Cody Walker says NSW will not buy into Queensland’s underdog status for the State of Origin opener – not as long as Wayne Bennett is in charge.
The Blues are chasing their first series three-peat since 2003-2005 and won’t be lulled into a false sense of security, no matter how many debutants the Maroons blood on Wednesday night.
“Definitely not,” Walker told AAP.
“What the debutants will bring is a lot of energy, want and desire.
“They’ll be up for the game there’s no doubt about that.”
Walker, who is coached by Bennett at South Sydney, knows exactly the kind of mastery the Queensland coach will pull to inspire the young Maroons side.
But Bennett’s job may be harder than ever with injuries throughout the camp and another scare on Sunday.
Queensland will find out on Monday whether debutant Xavier Coates will play in Adelaide after a training mishap at Cbus Super Stadium.
The 19-year-old landed heavily on his right shoulder while taking a bomb at training, throwing the Maroons’ backline into disarray three days out from game one.
He was immediately taken from the field as a precaution and injury to the teenage winger could force a backline shuffle for a side already missing incumbent stars.
Michael Morgan, Moses Mbye and Kalyn Ponga are all unavailable for this year’s series, forcing Bennett to select 12 rookies in his 21-man squad – including Coates.
It has made the Maroons the undeniable underdogs.
Both states are set to finalise their 19-man squads on Tuesday night, but irrespective of who lines up in the final 17 the Blues will be wary.
“That’s one thing I know about Wayne is he has his sides ready to go,” Walker, who has been selected on the Blues bench, said.
“He knows how to motivate his sides, he’s done that for us all year.
“Regardless of debutants, everyone will be ready to go.
“He just knows how to prod and poke.
“He knows how to motivate teams, he knows how to motivate individuals.
“He knows the different individuals in sides he can talk to in different ways.
“I just know he’ll just get his players up.
“He’s always done that with us.”