opinion

MARK ‘SPUDD’ CARROLL: It’s time civilised Sydney turned feral on the travelling Maroons for State of Origin 3

Mark ‘Spudd’ Carroll
The Nightly
Mark ‘Spudd' Carroll is demanding a hostile reception from Blues fans.
Mark ‘Spudd' Carroll is demanding a hostile reception from Blues fans. Credit: Paul Kane/Getty Images

Forget an SOS signal – I’m calling for NSW fans to get behind my FOF campaign ahead of Wednesday’s Origin decider.

C’mon Blues fans, we need to drop our nice guy image and Find Our Feral (FOF) to make life as hard as possible for the Cane Toads when they hit Sydney.

I’m not talking about anything abusive or physically threatening, but let’s not roll out the red carpet for the bloody Maroons.

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Let’s give their team and fans a dose of their own medicine.

When you hit Brisbane for an Origin game, the hatred for us Cockroaches is visceral.

For ex-players, it’s ten-fold.

They are into me the moment I set foot off the plane.

Sometimes beforehand.

Once a smart-arse Queensland Qantas hostess had a dig as she was telling us where the exit row and lifejackets were.

They’re in your face wherever you go.

It takes all of my self-control not to line them up like I used to do with the Chief on one of his kick returns.

Their parochialism is on steroids.

I’ve seen grown men in suits wearing Queensland jumpers over their business shirts and women wearing maroon socks to work.

Kids as young as 10 will come up to you and scream “Queeeeeenslander….” like they are in some sort of trance.

And that’s three days out from the game!

When game day does come around, you take your life in your hands walking down Caxton St while the match itself is an 80-minute sledge-athon as the local two heads, fuelled by that XXXX oil sump, froth from both mouths.

We’re a bit more civilised in Sydney.

It’s the greatest city in the world in the greatest state in the world and we don’t walk around with a chip on each shoulder.

But I do think we give the Maroons too easy a time of it when they travel south.

From 1999-2006, the Blues won 11 straight games at the Olympic venue (or Accor Stadium as it’s currently known).

Since then it’s been pretty much a 50-50 split as the Maroons became more and more comfortable in our home.

It’s time we ripped the welcome mat out from under their feet.

Hence my call to get the fans on board my FOF train.

Let’s make the Queenslanders hate the place again.

Let’s put some pressure on referee Ashley Klein to blow a few penalties our way, not the ridiculous 9-0 count we saw in Perth.

And let’s get behind Laurie Daley’s men as the Blues look to make it back-to-back series wins.

NSW skipper Isaah Yeo thrashing it out with referee Ashley Klein in Perth.
NSW skipper Isaah Yeo thrashing it out with referee Ashley Klein in Perth. Credit: Getty Images.

I know Blatchys Blues will do their bit but I want to look out and see nothing but NSW colours in every corner of that ground.

This is our turf and Queenslanders ain’t welcome.

I want the boos to be heard all the way from Byron Bay to Batemans Bay.

If you don’t wake up on Thursday without a voice, you’ve let your state down!

AND DON’T GET ME STARTED

Memo to our State of Origin referee: Ditch the orange boots, lace on a pair of black ones and hope no one notices you.

Calvin Ashley Klein, I am talking to you, mate.

Bill “Hollywood” Harrigan might not agree with me, but the best referees are the anonymous ones.

If you are talking about the ref a day after a big game, it’s usually because they’ve had a stinker.

And, sorry Ash, but you stunk it up in Perth.

That game two penalty count, which was 9-0 Queensland’s way at one stage, had me thinking we were watching soccer or rugby where they blow the bloody whistle all the time.

I had to look out the window to make sure the paperboy hadn’t returned from the 90s.

I know I was watching the game through blue eyes, but there is no way NSW was that ill-disciplined while the Maroons were supposed choirboys.

That whistle-blowing onslaught gave the Maroons the perfect platform to pile on the points.

NSW did well to come back but it was still a bridge too far.

Three weeks on and I am still shaking my head at the injustice of it all.

But here’s your chance to put things right, Ash.

As we head into what could be one of the great deciders, I’m pleading with you to let the game flow, man.

I’m not saying you let the blatant stuff slide, but surely it’s play on for some of those 50-50 calls.

Let the players decide the outcome, not you.

If they are allowed to, I am tipping misery for Queensland.

I still don’t think NSW has played anywhere near its best yet were the better team in game one and dominated the second half of game two.

With Nathan Cleary apparently back to full fitness and a parochial NSW crowd behind them, it’s the Blues by 12 points.

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