“What they did was give every possible thing within themselves to run as hard as they could for as long as they could, and tackle and tackle and tackle.
“We won that series on defence – we worked so hard on our on-line defence. Every single session we would finish with 15 or 20 minutes of defence.
“If Billy gets his defence right, he has so much talent in that team that they can do whatever they want. It is courage, determination and will – that is what Origin is all about.”
While Fa’asuamaleaui and Gilbert are expected to return from ruptured ACLs at the launch of the NRL campaign, Flegler will remain sidelined with nerve damage in his shoulder until at least mid-year.
But Slater’s line-up will still remain a mystery, with several men to put their hands up throughout the opening rounds to unseat the incumbents.
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Dolphins recruit Kulikefu Finefeuiaki, versatile teammate Max Plath, and Gold Coast edge forward Beau Fermor headline the contenders, while David Fifita will be determined to earn a recall after his shock omission.
When Slater was questioned last year on why Fifita – whose 122 tackle busts in 2024 were the most by any forward – was left out, he alluded to “standards” he had failed to reach.
There were concerns the 24-year-old – who has donned the Maroons jumper eight times – would not be fit to open the Titans’ season after ankle surgery, but Maroons enforcer and Gold Coast teammate Moeaki Fotuaika issued a warning to the rest of the competition.
“He’s back to full training now. I think at the start of preseason he was having a few niggling injuries with it, and it wasn’t coming right. But once he pushed through that pain, he was back to full training,” Fotuaika said.
“He’s definitely come back in a lot better shape – this is probably the best he’s come back. He’s always got a high standard for himself … he’s harder on himself than anyone else, so I’m excited for him to have a big year, and I know he will.”
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