Hostilities will resume in the State of Origin,
with Wednesday's game two in Melbourne - with shots fired from the New
South Wales camp directed straight back from the Queenslanders.
The Blues welcome back captain Paul Gallen as they look to eradicate their 1-0 series deficit, and the Cronulla Sharks man has already made a nuisance of himself - labelling Mal Meninga's men "grubby".
NSW coach Laurie Daley also accused Queensland of accepting payment to arrive in Melbourne early, with the Maroons' team bus parked outside their East Melbourne hotel more than a week out from the showpiece fixture.
But Maroons captain Cameron Smith refuted Daley's claim, and instead pointed out it was New South Wales who sold one of their home games to Victoria.
"They've chosen not to come down here to promote it. That's their prerogative," Smith said in Melbourne on Tuesday.
"We've really enjoyed our time down in Melbourne. The guys have had a fantastic week.
"We've had some public appearances, we've done some coaching clinics with some school children.
"They were great, and really happy to see the Maroons out here and hopefully we've built a strong fan base.
"And we've done everything we can to promote the game, and promote the sport of rugby league."
Smith added: "We haven't received any funding at all. We've come down to embrace the city, I think Mal and [Queensland Rugby League chairman] Peter Betros spoke about that on the opening day.
"We've come to embrace the town, and grow some support for the Maroons."
On Gallen's comments, Smith insinuated their time spent promoting has kept them away from the off-field war of words.
"We've been too busy to read those headlines," Smith said.
Daly Cherry-Evans will assume the number seven shirt in the absence of Cooper Cronk (knee), while Blues hooker Robbie Farah looks set to play through the pain as he carries a shoulder injury.
Farah trained on Saturday, after suffering the initial injury in game one in Sydney, and claimed he pulled up "fine" from contact drills.
The last time the two sides met in Melbourne was 2012, when the Maroons were 18-10 winners at Etihad Stadium - while it is the first Origin clash at the MCG since 1997, when New South Wales prevailed 15-14.
The Blues welcome back captain Paul Gallen as they look to eradicate their 1-0 series deficit, and the Cronulla Sharks man has already made a nuisance of himself - labelling Mal Meninga's men "grubby".
NSW coach Laurie Daley also accused Queensland of accepting payment to arrive in Melbourne early, with the Maroons' team bus parked outside their East Melbourne hotel more than a week out from the showpiece fixture.
But Maroons captain Cameron Smith refuted Daley's claim, and instead pointed out it was New South Wales who sold one of their home games to Victoria.
"They've chosen not to come down here to promote it. That's their prerogative," Smith said in Melbourne on Tuesday.
"We've really enjoyed our time down in Melbourne. The guys have had a fantastic week.
"We've had some public appearances, we've done some coaching clinics with some school children.
"They were great, and really happy to see the Maroons out here and hopefully we've built a strong fan base.
"And we've done everything we can to promote the game, and promote the sport of rugby league."
Smith added: "We haven't received any funding at all. We've come down to embrace the city, I think Mal and [Queensland Rugby League chairman] Peter Betros spoke about that on the opening day.
"We've come to embrace the town, and grow some support for the Maroons."
On Gallen's comments, Smith insinuated their time spent promoting has kept them away from the off-field war of words.
"We've been too busy to read those headlines," Smith said.
Daly Cherry-Evans will assume the number seven shirt in the absence of Cooper Cronk (knee), while Blues hooker Robbie Farah looks set to play through the pain as he carries a shoulder injury.
Farah trained on Saturday, after suffering the initial injury in game one in Sydney, and claimed he pulled up "fine" from contact drills.
The last time the two sides met in Melbourne was 2012, when the Maroons were 18-10 winners at Etihad Stadium - while it is the first Origin clash at the MCG since 1997, when New South Wales prevailed 15-14.
No comments:
Post a Comment