What is it like to play a decider at Suncorp Stadium? | The Matty Johns Podcast | Fox League

Suncorp Stadium [Music] state of origin the decider at St Corp Stadium on it's going to stop the Rugby League World this tomorrow night yeah have you played a deider at Sun Stadium couple of times it how how was it what's is it completely different um yeah there's something in the water something in the air up there um you wake up on morning of origin day and all of a sudden the Brisbane City is filled with rone jerseys you look out your window everyone's going to work with the Marine Jersey the flags are on the cars and it's it's it's a pretty cool feeling um but the issue horrible the issue with Queensland and Billy is that the fact that you're playing a deider at Sun Corp and the crowd's going to be on your side isn't going to get you the victory it's not going to make you tackle or run any harder so they've got to really find that find balance but um it works one way and it helps in the other way in terms of new southwales too want to talk about that Community Connection is a really big thing for the coens land side uh Co I don't know what year it was I had to go I had to go and interview I think it might have been Steve walers who was managing the side and you bles were doing one of your final training sessions at a boxing gym so we actually let you in oh well I was on the periphery red I was I was just sitting on the periphery watching but might have about 10 years ago locky was still playing Loy was the captain yeah 210 211 so so what a team bus pulls up for you BLS to jump on board the bus and go back to the hotel loia says no no no everybody y we're running back to the hotel you BL ran through the streets and watching people coming out of the houses out the Queens Landers and things like that and waving and I got a real sense of that Community Spirit the link between the community and the team yeah I've never asked Loy this or whatever but um I think it was a plan uh I think he did say we're running back um so we ran from a a boxing session along the river all in front of the apartments all in front of the um it would have been around lunchtime cuz all the restaurants were full and basically up into the city um and it felt like um people as like you started running further people started coming out onto the streets and I waiting run up the stairs in front of a museum and do the Rocky yeah well it did have that I must say it did have that sense it got the juices flowing I'm not going to lie like there was something that he obviously played a card and it worked um so yeah it's probably the power of what playing a deci um Queensland does for you like there is a lot of emotion around it um let's talk about the lineups for a second C there's a little bit of mail going around I don't know why I'm getting this mail but it's come out of the Queens land C I don't believe if you've got mail over me from the Queensland don't believe there's there's Will Harry Grant start a little bit of talk that Harry Grant will start there's a bit of talk going around and the other the other thing is going around is that Mo awak will start and bring lindsy Collins Off the Bench that's the male there's a bit of male going around um if that was to happen why um well Harry Grant um is an 80-minute dummy half um so that's not a huge surprise this guy can dominate origin he can dominate for 80 minutes he can do it like some of the other greats have done it and I think this could be the chance bil he's going you know what this your your time to shine I'll tell you what cops if if you bles start winning the arish more to the point win the POS win The Possession game that 20 25 minute Mark that second wave that comes out could be huge given the fact that you you get Lindsay coming on you know possibly Ben Hunt for a stint but the big one if you bles a dominating possession Kum ponga coming into a game against a middle that's fatigued I don't know if we can I don't I don't know if we can contain that if that's the case that's that's perfect world scenario and I think that's exactly what Billy is thinking um and he will have a plan and it would be let's say um Cherry Evans de and ponga Rew that's simply what it is maybe Ben Hunt is on there at the same time too but what he needs to do is he needs to time his run to Perfection he needs to try and predict when there's a swing of possession his way the last thing you need to be doing little little guys in the middle up against New South Wales and Spencer lenu tackling so it's almost like kin sit Will Mitchell Moses start there and when I feel like this momentum shifting and they get a repeat set throw them out there straight away at some stage um if I was Billy I would put ponga and Walsh with Jeremiah n in front of me going towards best like put all three of them in some form of shape um and just make him second guess really it's a huge challenge for Mitchell Moses Mitchell was fantastic in game two and he's very good in game three last year but this a decider at sunor stadium and as you know C when you get in those really big occasions is with the amount of noise going on it is so hard to be able to communicate and rally your teammates and forwards into position um I was going to say what advice would you give to Mitchell I'm not going to ask you that I'm not going to put you in that position but your thoughts on it um handling that that occasion I I think if he's got a mindset of doing exactly what he did in game two I actually think it's the wrong mindset this is strangely enough because J really think that queensland's going to allow quick play the balls um advantage to their forward pack time and space and they dominated possession in the attacking end of the field I just don't think that's going to happen so I think uh patience and composure from Mitchell MO is going to to be the key he needs to um so so one of the things that I always thought about in a big game particular origin deci was um touch the ball basically through your kicking game if you see an opportunity take it but just step back yeah do less step back and let the big forwards butt heads for a period of time and let them win because there's this real ego battle in origin particularly early on when your forwards feel like they're getting it you've got to let them go and let them rain don't take the ball and start zinging it so I think the best thing Mitchell Moses and Cherry Evans to be honest best thing they can do in the first 10 minutes is kick the ball well yeah yeah that's right just think about the end of the sets yeah but then he will um and both halfbacks will have to have a game plan for the last 10 to 5 minutes when it's tight because if I'm trying to predict this I think it's golden Point type Style game I get that feeling well yeah Okay C what's the score line who man of Predictions the match um I'm going to go golden point I think it's going to be tight hopefully you Queensland kick that field goal to win it um I'm actually going to I'm going all in on Walsh on this one and strangely enough um he had a poor game in game two um he got smashed in game one um and pong is in the team and it feels like he probably should be more R than ever but I just feel like with Billy's coaching this is the type of performance where he just he just goes big game big game in terms of uh R's career yeah it is I think so um and I'm I'm not super confident about it but I'm just trying to guess and predict I think Walsh stands up that's what I think happens I'm going New South Wales 2618 um man of the match I'm going pain house I just I you spoke before about his impact uh and I think I I think he deserves it yeah I think he deserves it I I I think he's I think he's set for a dominant perform um I think this is going to be one of the better games we've ever seen it's never been bigger state of origin than what it is right now and it just KS getting bigger all the time so it's interesting to go back and have a look at go and have a look at the 1988 Series in particular I think it's the first game of the series it's at the the brand new Sydney football stadium MH ground's half full right yeah it's it's strange to go back and look at it cuz we always looking at which one's 88 series 88 who won the 88 series we won 85 for the first time I think we I think New South Wales might have won that series but but the Sydney football stadium had just opened and the state of origin was there and uh the half full it was it was probably about 20 odd th000 people hard to believe Now isn't it well good luck mate you'll need it oh I've just had Scotty may Queensland Clean Sweep damn it that a good series 88 yeah IDE he coops [Music]