An enduring image of last year’s State of Origin series. NSW captain Paul Gallen holding up the Origin shield to a chorus of boos at Suncorp Stadium.
“I appreciated it,” Gallen said.
“Like I said, no one likes being disliked. But I appreciate how much they support the game, how much they support their team and how much it means to them.
“I got to hold the shield up in front of them. There is a part of me that says ‘Get that up you’. I can’t take away how passionate they are about their team.
“That’s how they show that passion. I suppose you could say I have always been a small thorn in their side. I have always put up a big fight against them over that eight years.
“Unfortunately we obviously never won a series but I seemed to become the player they hated the most because I put in all the time.”
Gallen isn’t sure how he will be received in Melbourne next week but he expects the crowd to be largely dominated by Queensland supporters. If that is the case, boos will rain down.
“It’s going to be unreal,” he said.
“It’s an iconic ground. You watch Test matches there, AFL grand finals. I have never been there. First time I go there will probably be a captain’s run (the day before the game).
“Other than that, to run out as captain of NSW is going to be *really special. At the end of the day we just have to block it out and stick to our game plan.
“We can’t get overawed by the fact it might be a pro-Queensland crowd and they might be cheering for them.”
Gallen missed the opening game of the series with a hip injury but once fit, his return was a fait *accompli despite suggestions from some quarters — most notably former NSW coach Phil Gould — that his time had passed.
There was a school of thought that this year’s series might be Gallen’s last. But with the Blues captain ready to sign a one-year extension at Cronulla, he may go around again next year.
“The reason is I always want to keep getting better,” he said. “I don’t want to lose the drive to keep getting better. I have to play better every year to keep my spot here and keep my spot at Cronulla.
“I just think if I keep my spot at Cronulla I won’t have anything else to strive for. I wonder what my mentality will be. It's something I’ve never had to deal with.
“I want to get through this year and see where I’m at. I don’t want to put myself in a situation where I might (lose my drive).
“I think if rep football wasn’t there for me to strive for, there might be one day where I have to get in an ice bath and I don’t want to get in it.
“Once you get your Origin jumper doesn’t mean you're an Origin player. That’s the biggest thing. Just because you wear a blue jumper, doesn’t mean you own it.
“That's one thing I have always wanted to do every time I go out there — make sure when the Origin team is picked next time, whether I have played one game or the whole season, the coach and the selectors know I can go out there, put that jumper on and perform the way I need to perform.
“I was shitting myself when this one was picked. You ask my missus. I stress every time. You never know. You never take these jumpers for granted.
“That has always been my attitude. From day one. The reason probably is because it took me until 2011 to cement my spot. It took me a long time to actually cement it.
“You don’t want to lose it.”
There’s no immediate risk of that. Gallen has become as important to NSW as any of the big three are to Queensland. His return has added an extra dimension to next week’s second game, which is a must-win for the Blues.
A victory would reinforce the progress the Blues made in 2014. A loss would give oxygen to the suggestion that they won only because Cooper Cronk was injured in the first game.
“Personally, and as a team, it is really important we show the character and culture we started last year,” Gallen said.
“We started something last year. We don’t just want to let it *fizzle out. We want to keep it going. Game two is where it has to continue on. It’s history now and we have won it.
“We won it fair and square. You can only play the blokes that are put in front of you. The year before me and Jarryd Hayne missed the decider and no one talks about that.
“They don’t say that about Queensland. That will all be forgotten in a year’s time. We won that series.”
Now the time has come to back it up.
“You know what got me in Origin I? As a player you don’t get to see all the build-up, you don’t get to see how much it means to the crowd,” Gallen said.
“I walked through the crowd that night. The amount of people it attracts and the audience it attracts, there is 80,000 people here and millions watching at home.
“I can’t get out here and help win. That made me realise how big Origin is. That spurred me on to get back. You never miss being hated. It’s never nice but it’s part of it.
“Certainly to the Queensland people — they seem to get behind it more. This time of year, I hate them. I respect them so much as players and the guys I have played with as blokes, but this time of year it is tribal.
“It’s where you were born. It’s what you were born to do. I was born to play for NSW. I was born and raised here.
“As far back as I can remember I used to love watching State of Origin, beating Queensland and watching them get bashed.
“There is no doubt they feel the same way about me. It’s not being aggressive or violent. It’s just what happens at this time of year.”
