There are two types of Queensland heroes when it comes to State of Origin.
The first kind is obvious – it’s the best players. Think Wally Lewis, Darren Lockyer, Cameron Smith, Johnathan Thurston and Billy Slater. For the current lot, think Cameron Munster and, from the looks of things, Reece Walsh.
They are favourite sons, golden boys, chosen people. You cannot win Origin matches without them.
Then there’s the other kind – the players who, when their state needs them, find something extra, something special they only have when they’re wearing the maroon jersey.
Think Adam Mogg, or Paul Vautin’s miracle Maroons of 1995, or Corey Allan, or the Lee cousins, or all those other players over the years who rose above themselves to become part of the Queensland mythos.
Or look to Dane Gagai, who endured peaks and valleys at club level for years but with Queensland he never stood anywhere but at the top of the mountain.
Play like that in maroon and you’ll live forever.
Origin, from a Queensland perspective at least, can’t exist without players like that because there’s a different between being a great player and playing great and, like many a Maroon before him, Lindsay Collins plays great.
Collins is a very good player most of the time. He’s a mainstay in the front row for the Roosters and represented Australia in the World Cup last year. But when he pulls on that Queensland jersey, something changes.
He can soar like an eagle over James Tedesco. He can find second efforts again and again and again. He can squash Jarome Luai and force the ball loose. He can trap a grubber, pick it up and thunder downfield as the Lang Park crowd roars for him.
He can become the first player in 20 years to win man of the match in an Origin game after starting on the bench. He can do anything his state needs, and if you need to ask how or why there’s a chance you just don’t get Origin.
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“There’s a lot of people who put this jersey on before me. It represents this state, it represents this team, there are people who would fall on their sword for this jersey,” Collins said.
“You want to do the same. You don’t want to let them down. That’s what it’s all about.
“Bill (Slater) was driving in all week about not stopping, keep moving your feet until we get the ball back.
“That’s what happens in those moments, you don’t stop, you end up in those positions and stuff happens.”
Wednesday night was classic Origin Collins as he led from the front in the middle of the field with power, ferocity and so much heart.
A score of Maroons, including Walsh and Pat Carrigan and Daly Cherry-Evans, would have been worthy choices for man of the match but instead the honour went to Collins and it was richly deserved.
He was almost sheepish about it in the sheds after the game – it’s a team sport, he was at pains to point out – but Carrigan was more than happy to put him in the spotlight.
“I don’t think he’s ever truly gotten his flowers. In this environment, he’s a weapon. The Big Google we call him, cause he knows everything. He’s unreal,” Carrigan said.
“He doesn’t ask for the accolades and he probably doesn’t have the head for them but he deserves a lot, lot more. I love playing with him, he’s a freak.
“He’s just a mad dude. He likes his fashion and his style and he’s got a mad dress sense but he’s missing a tooth and plays front row and he’ll run through a brick wall for you.
“I think he’s one of the best front-rowers in the game and every time he’s come to this level he’s shown it.
“He took me under his wing when he first came to Broncos 20ss. That’s when we became good mates, and to be able to share these moments with him now is unreal.”
The Blues don’t have players like Collins. They don’t have the room for them. Because New South Wales have a greater pool of players to pick from, only the best are chosen.
They are not asked to rise above themselves in the same way and, in one of the great paradoxes only sport can provide, what should be strength in numbers becomes a weakness.
There will be more glories to come for Collins and Carrigan together, that much seems certain. Slater’s side has big plans for the future and, for the most part, they’re all young and hungry and ready for more Origin battles.
Collins, through sheer will, has carved out a crucial place of that future. He’s approaching the territory where he’s picked for Queensland regardless of club form because he can always seem to rise for his state.
Wednesday night wasn’t the first time he’s played like this. Queensland wouldn’t have won the 2020 decider without Collins doing himself proud in the front row. They got another big shift from him when they won the series last year.
He is an Origin player in the best sense of the overworked phrase because great players can be great anywhere but only Origin players can be great in the game’s toughest arena. He is the reason the best team on paper doesn’t always win.
When he wears maroon again Collins will do the same things he always does. He’ll keep his legs rolling over. He’ll get there when he thinks he can’t.
He’ll do it again and again and eventually, it’ll make the difference. He’ll do his state proud because that’s what Origin heroes do.
Source:: ABC News
