True Blue Matt King knew instantly what won the Origin series for the Westpac NSW Blues in the hostile environment of Suncorp Stadium.
He knows a thing or two about Origin deciders in Brisbane, having been a part of the previous NSW win there – a 32-10 victory in 2005, where the tall winger with the big smile scored a hat-trick.
Nearly 20 years on and King was back at Suncorp as one of Michael Maguire’s assistant coaches.
The memories of 2005 were strong but not overwhelming.
“Well it’s all about the present, about this group of players and Michael Maguire to be honest,” King told nswrl.com.au.
“I was just so happy to be a part of what these guys have created.
“To feel I’ve contributed in a small way means the world to me.”
What were the ingredients of the 2005 victory that King instantly recognised in 2024?
“From ’05 I remember two things clearly: believe in the man beside you, and the second piece of the puzzle was defence,” he said.
“Yes we had ‘Joey’ (Andrew Johns) but also people like Craig Fitzgibbon, Andrew Ryan, Steve Simpson absolutely gave you belief. They were such great people who just happened to be great footy players as well.
“And we had the determination to shut them down defensively on every play.
“Last week I know we had more of the footy but we didn’t let them score. The Maroons had a lot of threats like Reece (Walsh) and (Kalyn) Ponga and (Daly) Cherry-Evans and Harry Grant. They are really good players.
“But our boys didn’t let them through. They wanted to be the best defensive team and they did it.”
King did feel a pang of sentimentality when the on-field presentation was held.
“I must admit there was a little moment when they held up the shield that I thought, ‘I remember that feeling’,” he said.
“John Cartwright (2024 assistant coach) is another who felt that. He was our assistant coach in 2005.”
The other over-riding emotion was gratitude to what Maguire had brought to the squad in his first series as coach.
“It’s hard to quantify. There is so much that goes into being a coach besides the game plan and picking players,” King said.
“’Madge’s’ great gift is to set up the environment for these boys to truly love each other.
“Origin is about having that environment where the boys don’t want to leave because they’re so dedicated to each other, want to be around each other.”
