Queensland State of Origin fable and adjunct manager Johnathan Thurston has launched a passionate defence of Maroons civilization pursuing the extraordinary Game Three boilover.
The Maroons grappled with a flood of off-field dramas arsenic the Blues dominated to clinch backmost the Origin shield, thrashing Queensland 50-6 and 26-0 connected their ain ungraded to wrapper up the bid successful 2 games.
The archetypal large off-field calamity of the Maroons' bid was the QRL's botched handling of the Ronaldo Mulitalo situation, successful which the Cronulla winger was denied his Origin imagination owed to ineligibility.
Queensland past copped vigor for the property league performances of manager Paul Green and skipper Daly Cherry-Evans aft Origin II, successful which they utilized the Mulitalo dilemma arsenic an excuse for the dismal showing and failed to instill anticipation successful Maroons fans.
The drawstring of disasters was past capped disconnected by Jai Arrow's blatant disregard of the Maroons' bio-security bubble, with the Rabbitohs back-rower taking a pistillate location with him to Queensland's accommodation. Arrow was kicked retired of camp.
But pursuing the Maroons' inspired 20-18 triumph implicit the Blues successful gripping scenes connected the Gold Coast, Thurston had staunch words successful enactment of Queensland's culture.
"I'm truthful arrogant of the boys, the mode they dug successful aft the archetypal 2 games and past the issues faced by the squad erstwhile we got into campy for Game Three ... They stuck solid, they stuck by each different and it's an unbreakable enslaved erstwhile you're successful the Maroons culture," Thurston told Peter Psaltis connected Wide World of Sports' 4BC radio.
"That was evident past night, the mode they fought hard for each other. They kept turning up. I'm precise arrogant of them, what they've been capable to bash fixed what had gone connected successful the series.
"It's a truly bully triumph for the Maroons and we person a agleam aboriginal up of us."
It was Dragons skipper Ben Hunt who inspired the Maroons' stunning decision of the Blues successful Origin III, with the seasoned shifting from the seat to commencement astatine hooker and producing a man-of-the-match performance.
The erstwhile Bronco posted 2 tries, 2 line-breaks and 41 tackles, and produced respective match-defining efforts successful defence, arsenic the Maroons denied the Blues their archetypal bid whitewash since 2000.
"It was nary uncertainty his champion (game) successful the Maroons jersey," Thurston said.
"To play 80 minutes astatine hooker - we had Val (Holmes) spell down. We had trained each week to bring AJ (Brimson) connected and tally antithetic sets with Benny astatine lock. When Val went down helium had to punch retired 80 successful the mediate and helium did it connected his ear.
"He looked precise comfy retired determination and if each goes good adjacent twelvemonth it's going to beryllium a existent choky three-way conflict with Harry Grant and Reed Mahoney besides warring it retired for that No.9 jersey.
"He was tremendous past nighttime and that's what we needed from him."
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