State of Origin: NSW vs Queensland, Ben Hannant Reveals Dirty Little Origin Truth, Nathan Cleary’s Toothache

Former Maroons props man Ben Hannant has revealed one of State of Origin’s great unspoken truths – last-minute health concerns.

Undoubtedly, these are the three most important games on the rugby league calendar, and the preparation for each Origin match dominates the code media as the NRL takes a back seat for most of the two months of each season.

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And every year there is undoubtedly some drama going on to keep your mouth shut.

This season it’s the Blues’ navy jersey, or questions about the first leg in Adelaide, or speculation about last-minute chances for squads.

While the Maroons have mostly kept quiet, the Blues have also had some staffing issues. Campbell Graham bows through the trauma Payne Haas fearLatrell Mitchell ruled out due to injury and speculation that Nathan Cleary will follow suit.

Hannant said it’s good news for Queensland – not so much for New South Wales – that Mitchell is ruled out with an injury.

But he had some questions about the “injury” to Nathan Cleary, who was reportedly battling a toothache.

Initial reports had Nico Hynes is told to get ready to start as a midfielder in case Cleary was unable to line up for the Blues due to a wisdom tooth problem, but this was quickly denied by NSW officials.

This despite Half Bulldog Matt Burton skydiving To camp.

Hannant, who played 12 Origin matches for Queensland between 2008 and 2012 during the Maroons’ dominance when they won eight series in a row.”

Speaking of Bianca, Ben and Lakey on Gold Coast 90.9 SeaFM, Hannant said the story had been heard many times.

“At Origin this time of year, both camps tend to have little arguments, fake stories about people being sick,” Hannant explained.

“Queensland is now calling New South Wales about Nathan Cleary, he is allegedly having a toothache and may not be able to play.”

Asked why they did it, Hannant said, “Just to cause a bit of drama and make you wonder if he’s acting or not.

“I’m just going to give you some inside information – when I played many times for Queensland, the players didn’t get sick at all, and Mel (Meninga) was like, ‘Who wants to be rooting and talking to the media?’

“To put it simply, now New South Wales is doing exactly what Queensland is doing.

“But right now our guys from Queensland are flying under the radar, everything is going smoothly, the camp is going fantastic, that’s what I hear. Come tomorrow evening, it will be an absolute educational program.

The clip aired on Fox Sports NRL 360, where former Blues star Breith Anasta said, “I’d like to thank Ben Hannant for finally telling the truth.

“All these illnesses before the game were nonsense,” Anastasia added.

Former Maroons hardman Gorden Tallis responded: “But we are inventing legitimate illnesses, not toothaches.

“If your daughter gets up in the morning and says, ‘Daddy, I have a toothache,’ you still send her to school.”

Originally published as ‘Who Wants to Get Sick?’: Ben Hannant Reveals a Dirty Little Truth About Origins