Qld odd man out craves Origin series win

Queensland's odd man out Aidan Guerra is craving a State of Origin series win after a gut-wrenching introduction last season.

Long-serving captain Cameron Smith was gutted.

Veteran centre Justin Hodges couldn't hide his devastation.

Evergreen half Johnathan Thurston appeared in shock.

There was no shortage of long faces in the Queensland dressing room when their record State of Origin streak ended.

But it was Aidan Guerra - just two games into his Origin career - who arguably had the heaviest of hearts.

The sweet taste of victory had been savoured for eight years by the all-conquering Maroons when Guerra arrived on the Origin scene last season.

Which made the 2014 series loss all the more devastating for the Sydney Roosters back-rower.

Guerra was the only member of Queensland's team not to have celebrated a series win when their historic run came to an abrupt halt in game two last year.

Not that Guerra had to be reminded.

"To come in and be the only one who hasn't won a series, it's not the best," he said of the game two fallout.

"We tasted a little bit of success in game three last year (32-8 win).

"It's what we can do as a team that will get that trophy back."

Queensland get their chance to atone when the series begins in Sydney on Wednesday night.

But for Guerra, it offers something arguably much more important - a chance to finally feel he belongs in maroon.

"It is definitely something I want to be a part of," the three game Maroons forward said of a winning series.

"Anyone who plays wants to win.

"I want to be a part of it because the group here is pretty special.

"They have been together for a long time."

Skipper Smith hoped to end Guerra's suffering sooner rather than later.

"I don't think it (revenge) is a small aspect, I think it's a pretty big aspect," he said.

"From a playing point of view we were really disappointed with our performances last year particularly in the first two games at least and overall the result was pretty empty.

"You put a lot of effort into the three matches and after two games you already know you've lost the series, I think it's a pretty awful feeling."

But Smith said they had taken confidence from their game three thrashing of a NSW side gunning for a series whitewash.

"It was a nice reminder to ourselves I think, more importantly, that in game three we went out and played extremely well and put a pretty handy score on the Blues," he said.

"They were out to win that series 3-0.

"Clearly the best game of the series by far was game three and we just had a really good week together, we just played to our capabilities on that night so we need to do that as well."


Share

3 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AAP


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world