Cooper Cronk's genius laid bare after Origin call about Latrell and NSW proven right

Yahoo

09-07-2025

Queensland legend Cooper Cronk has shown why he is considered one of the great minds of rugby league having predicted the Maroons' key to victory in the State of Origin decider will be to shut down Latrell Mitchell and Stephen Crichton. Up until the decider in Sydney on Wednesday, the NSW edge of Crichton, Mitchell Zac Lomax and Brian To'o had benefited from early ball throughout the series.
NSW had scored more tries than Queensland in both games, but were let down by their goal-kicking in Perth having lost 26-24. While Mitchell hasn't scored a try in Brisbane and Perth, his presence has been a distraction for the Queensland side down the left.
Crichton is considered by many as the best centre in the game and crossed over for a try in Perth. And fans were expecting Nathan Cleary to hand early ball to his destructive backline on a dry track in Sydney. Although Lomax, Crichton and Mitchell were completely nullified in the decider in Sydney with Slater instructing his men to follow Cronk's game plan to aplomb.
Ahead of the game, Cronk suggested Queensland needed to up their tempo if they were going to nullify the Blues' destructive edge. Robert Toia and debutant Gehmat Shibasaki would need to have their best defensive games to answer this call.
"In Game 2, when they were coming, every time they touched the ball it looked like something was happening," he said on Fox Sports ahead of the game. "So I think for Queensland to win this, they need to defend like their life depends on it, but those two centres cannot get early effective ball. Their first tackle on their centres needs to be the best tackle ever.
"If Latrell or Stephen fend off their centre, it's going to give them a lot of confidence. It's going to give Nathan and Jarome more reason to go there, so they need to stop them."
And that is exactly what Toia and and debutant Shibasaki achieved. Both centres jammed in on defence with Xavier Coates and Valentine Holmes also piling the pressure on the Blues backline. Cleary and Jarome Luai were unable to give any early ball to their attacking weapons for nearly 60 minutes of the game in a drastic change from the final 40 minutes of Game 2.
While To'o managed to cross over in the final minute of the clash, Lomax, Crichton and Mitchell were completely nullified in the decider in Sydney with Slater getting his men to follow Cronk's game plan to aplomb.
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Slater was in tears after the game with captain Cameron Munster after a tough week leading up to the game. The coach himself made plenty of tough calls throughout the series, which included dropping former captain Daly Cherry-Evans after Game 1. He also blooded Toia and Gehmat Shibasaki in the series.
And the coach admitted this was one of the sweetest victories in his short, but successful, coaching career in Origin. "They're right up there," Slater said of Queensland's 2-1 series victory. "It is a true Queensland team. It's been a true Queensland performance. That's no disrespect to anyone else, but you look over the history of this footy team.
"I'm so proud of this group. I've been proud of this group a number of times over the last four years, and I don't know if I've been any more proud than tonight. There's been a lot of hurdles to overcome. It's an incredible feeling and I'm sure five and a half million people are feeling the same thing."