Off the Wall

I am often asked by friends who have only a casual interest in rugby league why State of Origin football continues to attract so much interest.

The answer, in my view, is a very simple one. It is the glorious uncertainty that State of Origin produces year in year out.

That uncertainty is fuelled by the innovative efforts by the coaches and officials of both the Maroons and the Blues to claim underdog status before the start of each series.

Over the years, Queensland has been more adept at claiming to be the underdog, and the Queensland chairman of selectors, Des Morris, is out there again today, alleging that injury and suspensions threaten to derail the Maroons preparations!

Just a week or two ago, the media was universally observing that the Maroons would go into the 2007 series with