Queensland coach Billy Slater says he was taken aback by the instant connection between everyone involved in the Maroons camp after a stirring series win.
Slater led Queensland to a 2-1 win after the Maroons took out the Origin decider last week, wrestling the shield back out of New South Wales‘ grasp at the first time of asking as a coach.
The 39-year-old spoke of the special bond between everyone involved in his camp, with his pride in the group evident.
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“I really felt it in the first camp, the connection within the playing group and the connection within the staff and then that mixing all together. It was probably something I didn’t expect,” he told Wide World of Sports’ Billy’s Breakdown.
“I felt it as a player, but when you’re a coach you really feel like a family member, a father to these guys. They just go out there and they put it all on the line for you.”
Having won Origin both as a player and as a coach, Slater said there were key differences between the two experiences.
“As a player, you’re solely focused on your performance and your role within the team, you’re really comfortable with that,” he said.
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“As a coach, you’re trying to oversee everything, you’re trying to set the environment and you’re trying to manipulate how to get these players to the game in the best physical and mental shape possible.
“It is quite different, but I’ve never been more proud of a group of people in my whole life than what I was at the full time siren in game three.”