Maroons No.9 not interested in horror starting stat

Yahoo

11 hours ago

Harry Grant insists he can make it work as a State of Origin starting hooker, despite Queensland losing all four games he has begun on the field and not the bench.
Grant on Sunday conceded that there was no excuse for his own performance in Origin I, with the 27-year-old having a tough night in the Maroons' 18-6 loss in Brisbane.
The Melbourne star is expected to take on even more responsibility in Perth, with utility Kurt Mann Queensland's only other player with history at dummy-half.
There is little question that Grant has been the best No.9 in the NRL for the past four years, ever since taking over Cameron Smith's jersey at the Storm.
But Queensland have preferred to have him come off the bench in Origin, letting Ben Hunt take the sting out of the game early at dummy-half.
In turn, the Maroons have won six of the eight games Grant has come off the bench, dating back to his Origin debut in 2020.
But Grant does not have the same success starting, dropping the 2021 series opener, 2023 dead rubber, 2024 decider and last month's opener at Suncorp Stadium.
In those last two matches in particular Grant has been asked to make more tackles, while his running metres have been down.
Grant claimed on Sunday he did not know how many minutes would be asked of him at Optus Stadium, but insisted the winless stat was irrelevant.
"Performances are different and each game's different," Grant said in Perth.
"I think I can take a bit of experience from being on the bench and starting.
"They've all been different circumstances, different teams and different personnel.
"So I think I can't really reflect too much on that, and (focus) more on what we have here now and making sure we make this count."
Grant's game-one effort came after he played just 55 minutes in the six-and-a-half weeks leading up to Origin I, owing to a hamstring injury.
But the dummy-half refused to use that as any reason for his performance in the series opener.
"That's probably an excuse," he said.
"I've played enough footy over the years to know what I need to do and know what's important going into a big game like an Origin.
"I probably went away from that a little bit and it flowed into the game.
"I'm sure everyone in the team can say that they had a few moments that they would have liked back."
Grant did, however, suggest the Maroons' pack would have a point to prove in WA after commentary that they had been dominated through the middle by NSW last month.
"It definitely lights a fire, doesn't it?" Grant said.
"I think it would be silly to not say that but that's their opinions.
"They can have their opinions and we know what works for us. The big thing now is taking it from the training field to the field."