Dear Queenslanders,
In relation to rugby league, from a young age, if I go right back to when I was a kid, being a Queenslander meant having the ability to play footy with my mates. That’s why I first started playing rugby league and it’s the one thing stayed consistent the whole way through my career.
I ended up playing from years eight to 34. So whatever that adds up to be, but a 16-year first grade career and 347 games. The one common denominator was to go out there and play footy and have fun with my mates. I never lost sight of that.
Doing that in Queensland, and obviously having the privilege of wearing the Maroons jersey, it took that mate feeling to more of a family feeling. But more importantly, from when you pull on a Maroons jersey, the impact that it has, not only on your own inner sanctum, but I’m talking far and wide… from the top of Bamuga down to the Tweed border and then right the way inland – it touches everyone.
You don’t have to be the biggest rugby league fan, or watch rugby league, but when Origin comes on, everybody knows the difference between Queensland and New South Wales.
That was something that I know, having played for Queensland, was something that I really enjoyed. To know that people far and wide, from different walks of life, and different circumstances, for that one moment, bound together and barracked for Queensland.
For me, rugby league began, like I mentioned, when I was eight.
My next door neighbour was enrolled and playing rugby league at the time and I used to play on the footpath with him, out the front when I was a kid.
I just harped on at mum and dad, really harped on to play. They were reluctant at first… they didn’t want me to play. But they gave me an opportunity and I really enjoyed it.
I played at a club which was called St Paul’s at the time, but then turned into Logan Brothers. I did this alongside my very good mate Cam Smith. He was a year younger than me but lived three houses up from my nan and pop when we were growing up, so I spent a lot of time with Cam. We both played at Logan Brothers.
I’m a pretty loyal guy – I only ever played for two clubs during my whole career, my whole life. That was Logan Brothers and the Brisbane Broncos.
Origin in my household as a child and young teen was no different, I would imagine, to any football-loving household.
I remember as a kid getting dressed up in all maroon gear. You sit there and your eyeballs don’t leave the screen. It was cool because you got to stay up later than you normally would.
Queensland playing New South Wales and your heroes were playing. I used to love watching the likes of Gary Larson. I never knew, or watched much of Gary Larson in the Winfield Cup back in the day when he was playing for North Sydney Bears, but I used to love watching him play for Queensland.
Guys who weren’t household names. There were the household names there – don’t worry, but there were guys who would just turn up and get the job done.
That didn’t change either, when I got into the team. We had players that seemed to grow another leg when they put a Maroons jersey on.
I progressed through the grades similar to most people. I was fortunate enough to make some rep teams when I was 16, 17. Played Australian Schoolboys, got to do a trip overseas, which was great. And then I got to the call up to play first grade in 2001, for the Broncos. Fast forward a few more years from that into Origin.
In 2004 I got the opportunity to play for Queensland. I remember it like it was yesterday. Only parts of it, not the whole lot.
The week in itself, I can’t give you too much recollection on, but the game… I just remember walking out. It was at Suncorp. And I remember walking out and looking across at the far side, or the eastern side, and just seeing a sea of maroon.
I looked up as far as I could and that’s all I could see. Maroon.
Obviously I started on the bench that game so I got to take in a lot of that. But being of that age, I was pretty hyped up and caught up in the game. It ended up being the game that Billy Slater made his famous chip and chase and scored, that we see forever on highlight reels. We won that game.
So that was a pretty special moment for me, to be able to play for Queensland in my first game at Suncorp and secondly, win the game in front of friends and family.
Corey Parker FOG #146
So I played in ’04. We then lost the following game in Sydney and evidently lost the series in 2004. In 2005 I played the first game and then we lost that one as well. And then they went in a whole different direction.
If you remember in 2006, Mal was the coach. He blooded I’m not exactly sure how many players, but a heap of new young guys. And I wasn’t part of that.
So then I had to sit on the sideline for six years. So I played in ’04 and ’05 and then I sat on the sideline for six years and watched Queensland go on the start of what ended up being, and I ended up joining, a magnificent run of Origin-winning football.
To sit there for six years after getting a taste was strange, but it fuelled the fire, fuelled the motivation.
So when I got back in 2011, I always made it a bit of a pact that I would never get out of that jersey and that was the case until I retired.
There was an array of emotions over those six years. Because at the time, from a selfish point of view, when I played in ’04 and ’05 I was okay, wasn’t too bad.
But then I progressed… we won the comp in ’06 with the Broncos, I was getting better as a footballer, I understood the game. I was a much better player. But I wasn’t able to make it into the Queensland side.
So I was frustrated on the one hand… ‘hey, hang on a second.. I’m a much better player than I was when I played for Queensland… I’m a much better player than some of these players that are playing, but I’m not making it’. So it was really frustrating.
Obviously my desire was always to get back in that jersey. For me, that was something I just didn’t let up on.
There was times I found myself, because my mum is a full blood Kiwi, I had the opportunity, if I wanted to, to go and play for New Zealand, and I strongly considered that, because I just wanted to challenge myself against some of the best players. Because I wasn’t getting the opportunity to do that. I held off. And I got an opportunity in 2011.
It was sort of a rebirth I suppose, from my point of view, because I played in ’04 and ’05.
When I got back in there I was nearly 200 games more experienced, I was much older, I was in a completely different phase of my football career.
Yeah, it was one of those relieving feelings, getting back in. And then being an integral part for six years after that was pretty special.
The feeling, running out in 2011, was very much the same. It’s every game, every Origin game I’ve ever run out to, which I got to do 19 times, it was still the same feeling.
It’s a feeling I describe…. normally when you run out for a club game, generally players do a similar thing. They run out, generally go off to a certain part of the field, they kick a leg, whatever they might do.
But I always found with Origin, the run out onto the field was always faster, you’re always moving faster than you would if you were doing it for a club game, because it was so much more.
Origin progressed from when I first started in ’04, to when I finished in 2016. It has progressed to this phenomenal show piece. The crowd, the eyeballs, the spectacle, the people that watch. It’s more than just a game.
So, players feel that – absolutely. I just can’t explain when you do get the opportunity, it’s a feeling I’ve said I think everybody should have the opportunity to experience. But it’s so hard to get that jersey.
So for me to get back on the field, the feeling was very much the same, but I was just a little bit older.
Personally, my biggest highlight, that’s an easy one. I won the Wally Lewis Medal in 2015, which is for the person deemed to be the player of the series. The best player of the Origin series. And I won that.
For me to win that in the team that we had, and to be looked at as the best Origin player that was on the field in 2015 across the three games, was enormous. So personally, that was my biggest personal achievement.
But from that, the achievement of just being able to do what we did, looking back.
I’ve been retired four years now, the more time goes on, the only thing you have to live on is memory. That was pretty special. Pretty special what we did.
Most of our team, we all came from different teams – Melbourne, Cowboys, Broncos and a sporadic few others. But when we got into camp, there was none of this ‘take a day or two to warm up to each other’. It was family.
And it was a special, special bond. From head coach, to trainer, to wives, to girlfriends, to players. And that’s what, I believe, looking back, set us aside. And that is what was different between us and them. Because, yeah we went on a great run and had all this success, but you only look at series wins. Some of those games were only won by one point or two points. They were tight games.
In my opinion, the thing that stood out to me, which was evident, was the bond we had as players. That’s not to say the other mob didn’t have the same, but it didn’t matter who got an accolade in our team as long as we won.
And that was certainly the way we thought. So it was all team orientated. It didn’t matter if Billy Slater was the best player on the field, and he didn’t win man of the match, as long as we won. That’s just how our mentality was.
It was pretty special in regards to some of the players. But just the bonds and friendships. When you finish, and the more time goes on, you sit back and see old clips, old photos, and old games on TV… you get that warm, fuzzy feeling that flickers away inside and you go ‘yeah, I was part of that’ or ‘I was amongst that’ and those memories come flooding back, which is pretty cool.
In terms of extra special bonds, straight of the top of my head… I played a lot of juniors with Cam Smith. I’ve known Cam Smith since I was a young kid. But it wasn’t like you’d hang with one player and not another.
Brent Tate was best man at my wedding. I go back to my point about why we start playing rugby league… it was to play and have fun with your friends. And Tatey was best man at my wedding, I’ve known Smithy since I was a kid.
I’ve known Hodgo since Under 11s.
We had all this prior history and respect, and we’d had a lot of fun along the way. Hodgo and myself and Tatey played in Junior Kangaroos together. We had a lot of fun. Then when you get into that arena, it goes to another level. It really does.
Myself and Smithy and Billy and Cooper and Thursto and Matt Scott and Sam Thaiday… we were all around that similar age as well. So we’d all played a lot of football either with each other at club land or versing each other in juniors.
I think that really helps.
I remember going in one Origin series and we were touted as ‘dad’s army’. We were too old, not good enough. Too slow. But we got the job done.
It was pretty cool. But again, when Queensland win, and this is what you have an influence over as a player… when Queensland win, you have an influence over how those people – young kids, men, women, girls.
They go to work the next day, or go to school the next day, and that’s what they talk about, that’s where their mindset is at. You’ve played a role in that and that’s the special part.
Queensland fans, to me, are passionate. You are passionate, and I love that.
You’re there through the good, you’re there through the bad. You’re vocal. You enjoy a good time.
If you had to go and do a survey on what a Queenslander is, just in general, as a person… you’d get honest, hard-working, fun… these sorts of attributes.
That’s what we are, that’s who we are. But more importantly, we just have that desire not to let a mate down. That’s all I think we all expect. Don’t let your mate down, go out and have a red-hot crack and enjoy yourself.
More often than not, the skill, the talent – it will happen, it will play it’s part. But Queenslanders, to me, are people who never give up. Who go through some adversity, that stare the adversity in the face and get through the other side together as a group. And we’ve seen that. We’ve been part of that first-hand.
When Mal came on board, every year we’d go to a rural area or place doing it tough, whether it be from floods, or fires, or whatever it may be, and we’d go and put smiles on faces. Far and wide. You’d see the reaction and impact it had.
But they’re no different to you and I… they’re just in a different place.
The future of Queensland, in my opinion, will always be good.
The challenge on how good, will be when it comes to instilling those values. Origin games are won and lost on moments. And it’s about seizing the moments.
Sure, you need talent and that’s why you’re in that team – you’ve got talent, you’ve got skill. But it’s more than that. What Origin games are won and lost on, is you being willing to turn up when you’re not supposed to, coming up with a big play through effort areas.
It’s not the team that’s got the most skill that wins Origin games, it’s the team that’s willing to put in – I know it’s cliché, but the hard yards for as long as it takes.
That’s why Queensland is so special and so close.
That’s the challenge. We’ll always have talent and so will they. We’ll always have players that can get you out of your seat and light you up. But we need 17 every time they run out on the field, collectively, to want to be the difference and want to be that person who is going to go one step further.
That’s the challenge for the future. Instilling those little traits into the next generation, because it’s a different generation of footballers that we see now.
Mic'd up: Queensland Under 18 mentor Corey Parker
When I came through, when Billy and Cam and Coops and Tatey and Hodgo, came through.. we all came through in an era where there was a really strong, prominent senior playing group at every club. They taught you the hard lessons very quickly. Whereas now, that area in particular, is not how it used to be. There’s a real lack, a real void, in that area. So It’s really important that we identify that and put our energy into that area.
The privilege of running out in a Maroons jersey is hard to explain.
I’ve been with the Queensland Under 18 team for the last three years. I’ve coached the women’s team at the Broncos now.
It’s hard to explain what it is to play for Queensland. You get goosebumps, you get tears. Every player that I’ve seen talk about Origin has done exactly the same thing. It’s something you can’t control.
I always say, I make no apologies for getting emotional, because there’s just something about it. It does something to you to pull on a Maroons jersey.
I can’t speak for the other guys in NSW, but I know they wouldn’t have that.
That’s uniquely Queensland.
Kind regards,
Cozza
FOG #146
