Buderus: we won't be taken in by Meninga
Glenn Jackson
June 9, 2006
ARE they foxing, or are they really feeling the pinch? The guns were turned back onto the Maroons yesterday after coach Mal Meninga's extraordinary outbursts of a day earlier, with Blues coach Graham Murray and his skipper, Danny Buderus, conceding it could all be part of an elaborate plan.
Buderus, the NSW hooker, was adamant Meninga's double-barrelled spray on Wednesday was designed to ensure the Maroons were where they wanted to be - under fire, under pressure and underdogs.
"This is only going to make them more dangerous," Buderus said. "They love adversity. They got what they wanted. That's what Queenslanders love. But we're not going to sit there and say, 'Poor old Queensland'."
On Wednesday, Meninga launched a stunning tirade on critics of the side's showing in game one and selections for game two, first via a Sydney radio station and then a press conference in Brisbane.
It came as pressure on him mounted after the one-point loss in the first match and more eyebrows were raised over the selections of Canberra's Adam Mogg (for Greg Inglis) and North Queensland's Jacob Lillyman (for Tonie Carroll).
Buderus, however, said the Blues would not "under-budget anyone". "If you throw anyone a Queensland jumper, they'll respond," he said. "They're not going to pick them for nothing. They're going to go out there and rip and tear. Throughout Origin history, they've done this before.
"They're down, they're on home turf, they're trying to keep the series alive - they're going to be absolutely desperate."
Murray could even see parallels to the 3-0 drubbing the Maroons handed out to the Blues in 1995 - when Paul Vautin coached a band of relative no-names to one of the most unexpected series wins in the history of the contest.
"Mal's firing up certainly adds a little bit of spice to it now," Murray said. "You've always got to be careful of the wounded Queenslander. They've come out pretty strong. But we certainly respect them. We didn't beat them by much - there was only one point in it.
"I've seen them play good under the pump. You've only got to go back to the Vautin era. They played pretty well then and no-one rated them."
While the momentum has clearly shifted towards NSW, who have enjoyed a relatively uneventful preparation, that might be just what the doctor ordered north of the border. The Maroons' woes with injuries, as well as their ring-ins, have seen a dramatic shift in betting towards the Blues.
The Queenslanders started the week at $1.75 favourites to square the series at Suncorp, with NSW somewhat surprising outsiders at $2.00. But there has been a seismic shift the other way - the Maroons are now $2.05, with the Blues clear favourites at $1.70. The money has been eight to one in favour of the Blues in recent days.
"The reason the market has been turned on its ear to the extent it has is the extraordinary changes that have been made to the Queensland side," TAB Sportsbet's Glenn Munsie said. "Where's Matt Bowen? Where's Rhys Wesser?"
Of that oft-repeated question, the Blues aren't taking any notice. "We're not going to read anything into who they've brought in," NSW forward Willie Mason said. "Lillyman and Mogg, they're going to do the job. They've been wanting to play for Queensland their whole lives."
Asked if he expected the Maroons to be even more fired up after recent events, NSW prop Luke Bailey said: "I wouldn't expect anything less. It could be scary for us."
From:
http://www.smh.com.au/news/league/b...n-in-by-meninga/2006/06/08/1149359883473.html
