They’ve lost one of the greatest Origin performers of all time, but NSW coach Ricky Stuart fears Queensland could be even tougher to topple without Darren Lockyer.
While Stuart would never question Lockyer’s impact on the Maroons’ six-year Origin reign, his retirement has opened the door for the most destructive combination in the NRL to strut its stuff on rugby league’s biggest stage.
Billy Slater, Cooper Cronk and Cameron Smith.
Queensland coach Mal Meninga said a starting berth alongside Johnathan Thurston for the series-opener on May 23 was Cronk’s to lose.
If the first three rounds of the NRL are any guide, they may as well size him up for the No.7 jumper now.
Asked if Cronk being a regular starter made the Maroons a scarier prospect, Stuart said:
“If you look at their (Melbourne’s) last three games, it does.
“They’re just in white-hot form.
“They’re a pleasure to watch today – but I don’t know if I’ll be saying the same thing in eight weeks time.
“It’s smart, Mal’s a smart coach and the combination, cohesion and the communication between those three is going to be vital for Queensland.
“It will prove a great asset.”
Even in the wake of Lockyer’s retirement, there seems to be few doubts over the make-up of the Maroons 17 for the Etihad Stadium clash.
Barring injury, the only concern for Meninga is who will take Cronk’s utility spot on the bench.
He’s not short on options either, with the likes of Manly wonderkid Daly Cherry-Evans and Canterbury’s Ben Barba leading contenders.
“It’s an interesting one because if Ricky continues the formula of playing backrowers who can push up into the front row, we might have to match that,” Meninga said.
“We might need to have some mobility and agility in the middle of the park to counteract that.
“It’s up in the air at the moment. We may play a utility player, we may look at a Daly Cherry-Evans coming into the footy side or Ben Barba.
“We might have to come up with some players who can play with the footy a bit.
“(Otherwise) it’s a fairly settled unit. We don’t expect too many changes, to be honest.”
Meninga and Stuart were in Sydney on Wednesday to launch the sale of tickets to the second game at ANZ Stadium on June 13.
But it is the opener on neutral territory in Melbourne that is the focus, with so much riding on the result.
A win for NSW would leave Queensland needing to win in Sydney to force a decider, while the Blues would face a daunting task heading to an already-sold out game three if they lost game one and won in Sydney.
“Most game ones are important – it’s nearly essential to get off to a good start to win the series,” Meninga said.
“Going to Melbourne, it’s a bit neutral and I think it aides both of us, but coming here (Sydney) one-nil down is not the best scenario for us.”
