League legends have grilled Queensland over the bizarre decision to let Spencer Leniu off the hook during Wednesday night’s State of Origin opener in Brisbane.
A newspaper headline on Tuesday urged the Maroons to “smash this Blues grub” but the team itself essentially rolled out the welcome mat for the fiery New South Wales prop.
Queensland media and fans wanted the representative players to reap revenge on Leniu after he verbally attacked league icon Johnathan Thurston during a game earlier this year.
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Instead, when Leniu came on the field late in the first half, he was incensed that Queensland purposely kicked the ball away from him and when they did tackle him, there was little venom from the Maroons.
“We should have kicked off on Spencer Leniu,” Corey Parker – who famously clashed with an upstart Blues rookie David Klemmer during a fiery Origin encounter in 2015 – told SEN radio.
Spencer Leniu charges into the Queensland defence. Getty
“If Jaydn Su’A and (Corey) Horsburgh were in the team and we said to kick off on Leniu, they would have been frothing, eyeballs rolling in the head.”
The Maroons have previously thrived on anger and chaos on the State of Origin field.
Before the series opener, Wide World of Sports analysed how the friendly build-up to the game played into NSW’s hands.
Watch the 2025 State of Origin series exclusively live and free on Nine and 9Now.
Billy Slater refused to throw any verbal barbs across the Tweed and it seems his friendly approach leaked into the playing group.
Former long-time coach Mal Meninga was puzzled there seemed to be little aggro from the players on Wednesday.
“NSW dominated and there were players on their side that were prepared to cop it on the chin,” he told SEN.
“The Queensland team needs to find some answers. It’s not because of personnel, it’s the way they play.”
Former Blues enforcer Willie Mason teed off on Queensland on his Levels Podcast.
“You’re shit scared because of what (Leniu) did to Max King the week before,” Mason said, referencing a fearsome Leniu run off the kick-off at club level against the Bulldogs.
“That’s a win for us and a win for him. To him it’s like, ‘You don’t even have the balls to kick it to me’.
“They always try and make someone public enemy No.1 and because (Thurston) is such a god up there they think they are going to get at him. But you can’t get under a bloke’s skin like that.
“I wanted that moment for Queensland and for Suncorp. You called him out, a call to arms if you will, and then you kicked it the other way… yuck.”
Intriguingly, legendary Queensland hardman Gorden Tallis defended the tactic to kick the ball away from Leniu, suggesting it was “smart”.
Tino Fa’asuamaleaui of the Maroons is pulled away by NSW Blues players. Getty
Titans veteran Kieran Foran – who has never played Origin but represented New Zealand plenty of times on the world stage – believes it could have laid the foundations for a Maroons comeback.
“It would show a mentality from Queensland if they did kick to him,” Foran said.
“Watching the game, watching how NSW just went after (Lindsay) Collins, that really set a tone, it was a statement.
“Queensland probably have got to look in there and ask why they didn’t do the same thing, why didn’t they kick off to Spencer?
“It can inspire a group and lift one another. NSW did that better than Queensland to be honest.”
The Maroons have three weeks to ponder what went wrong as they attempt to level the series in Perth on June 18.
