joining Cameron Smith, Johnathan Thurston, Darren Lockyer, Allan Langer, Petero Civoniceva, Mal Meninga, Wally Lewis, Nate Myles and Greg Inglis.
“I’m very proud to have reached 30 games for Queensland. You look at the names in that list and wow, it’s something I am very proud of.
“To be in a group with legends like Wally Lewis, Allan Langer, Mal Meninga and Darren Lockyer, it blows my mind. It was a contributing factor in whether I played on this season. I was on 299 NRL games and 29 Origin games so I wanted to play for Queensland again.
“Unfortunately the series is gone but I just want to give some of the younger guys and the debutants like Kalyn Ponga a taste of success in Game Three.”