'Everyone told me...': Madge takes final dig at Maroons over State of ...

New South Wales coach Michael Maguire has fired a final parting over claims the Blues don’t have the same “passion” for State of Origin as Queensland.

Speaking to media the morning after his side’s historic Game III victory at Suncorp Stadium, Maguire was quick to fire back at critics of his side’s commitment to the Origin cause.

“Everyone told me we don’t have passion. We don’t have this or that or everything in NSW. It’s completely wrong,” he said.

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“You saw last night what this team means.

“I got to see a lot of the old boys over the last three or four months. There’s a lot of passion inside the NSW jersey.”

Maguire’s comments follow a consistent theme of the NSW coach sticking up for his state and players in the media throughout the 2024 series.

Following strong comments for Maroons coach Billy Slater following Joseph Sua’ali’s sixth minute send off in Game I, Maguire suggested the former Storm fullback lived in a “glasshouse,” given his patchy disciplinary record as a player.

“I think you’ve got to make sure you don’t live in glasshouses,” he told Fox League.

Maguire doubled down on his media battle with Slater ahead of the decider, declaring NSW were the “people’s team” following Slater’s decision to cancel his side’s open media day on the first day of Maroons camp.

Maguire‘s efforts to fuel the rivalry with his words through the media, perceived by many to remove the attention and pressure of his players, worked after he led the Blues to a historic series win.

Not only did NSW overcome a 1-0 series deficit to win the series, but they also became just the third Blues side ever, and first since 2005, to win a decider at Suncorp stadium.

Maguire revealed he was often informed of the importance of winning Game I prior to the series kicking off, but admitted his side didn’t give history much through after going 1-0 down in Sydney.

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“Coming into the series, everyone told me: ‘you must win Game I.’ I think the percentages show you needed to win Game I to win the series,” he explained.

“To the players’ credit, we just brushed that aside.”

Maguire admitted it was “pretty special” to see his side “defy what the odds are” and bring the Origin shield back to NSW for the first time since 2021.

“To get the win on the back of not getting that first one in Sydney. They said ‘if you don’t win in Sydney you’re not going to win it.’ But the boys defied that,” he said.

The path to Origin glory was littered with adversity essentially from kick off in Game I, when Sua’ali’i was sent off after seven minutes following a sickening high shot on Maroons fullback Reece Walsh.

Queensland would emphatically win the series opener in Sydney, with many believing Billy Slater’s side were cruising to their third consecutive Origin win.

But, Maguire made what he described as “some big decisions around certain players who are champions,” including dropping James Tedesco and Nicho Hynes for Game II in Melbourne.

The Blues returned serve in the Victorian capital, racing to a record-breaking first half lead to level the series and set up a thrilling Game III in Queensland heartland.

One of the key selection calls made by Maguire between Game’s I and II of the series was replacing Hynes with Mitchell Moses, who’d played hardly any footy up to that point.

Yet, Maguire’s halfback change proved to be inspired as Moses led the Blues to victory in Game II and history in Game III.

“I think Ricky Stuart, Joey (Johns), and now Mitchell - they’re three players that have broken what everyone told me was the unbreakable, coming up here and winning,” he said.

However, Maguire was quick to ensure he praised the entirety of his squad and not only his star No.7, who suffered a season-ending bicep injury in the decider.

“I just felt the players I picked were the right ones and I felt they were going to get the job done,” he said.

“Which is really nice to see when we all stood together on the field after the game and shared a moment.”

The Blues coach highlighted one act from his squad that typified the togetherness of the group.

“I really like that the boys brought Joey (Sua’ali’i) back in and had him around the camp. He was there last night. That’s what the group represents, looking after each other,” he said.

“They did that.”

He also shared how the celebrations of the series win typified the spirit he was trying to build within the squad.

Speaking on his players’ friends and families being heavily involved in the state’s celebrations of their victory, Maguire explained “that’s something that from day one we want to build something there that was around family, the brotherhood they (the players) talk about.”

“They were all there - parents and their mates. I was pretty special,” he added.

Away from the collective, Maguire was quick to defend his skipper Jake Trbojevic, often criticised throughout the series for his lack of involvement.

Trbojevic averaged 28 minutes across the series’ three games, but his coach explained the 30-year-old’s impact on the team is felt beyond the football field.

“I felt that Jake was the person that was a fair bit of the glue that I’ve seen over the years in this Origin team. He showed that by the passion the players showed him last night,” Maguire said.

Recalling when he informed the Manly lock he would become the captain of his state, Maguire revealed his skipper wore a look of shock.

“I’m not sure I realised what I just said to him when I first said it,” he said.

“I guess he took a little bit of time to warm to it. But to see him have the players around him and just love him that much.

“I’m just glad we went (down) that path.”