Surprising claims of a rift between Queensland star Selwyn Cobbo and Maroons coaching staff have emerged on the eve of Wednesday night’s State of Origin series decider.
Channel 9’s Danny Weidler reported on Tuesday he had been given information that suggested Broncos back Cobbo and Billy Slater’s coaching team had not been “seeing eye to eye”.
While details of any possible issue are not clear, Weidler suggested it could be to do with a clash in styles, with Cobbo known to “run to his own beat” when it comes to training and Slater more of the disciplined “extras beyond extras” mentality.
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“Maybe it’s a natural clash and maybe it’s something that can be sorted out,” Weidler said on The Big Sports Breakfast on Tuesday morning.
Weidler said Slater would almost certainly deny the claims at Tuesday’s press conference but also suggested the claims could be connected to Cobbo’s omission from Queensland’s Origin II squad.
“He (Cobbo) wasn’t there in Game Two, do we know why?,” Weidler said. “We’ve heard explanations, but do we really know why?”
GRANT GOOD TO GO
Meanwhile, Harry Grant is expected to overcome a sternum injury and be fit and firing at Suncorp Stadium.
The Queensland hooker entered camp for Game III under an injury cloud, with initial reports suggesting the star man wouldn’t be fit for the contest, opening the door for Bulldogs rake Reed Mahoney to make his Origin debut.
However, speaking on Monday night’s NRL 360, The Daily Telegraph’s Brent Read revealed the Storm captain would be ready to go come Wednesday night.
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“They are saying he’s okay. He did a contact session this week, he has had the week to rest it and he’s in pretty good knick,” Read said.
“I don’t think there’s an issue.”
Veteran journalist Phil Rothfield added to this, stating he “spoke to someone who was with the Queenslanders over the weekend (and) they said he’s flying and there’s no doubts whatsoever.”
In an ominous warning for the Blues, host Braith Anasta provided a little insight into the kind of commitment Grant shows his craft.
“One thing I know about Harry, knowing a few boys at Melbourne, he is the fittest every year and every off-season,” Anasta said.
“Missing a few weeks for him (is nothing) and a needle in the sternum and he’s fine.”
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Elsewhere, Maroons legend Steve Renouf has called on his state’s forward pack to prove the doubters wrong and stand up to the Blues at Suncorp on Wednesday night.
“From a spectators point-of-view we got belted in attack in that first half. They were bullet proof, New South Wales, and they showed that on the scoreboard,” Renouf told foxsports.com.au.
Renouf believes “it’s going to be a humdinger in the middle,” before stressing the importance of Queensland’s forwards taking Game II “personally.”
“Whether they like it or not, they got belted and they’ve got something to prove,” he said.
“We’re going to have to match them in the middle.
“I just think they dominated in that first half and when they got a roll on it was very hard to come back from there.
“We won the second half but the damage was already done and I think Billy (Slater) will have a look at that.
Despite the Blues’ Game II dominance through the middle, Slater has opted to carry one less forward in his 17, with Knights star fullback Kalyn Ponga included on his bench for the decider.
While this may appear counterproductive to Queensland winning the forwards battle, Renouf explained it may allow Slater’s side to wreak havoc out wide.
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“They’re probably a little bulkier than our forwards, so maybe they can affect them on the edge,” he said.
“They’ll take them on in the middle for a little while but we’ve got to find the speedsters on the edge.
“Play them in the middle and then take it a bit wider and get Reece Walsh and the boys to do their thing.”
Much has been made of the potential sight of Maroons fullback Reece Walsh and Ponga linking to dismantle their Blues counterparts in the Decider.
Renouf said he expected their combination to play a significant part in Queensland’s success on Wednesday night.
“I heard Kalyn say the other day he wants to see Reece running up the sideline putting him away,” he said.
“Personally, I would like to see the opposite because Ponga is so good at it that he can be the one making the break and feed it onto Reece.
“Either way it’s exciting.
“I think it will be great. I wouldn’t be surprised if Ponga has a stint at lock if Reece hasn’t been injured. Ponga’s played at lock before (on debut) so we know what he can do.”