New South Wales Blues coach Michael Maguire has defended his decision to name Jake Trbojevic captain for the 2024 series.
The Manly Sea Eagles forward, who has often been a stalwart for the Blues in recent seasons under the coaching of Brad Fittler, took over the leadership role from the dropped James Tedesco for the 2024 series in Michael Maguire's squad.
Despite being named as captain, Trbojevic had limited impact for his state, playing just 29 minutes in Game 1, 33 minutes in Game 2, and 23 minutes in Game 3.
Those minutes produced a grand total of 141 running metres and 56 tackles across the three games, raising eyebrows over his actual role in the side who won the Shield with a stirring performance during a physical decider at Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium on Wednesday evening.
Maguire said it was about the character Trbojevic brought to the side.
I had a lot of questions about Jake being captain, but it's the glue, the special parts of what goes in and around the team that people don't get to see but I get to see," Maguire said during his post-match press conference.
"I wanted Jake as our captain because of his character. The players love him, and they just had another special moment in there where they all cheered him, but that's what Jake brings. You're picking certain characters for what you want and Jake was the man I wanted to lead the team."
Trbojevic, for his part, said it was the biggest highlight of his career to date.
"Without doubt. Captaining the Blues to a decider. Winning the series up here. It's the highlight without doubt," Trbojevic said.
Maguire's comments came in reponse to a question regarding whether the Blues could create a run of Origin success in the coming years, with the coach suggesting the playing group are "building something special".
New South Wales won Game 3 14 points to 4.
