There wasn’t much coach whispering from Kevin Walters after the cranky Queensland mentor let loose on his side, threatening to swing the axe following their horror State of Origin II loss in Perth.
But shattered captain Daly Cherry-Evans said whomever ran out for the Maroons in July 10’s series decider would have a “fire in the belly” as word of Walters’ angry post-match outburst filtered into the dressing room.
Walters raised eyebrows when he adopted the philosophy of mind coach Bradley Charles Stubbs ahead of the 2019 series.
However, there was no sign of the self proclaimed Coach Whisperer’s “Expect to Win” attitude when Walters vented his frustration over their nightmare 38-6 game two loss at Optus Stadium.
At one stage Walters dropped the “f-bomb” as he made the most damning accusation levelled at a proud Maroons side that once dominated for a decade, claiming they lacked effort, attitude and desire.
Walters then threatened to go one step further and break a key foundation of Queensland’s culture – ditching loyalty and making changes for the series decider in Sydney.
It did not take long for word of Walters’ spray to reach a forlorn Maroons dressing room.
“When you have that amount of points put on you it is no secret that you have to improve defensively and I was led to believe (from Walters’ comments) that was more of an attitude area so we will take that on board,” Cherry-Evans said.
“We need to be better with our effort out on the field and we need to certainly be more motivated come game three.
“But I have no doubt there will be no lack of motivation for the next game …because it certainly hurts a lot.
“But I have the fire in the belly now going into a decider.”
NSW coach Brad Fittler drew plenty of criticism in game two’s build-up after making seven team changes.
Now Walters is under pressure to pick and stick as Queensland attempt to regroup in search of their 12th series win in 14 years.
The Maroons pack will be most nervous with just one forward – Felise Kaufusi – running more than 100m.
Joe Ofahengaue and Christian Welch are set to come under consideration.
And in the backline, centres Michael Morgan and Will Chambers combined for 11 missed tackles.
“I am glad I am not a selector. But whatever team they pick for game three I will have a lot of belief in it and I can’t wait to get into camp already,” Cherry-Evans said after his first loss as Origin captain.
It remains to be seen if Stubbs is another casualty after Walters complained about Queensland’s mindset.
“They were all ready to go, it’s just that their minds weren’t,” he said.
“It’s up to me to get our preparation better, our attitudes better.
“Once we do that we will be in a much better place for game three – but it won’t be a difficult job.”