Billy Slater didn’t sugar-coat Queensland’s defeat in the State of Origin opener, conceding that several key players fell short of the mark, including star hooker Harry Grant.
New South Wales outmuscled the Maroons 18-6 at Suncorp Stadium, dominating possession and exposing Queensland’s lack of discipline across the park. Slater, now in his fourth year at the helm, was visibly frustrated post-match, not just by the result but by the nature of the performance.
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“Like many of our players, Harry wasn’t at his best unfortunately, but he wasn’t on his own,” Slater said, speaking to Fox League after the game.
Slater slams discipline but backs his group
The Maroons were consistently penalised in the ruck, gifting NSW momentum and field position as they found themselves on the wrong end of a 9-6 penalty count. Despite that, Slater refused to point fingers or call for sweeping changes ahead of Game II in Perth.
“I definitely don’t think it’s a personnel thing. I know what this team’s capable of,” he said. “You can probably see I’m disappointed because they haven’t played their best footy and I feel responsible to try and help them get there.”
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He added: “So yeah, it’s definitely not a personnel thing, to be honest, and they’ve had a great attitude as well. But with the discipline side of the game, the attitude wasn’t good enough.”
Slater underlined that the fix isn’t tactical but psychological.
“Decisions from the playing group. I’ve just spoken about the discipline part of the game, and that’s a choice,” he said.
Queensland have now scored just one try in their last two matches at their Suncorp stronghold. And while Slater won’t name names beyond Grant, the message is clear: the Maroons will need to dig deep to keep the series alive.