Back to future ‘excites’ Carrigan on Maroons benching
Joel Gould |
Pat Carrigan was such a success in his Queensland debut off the bench in 2022 that coach Billy Slater will play him there again in a do-or-die State of Origin roll of the dice.
The benching of regular Maroons lock Carrigan for game two of the series in Perth next week came as a shock to NSW, particularly second-rower Angus Crichton who insisted it was a “mind games” ploy.
Crichton refused to believe the Maroons team list which has Melbourne forward Trent Loiero named at No.13 and Carrigan at No.17.
Queensland can of course make a late switch if they choose but closer inspection reveals there is method in Slater’s apparent madness.
In game one of 2022, Carrigan had one of the great Maroons debuts off the bench. He smashed Jack Wighton with his first tackle and his opening run was hailed by Slater post-match as “a momentum shift for us” in a 16-10 win at Accor Stadium.
The Brisbane forward came on in the 15th minute and played the rest of the match on the way to 183m from 19 runs and making 34 tackles. He was even in contention for the man of the match award.
“We’ve had some conversations with Bill and it’s all about what is best for the balance of our team,” Carrigan said of his positional switch.
“I won’t touch on it too much but I think it is about getting the best out of each other as a team and creating a bit of havoc when I get on the field.
“I just want to do my role for the team. I know that the boys that start are going to lay the foundations for us.
“Coming off the bench … I am excited. It gives me an opportunity to get into the game and make a difference.”
The 27-year-old also played game two of the 2022 series off the bench but has lined up at lock for his last eight Origin matches, including the 18-6 loss in Brisbane in game one this year where he topped the tackle count with 53 and ran for 139m.
Carrigan may have paid a price for the Maroons’ poor start in game one where penalties and a failure to win the ruck cost his side.
“They probably won the ruck definitely when you look back at it. Our discipline was pretty poor and I was there at the start of the events,” he said.
“When you give the opposition so much footy you make it hard for yourself. The effort was always there but just our start let us down.”
Carrigan said he had ultimate faith that Loiero would do the job at lock.
“He’s playing for Melbourne at the moment and Billy watches every habit in everyone’s game,” he said.
“I know Billy trusts him to do his job and we trust him too.”
AAP
