QLD Origin legends urge Billy's Maroons to "walk towards the fire"

Queensland Origin legends Corey Parker and Chris ‘Choppy’ Close have revealed the mindset Billy Slater’s Maroons must have to win the series at Suncorp Stadium next week.

The Maroons have copped it from NSW Blues and even Queensland legends after Game II with many saying Slater’s side was bullied and belittled by Michael Maguire’s group in the 38-18 loss in Melbourne.

Parker, who played 19 games for the Maroons, said Blues enforces such as Angus Crighton, Liam Martin and Spencer Leniu think they’ll be able to push Queenslanders around just like they did in Game II.

“What’s the mindset (for Queensland), how do you go into Game III?” he said on Mornings SENQ.

“Yes, it’s a decider, yes it’s in QLD, but the performance that we saw from the Queenslanders in Game II quite simply wasn’t good enough.

“Is it skill, I don’t think so, or is it just desire, is it want, is it a mindset – for me it’s all about their mindset and what they’re willing to do in Game III.

“The mindset of an Origin forward going into this game… these NSW guys that will bounce on into town will think they can just do what they did in Game II, well that’s not the case.

“The mindset of an origin forward needs to be one of this – you need to do whatever it is to find a way to win.

“Rip, tear, scratch, punch, bite – do whatever it takes. If that means you’re going to spend 10 minutes in the bin my mindset is that’s OK, I’ll defend for you.

“If you have 17 blokes of the mindset of no matter what happens this evening, we’re going to win the game and I will do whatever it takes to go out there and win – they will win.

“If they take a backwards step… they won’t win. Walk towards the fire, not away from it. Go after their alphas… go after their players that dominated in Game II, that belittled us in Game II, by any means possible.”

Close, who is an Origin icon and is known for his famous pre-game speeches during his time as team manager for the Maroons, echoed Parker’s comments and said Queensland “need a bit of mongrel” in the decider.

“We were terrible in the first half of Game II. We had no one that was making any impression on anyone from NSW, in their favour they had 13 guys on the field on any given time who were giving 100 per cent of everything they had to make sure they won that game,” he said on Mornings SENQ.

“You could tell the purpose from their team was much greater than ours and that’s not what Queensland is about. Queensland is about outdoing those guys in that space.

“If you’re not prepared to step up… then you don’t deserve to be there.

“If we’re going to be in the game we’ve got to go out and outmuscle them and really get in their faces.”

The Blues have not won an Origin decider at Suncorp Stadium since 2005.