Queensland “bullied” and “embarrassed” as Maroons legends call for changes ahead of Brisbane decider

The Queensland Maroons will be forced to do some serious soul searching following their humiliating 38-18 defeat to the NSW Blues in Game II of the 2024 State of Origin series.

The Maroons had the chance to clinch the series with a win in Melbourne but were instead embarrassed in front of 90,000 fans after conceding the biggest half-time deficit in State of Origin history.

Maroons legend and SEN’s Corey Parker said he thought he was having a bad dream before coming to grips with the reality of the situation.

“I woke up this morning and thought I may have dreamt that Queensland were down 34-0 at half-time,” Parker told SENQ.

“It was quite a display from NSW and kudos to them but for Queensland, it was very underwhelming.

“You look at habits and trends and I wasn’t seeing what we needed to see early.

“There’s no other way to put it; they were embarrassed in that first half.

“There wasn’t enough made for the fact that Queensland played against 12 men for 72 minutes. We were always going to go on and win that game.

“I’ve been beaten in Origin but never in a scoreline like that.

“Queensland now knows where they need to be and they’ll put their hands up and say that they all need to be better.”

Billy Slater’s side will return to Suncorp Stadium where they not only have a dominant Origin record but also in deciders at the venue having won 11 of the past 13 deciders in Brisbane including six straight wins in the past 13 years.

SEN’s Scott Sattler was less convinced that Queenlsand will simply waltz to a win because Game III is at Suncorp Stadium.

“We got bullied. Absolutely bullied,” Sattler said on SENQ.

“We can’t rely on Suncorp. Everyone thinks you can rely on your home ground but it will take a lot more to beat this NSW side because they are big, fast and physical.

“I have never seen Queensland intimidated and bullied as much as they were last night.

“There are no excuses. Sheer size dominated us. Val Holmes got rag-dolled all night and Reece Walsh was a deer in headlights at times.

“There is a lot that needs to be discussed around the selection table. The big concern for Billy is how get bullied and couldn’t match the intensity.”

Queensland can claim their third straight Origin title with a win over NSW in Game III on July 17.