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Maroons coach Billy Slater has found the nerve that he needs to press in the lead up to tonight’s must-win State Of Origin game 2.
In an emotional response to the Queensland-bashing Sydney media, Maroons coach Billy Slater has put former Blues player turned Sydney radio announcer Aaron Woods in his box.
Queenslanders are currently in a state of transcendental meditation, with only one word going back and forth through their minds: Sharon.
Known to Queenslanders as ‘Sharon Woods’ – the retired NSW become the perfect pressure valve for a state with their back against the wall.
With 14 Origin matches to his name, Sharon epitomises the lack of depth in the NSW talent pool throughout the iconic Queensland eight-in-a-row era.
And a after a frustrating game 1 loss at home, Queensland supporters were worried that this year’s State Of Origin series lacked the spark that the Maroons needed to fire up.
However, this all changed when Sharon Woods called their coach Billy Slater a ‘grub’.
Slater, who played 17 more Origin matches than Sharon, and won 11 out of the 15 series he played in, is viewed as an sacred figure in the history of rugby league.
As Maroons coach, Billy Slater follows the legacies of famous Queensland man-managers before him – namely Wayne Bennett, Mal Meninga, and the late Paul Green.
During a press conference yesterday, Billy Slater made it clear that Queenslanders will not stand for the media muckraking and needless sledging that keeps ex NSW footballers in a job.
The criticism levelled towards the Queensland coach by such a undecorated former Blues player, with disrespectful name calling and petty jabs, has all but ensured a bloodbath at Perth stadium tonight.
This pre-match drama reminds Queenslanders of series gone by, where the Maroons turned their luck around after being written off as ‘Neville Nobodies’ or ‘Dads Army’.
It’s not yet certain how Billy Slater plans on shifting the momentum in tonight’s match, but it can be safely assumed that the Blues will pay for Sharon’s disrespectful comments with blood.
And right across the state of Queensland, everyday residents are expecting just that, and they will be thinking of Sharon Woods with every grubby tackle, jersey punch, face palm and flying knee.
Fuck up Sharon.
