He said a whitewash was the goal straight after his side won game two, and Orange-born NSW five-eighth James Maloney hasn’t changed his tune leading into Wednesday’s third and final game of the 2018 State of Origin series.
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While Wednesday night’s clash at Suncorp Stadium is a dead rubber thanks to Maloney’s Blues sealing a series win with back-to-back victories in Melbourne and Sydney, he says there’s still plenty to play for.
For his side, that’s mainly the potential psychological advantage a whitewash could give his side leading into next year’s series, and years after that for that matter.
"I haven't really thought about that [a lot]. But obviously it's got to do some damage to them surely," Maloney said, as NSW prepared for an opposed session at Allianz Stadium on Sunday.
"Even in Queensland's dominance (11 series wins in 12 years from 2006) they only did it once (in 2010).
"So to go and do it, surely it would have some impact … what that is I have no idea. You'd think it would have something though."
Considering the injuries and retirements the Maroons have already endured this year the main change looks likely to be personnel and a whitewash would give coach Kevin Walters and his selectors the perfect excuse for a clean out.
Fullback Billy Slater is playing his 31st, and final, game for Queensland on Wednesday night an is one guaranteed change, with superstar Kalyn Ponga looking every bit a ready-made replacement in his debut in game two.
“He was outstanding, Ponga, he's going to have a big future,” Maloney said.
Wednesday’s third origin clash kicks off at 8pm, with a crowd of around 50,000 expected.
Matt Findlay
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
