‘Impressive’ Slater ticking boxes ahead of Origin coaching debut
Former Melbourne Storm superstar fullback Billy Slater was a perfectionist as a player.
And the early mail filtering out of the Maroons camp is he’s already proving himself to be a meticulous rookie coach for Queensland.
According to long-serving Queensland selector Gene Miles, Slater, who donned the Maroon jumper 31 times, has gone to extraordinary lengths to launch his State of Origin coaching career with a debut victory in Sydney next month.
Slater has wasted no time in assembling a “dream team” coaching and support crew, headed by his former Melbourne, Queensland, and Australian captain, Cameron Smith, Maroon’s great Johnathan Thurston, childhood hero Allan Langer and ex-Origin star Josh Hannay.
Miles – who starred in 23 games for Queensland during Origin’s golden years of the 1980s – said he was stunned by Slater’s dedication and commitment to making sure the players chosen for game one this year were not only well prepared for battle but also understood fully what it meant to pull on a Maroon jumper.
“It’s a huge commitment from Billy. but I’ve been super impressed by his attitude and the way he has approached the job,” Miles told BettingSite.com.au
“Billy wanted people around him he could trust implicitly to carry out certain responsibilities. He’s built those relationships over the years as a player.
“He’s just been so thorough, so professional.
“He’s already doing all little things that mean so much to players because he can still relate to all the things that happened to him when he came into the Queensland side (2004).
“He’s been out and visited every Queenslander playing in the NRL.
“He’s had lunches and dinners with players from Melbourne, Sydney, Newcastle, the Gold Coast, Brisbane, and all the way up to Townsville.
“He’s caught up with every available player personally, spoken to them all, and followed that up with an email to all of them telling them what this job means to him and outlining the history of Origin and what it should mean to them if they are chosen.”
Slater only hung up his Origin boots in 2018 after being a part of Queensland’s history-making eight-straight series wins, so his passion for the Maroon jumper still burns deep.
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Notching a debut win in game one in Sydney in three weeks will be crucial if he hopes to launch his coaching career in style and claim back the prized Origin Shield from the Blues, who have won the title three of the last four years.
Miles concedes the heat is right on Slater to win game one if he wants to avoid the pressure building on his shoulders.
The Blues – who have put together a great Origin squad under Brad Fittler – will have the backing of a majority of the 83,500 fans expected to pack Accor Stadium on June 8 for the annual blockbuster series opener.
History shows the state which takes the opening game inevitably captures the three-game series.
A win in the Sydney opener would spare Slater from the (southern) critics who’d be quick to question his coaching claims – especially should the Maroons cop another 50-point flogging, as they did in the corresponding game last year.
Slater has hand-picked his Origin assistants, using the bond he forged with them as a player.
Growing up in Innisfail, a small town on the Cassowary Coast in Far North Queensland, Billy’s boyhood hero was Allan Langer – still regarded by many as pound-for-pound the best player to ever represent Queensland.
“There was no way Billy was taking on this job without having Alfie by his side. He was in camp with Billy during his entire Origin career and the respect between them is unbreakable,” added Miles.
NSW invariably starts every Origin series as raging-hot favorites, regardless of the side Queensland picks.
“To be honest, looking over the 50-metre line, they (NSW) have got a side now that could potentially dominate for the next 10 years,” said Miles in an honest assessment of the Blues’ talent pool compared to Queensland, which has about 20 percent of the players in the NRL.
“I can’t emphasise the importance of winning game one in Sydney.
“They’ll be red-hot favorites playing at home. To knock them over sets us up to win the series.
“It reduces all the Flak Billy would cop about his future and his job being on the line and calls for selectors to make changes.
“The team that wins game one avoids all the negativity and floats through to game two.
BetOnline is quoting NSW $1.50 favorites to go back-to-back with Queensland, as usual, the series outsiders at $2.60.
NSW is $3 to sweep the series, while the Maroons are rated $13 to win all three games.
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