{"id":302684,"date":"2023-05-31T22:11:40","date_gmt":"2023-05-31T22:11:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=302684"},"modified":"2023-05-31T22:58:37","modified_gmt":"2023-05-31T22:58:37","slug":"sensationalise-slater-fires-back-at-critics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=302684","title":{"rendered":"'Sensationalise': Slater fires back at critics"},"content":{"rendered":"

Queensland<\/a> coach\ufeff Billy Slater<\/a> has snapped back at the critics who panned his selection for the State of Origin opener<\/a>, won by the Maroons 26-18 at Adelaide Oval on Wednesday night.<\/p>\n

Slater drew criticism for abandoning Queensland's famed "pick and stick" philosophy when he recalled Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow at the expens\ufeffe of Maroons great Dane Gagai.<\/p>\n

The selection of Reece Walsh over Kalyn Ponga, who scored a solo try to seal victory for Queensland in the 2022 decider, was also whacked.<\/p>\n

AS IT HAPPENED: \ufeff<\/strong>State of Origin 2023 Game I<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Shock binning defied as Maroons produce amazing win\ufeff<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

READ MORE: <\/strong>Joey rips NSW for 'terrible' game-defining play<\/strong><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

But\ufeff Tabuai-Fidow, playing in the centres, registered 147 run metres, made a linebreak and scored a double, including a try that pinched back the lead for Queensland with six minutes remaining.<\/p>\n

Walsh, installed as Queensland fullback, also repaid the faith shown by Slater, handling the NSW kicking superbly and setting up a Selwyn Cobbo try\ufeff with a bold and quick-thinking cut-out ball.<\/p>\n

"\ufeffThey were super, weren't they?" Slater said of Tabuai-Fidow and Walsh on the Nine broadcast.<\/p>\n

"I think when you look at a number, and a lot of people just looked at seven changes from game three last year, you can really\ufeff sensationalise a stat to set your narrative.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

"We had Cameron Munster and Murray Taulagi get COVID in the third game … There's two.<\/p>\n

"Jeremiah Nanai … He was a guy that was suspended for game one this year. Felise Kaufusi was suspended. So we've had players out. Josh Papalii retired.<\/p>\n

"Hamiso was fantastic. When there was a big moment that Queensland needed, he pulled the trigger.<\/p>\n

Watch the 2023 State of Origin series LIVE and exclusive on Channel 9 and<\/strong><\/em> 9Now<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

"Cameron Munster was great.<\/p>\n

"And I thought the fullback (Walsh) … He played really tough, he attacked the high ball and he was there when Queensland needed him, as well."<\/p>\n

But Slater admitted to feeling torn following the win, making it clear the Maroons were not at their best.\ufeff<\/p>\n

"There's so much room for improvement and that's probably the side of me that sits on the fence on the performance," Slater said.<\/p>\n

\"Hammer\u00a0stuns\u00a0NSW\u00a0with\u00a0individual\u00a0brilliance\"<\/p>\n

"But tonight's not looking at the improvement, tonight's just enjoying the courage this team showed.<\/p>\n

"I look at all Queenslanders. I'm sure there's 5.3 million Queenslanders sitting up there really proud of their footy team here tonight. This team is a \ufeffreal inspiration to our state and the people of our state. They love their footy team, the Queenslanders, and I'm sure they're really proud of them tonight."<\/p>\n

Reuben Cotter, who was shifted from the bench to the front row as Slater made a late change, tallied 84 run metres and made 48 tackles to be awarded man of the match.<\/p>\n

The Blues must win at Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium on July 21 to keep the series alive.\ufeff<\/p>\n

The Maroons will retain the Origin shield if they win in Brisbane, having won the 2022 series 2-1.<\/p>\n

For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by<\/strong><\/em> clicking here<\/strong><\/em><\/a>!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Queensland coach\ufeff Billy Slater has snapped back at the critics who panned his selection for the State of Origin opener, won by the Maroons 26-18 […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":302686,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/302684"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=302684"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/302684\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":302689,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/302684\/revisions\/302689"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/302686"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=302684"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=302684"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=302684"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}