THE bad blood that seemed to be missing for the entire State of Origin series finally rose to the surface yesterday when the Maroons claimed they were shown a lack of respect.
The Maroons were also incensed at what they perceived as the Blues rubbishing the famous Queensland spirit. As Origin III hero Johnathan Thurston jetted into Brisbane with the Origin Shield and his team-mates celebrated their first series win since 2001, NSW forwards Nathan Hindmarsh and Mark O'Meley vented their frustration following their defeat.
The Blues pair, with their vanquished team-mates, arrived in Sydney still coming to terms with their 16-14 loss at a sold-out Telstra Dome in Melbourne.
A despondent Hindmarsh couldn't contain his exasperation when asked whether Queensland had an edge in passion over the three games.
His animated reaction continued a theme started by winger Matt King immediately following the loss when he renounced talk of the Queensland's superior passion as "bullsh*t".
"They talk about this passion year-in, year-out with Queensland," Hindmarsh said.
"They have no more passion than the Blues so I don't know why they keep coming up with this stuff ... what a load of rubbish that is.
"I think they have used it enough by now. I think they should get onto something new."
O'Meley was equally dismissive when confronted with the same question.
"They need something to inspire them," O'Meley said. "It's always the passion, passion, passion. I think we have the same passion. I suppose they like to speak about it more than us."
While the Blues fumed at Queensland's ambit claim to passion, Maroons forward Nate Myles stoked the fires when he insisted his side had been shown no respect throughout the series. Myles revealed the Maroons had been motivated by a perceived lack of respect opposition following the loss in Origin I.
"We didn't rate ourselves as the underdogs, they rated us as the underdogs," Myles said.
"We knew before Game II they had no respect for us and we sat down before Game III and we thought 'if we ran into one of these boys in a bar or something they would still have no respect for us'. We went out there with that and it fuelled us.
"What we have done this series will restore a bit of respect."
It also ensured the long-term viability of the Origin concept. Queensland coach Mal Meninga had suggested the series could be in jeopardy if the Maroons became the first side to lose four series in succession.
Hindmarsh laughed off that claim yesterday. "It doesn't make a difference," he said. "It's still the best football in the world and if Queensland continued to lose, so be it. They have a great new group of young blokes coming through and they'll stamp their authority in Origin for years to come."
The Maroons were talking up their chances of a prolonged period of success yesterday. Meninga handed Origin debuts to 10 players, including several who could become long-term Queensland stars.
Adding lustre to Wednesday night's win was the absence of probable selections Greg Inglis, Karmichael Hunt, Ben Ross, Michael Crocker and Ty Williams through injury or suspension.
"After the match Mal sat us down and just pointed out how young and inexperienced this side really is and said the scary thing is we are only going to get better," prop Carl Webb said.
"He's right. Most of this group of players still have their best years of footy ahead of them. It's an exciting thing to be a part of and I can see this group doing some great things over the next few years."
While the Maroons were casting their gaze forward, the Blues were still looking back, wondering how they lost the unloseable. Questions are already being asked of the selectors' decision to name Mark Gasnier at five-eighth, a move which backfired as the world's best centre was kept in check.
"It's the quietest I have heard a dressing room after a loss," Hindmarsh said. "To lose it like that has probably been the worst defeat."
