
First Aaron Woods' grub comment helped Queensland beat NSW - and now he will have to get NUDE in public after nailbiting win
Aaron Woods had struck up a daring bet with Maroon's tragic Karl Stefanovic ahead of Wednesday night's State of Origin clash, a wager he might now be regretting.
It comes as Queensland held on against New South Wales to seal an epic 26-24 victory in torrential conditions at the Optus Stadium in Perth, to draw level 1-1 in the 2025 State of Origin Series.
Captain Cameron Munster was a stand-out for the Maroons, as they clinically dispatched an erroneous New South Wales side, despite their dramatic second-half comeback.
Woods has been embroiled in a war of words with Queensland boss Billy Slater this week, after the prop, who represented the Blues on 14 occasions, branded the former Melbourne Storm fullback a 'grub'.
'I want to see the real Billy Slater come out - the grub that we know of,' Woods said on Triple M's Breakfast with Beau and Woodsy.
The former Wests Tigers star had blasted Slater for dropping veteran halfback Daly Cherry-Evans for the match, claiming he had made the Manly star a 'scapegoat' before branding the decision 'p*** poor'.
Slater later hit back at the Triple M co-host during a press conference on Tuesday, slamming Woods for his comments, while controversially appearing to make a comment about the late Paul Green - a comment which Slater has since apologised for.
After Slater's comments, Woods stood by his own critique of the Queensland boss but may have given the Queensland side a little extra motivation to get the win on Wednesday night.
It comes as Munster revealed that the Maroons players felt like they had to turn up for Slater after the coach had copped a lot of flack since their State of Origin opening-game defeat.
'Queenslanders love being underdogs,' the Melbourne Storm star said reflecting on the match to Channel 9. 'We shot ourselves in the foot (in the second half) but we just worked hard for each other.'
'Obviously the pressure and all the criticism that Billy Slater's been getting for us, I'm just glad we played for him tonight.
'He loves Queensland, loves this group, I'm just proud of the boys. There's been a lot of speculation in the media and we need to turn up for our coach tonight and we f**king did.'
While the Maroons were scoreless in the second half, the clinical kicking of Valentine Holmes, and tries from Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, Munster and Kurt Capewell, were enough to seal the victory, despite New South Wales' late push.
And to add even more agony for Woods, the former Kangaroos prop will now have to run nude along Bondi Beach after losing a bet with Stefanovic.
It comes after Woods had opened up a war of words with himself and Billy Slater (pictured) after calling the Queensland coach a 'grub'
Laurie Daley has, meanwhile, refused to blame his side's errant goalkicking on the defeat
Last week, Stefanovic had taken umbrage at Woods' remarks about Slater and called in to the Triple M studio to propose the bet to him.
'Here's the bet, Woodsy,' he announced.
'The loser of the Origin game in Perth runs naked into the Bondi surf.'
Woods took him up on the matter, stating: 'We're on, Karlos.'
After the match, NSW coach Laurie Daley reflected on the defeat, but was adamant his side's wayward goalkicking was the reason behind the loss.
It came as Nathan Cleary appeared to have suffered an injury to his thigh in training last week, delegating kicking duties to Zac Lomax, who was only able to convert two of his five shots at goal.
'Yeah, you want to kick goals, but there were a lot more things that we needed to do that I was disappointed in,' Daley said.
'Goal kicking is way down the list. It's more about our execution, intent. There were a lot of things we didn't do well in the first half.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Andy Farrell sends warning to stars hoping to earn Lions Test spot as boss admits players benched for Argentina clash will be 'twitching' with jealousy
Andy Farrell warned his British & Irish Lions players the battle for Test spots on the tour of Australia starts now after he selected a dual Smith playmaking axis to face Argentina. The Lions will tackle the Pumas in Dublin on Friday ahead of their departure for the southern hemisphere with Marcus and Fin Smith two of nine Englishmen in the starting XV. As they did for key games with England during the Six Nations, Marcus Smith will be at full-back and Fin Smith at No 10. Both players have been urged to impress from the get-go. 'This is a full-blown Test match for us. There's no doubt about that,' said Lions head coach Farrell, laying down the gauntlet to his players. 'Everyone's gung-ho to get going. 'Everyone wants to play. I'm sure there will be some lads twitching in the stand dying to get out there and a little bit of jealousy as well. 'That's what we want. I've spent a lot of time thinking about what my Test side could be but you can't even go there because the competition is that good.' Only two of Farrell's 23-man squad for Argentina were not at the Lions' training camp in Portugal last week. Farrell has told his players to hit the ground running. 'You can give yourself any excuse in terms of time together,' he added. 'But we've had good preparation. If you want to be a good Lions player, you have to hit your straps straight from the off.' Ireland's Tadhg Furlong is a notable inclusion on the Lions bench. The powerhouse prop has started all of the Lions' last six Tests across two tours but has had an injury-interrupted campaign. Furlong hasn't played since May 17 due to a calf problem. Farrell also allayed injury concerns over backs Jamison Gibson-Park, Hugo Keenan and Huw Jones – none of whom will face Argentina – with Australia in mind. Leinster and Ireland scrum-half Gibson-Park is expected to be Farrell's first-choice scrum-half Down Under but has been struggling with a minor glute issue. England's Alex Mitchell starts at No 9 against Argentina with Tomos Williams of Wales in reserve. Tour captain Maro Itoje leads the team from lock with breakthrough sensation Henry Pollock – who is on the bench – one of 14 likely Lions debutants. 'It's good news on most of the injuries,' Farrell said. 'They are all a week or so away from being fit. We didn't quite know until Jamison got another scan on Monday night which was pretty positive. 'Jack van Poortvliet comes over as cover for this game. Jamison should be up and running for the week after.' With Keenan not quite ready and Toulouse's Blair Kinghorn still on club duty, Marcus Smith gets the chance to start at full-back. Last week, he told in Portugal: 'I'm a 10 that can play 15. I want to play 10 though.' Farrell said of his Smith pairing: 'They were the two 10's in the squad last week, so they've been dovetailing at 10 and 15. It's great for them to have time in the saddle. They're pretty excited to play together.' Of Marcus Smith, Farrell added: 'We all want to see him being his creative self, helping to guide us around and be cohesive as an attacking and defensive unit.' British & Irish Lions: Marcus Smith; Tommy Freeman, Sione Tuipulotu, Bundee Aki, Duhan van der Merwe; Fin Smith, Alex Mitchell; Ellis Genge, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Finlay Bealham, Maro Itoje (capt), Tadhg Beirne, Tom Curry, Jac Morgan, Ben Earl Replacements: Ronan Kelleher, Pierre Schoeman, Tadhg Furlong, Scott Cummings, Henry Pollock, Tomos Williams, Elliot Daly, Mack Hansen Argentina: Santiago Carreras; Rodrigo Isgro, Lucio Cinti, Justo Piccardo, Ignacio Mendy; Tomas Albornoz, Gonzalo García; Mayco Vivas, Julian Montoya (capt), Joel Sclavi, Franco Molina, Pedro Rubiolo, Pablo Matera, Juan Martín Gonzalez, Joaquin Oviedo


BBC News
3 hours ago
- BBC News
Lions in Dublin 'extra special' for Irish
Lock Tadhg Beirne says taking on Argentina at the Aviva Stadium, while wearing the colours of the British and Irish Lions, will be another "special day" for the squad's Ireland 33-year-old is one of six Irish players who will be on show when the 2025 Lions squad takes the field for the first time against the Pumas on Friday (20:00 BST).Beirne, Bundee Aki and Finlay Bealham all start, while Tadhg Furlong, Ronan Kelleher and Mack Hansen have been named among Andy Farrell's replacements for what is the only game before the squad depart for their three-Test tour of Australia."For us Irish players it's extra special and means a lot to us," said Munster's Beirne."[Playing] where we've had a lot of special days, and then to add playing a game for the Lions to that long list of good days here, is pretty special." With 14 first-timers among the Lions side, for Beirne and his usual Ireland team-mates the week has felt both familiar and very different. "The lead-up to the game is going to feel very similar, doing all the same things that we would do in Irish camp, either going to the same coffee places or preparing for the game the same way."A lot of it is similar but different at the same time, because you're not used to being around the same players that you would be used to, and it makes it a lot more enjoyable."Beirne was part of the Ireland side that just edged Argentina 22-19 at the same venue in November."They really put it to us, and we probably just got over the line in the end," he added."It'll be no different come Friday, it'll be their World Cup final and that's the way we're going to treat it. It's a huge opportunity for us to set the tone for the tour."
Leader Live
3 hours ago
- Leader Live
British and Irish Lions' summer fixtures and kick-off times
Here, the PA news agency looks at the fixture schedule (all times BST): Fri, Jun 20: Aviva Stadium, Dublin: Lions v Argentina (2000)Sat, Jun 28: Optus Stadium, Perth: Western Force v Lions (1100)Wed, Jul 2: Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane: Queensland Reds v Lions (1100)Sat, Jul 5: Allianz Stadium, Sydney: NSW Waratahs v Lions (1100)Wed, Jul 9: GIO Stadium, Canberra: ACT Brumbies v Lions (1100)Sat, Jul 12: Adelaide Oval, Adelaide: Invitational Australia/New Zealand v Lions (1100)Sat, Jul 19: Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane: First Test: Australia v Lions (1100)Tue, July 22: Marvel Stadium, Melbourne: First Nations & Pasifika XV v Lions (1100)Sat, Jul 26: MCG, Melbourne: Second Test: Australia v Lions (1100)Sat, Aug 2: Accor Stadium, Sydney: Third Test: Australia v Lions (1100)