Former NSW Origin player James Tamou has opened up on his experiences with new coach Michael Maguire and revealed the key factor ‘Madge’ will be wanting from the Blues.
Tamou played 14 Origins between 2012 and 2016, including the drought-ending series win in 2014, while also playing under Michael Maguire at the Wests Tigers in 2021 and 2022.
After Maguire announced his first team for the 2024 State of Origin series on Sunday night, Tamou outlined the main quality Maguire will be trying to instil in the Blues before Game One.
“I’ve been with Madge (Maguire) at the Tigers, he’s about a team playing cohesively. He wants that connection,” Tamou said on NRL Crunchtime.
“Origin is a great arena and you’ve got all these individual superstars but trying to put it together one on page so the superstar player becomes the superstar team, that’s what he would be looking most at.
“Obviously with Madge… he brings a bit more emotion into it but at the same time he doesn’t let the emotion take away from the execution of the game plan. That’s why Madge has been where is for a long time. He knows his stuff but I think he’ll be looking for connection.”
Tamou also reflected on his own experiences in the Origin arena, highlighting how he thinks the game will unfold and ultimately won.
“I think as a fan of the game you want to see the spectacular tries and the somewhat high scorelines… but most teams will talk about being the best defensive team and will try to hold a team to two to three tries,” Tamou said.
“I think it (Game One) will be won or lost in the middle.
Tamou also revealed the player he thinks will make his Origin debut soon for NSW.
“(Mitch Kenny) is an Origin player… I mentioned it to him when he first made his debut, we were having a few drinks and I said, ‘you’ll play origin one day’.
“He is just a ball of energy, and he can hold it for long periods of time. He’s got that line speed…he’s not afraid to put his body in front, he’s not afraid to do all those little things that make an Origin player.”
Game One of the 2024 series kicks off on June 5th in Sydney.