Former Premiership winner Craig Wing will have his eyes fixated on the NSW Blues no.14 jersey that he made famous - which has now been bestowed to Roosters super-sub Connor Watson for the second State of Origin match.
Wing - who played 12 games for New South Wales - was instrumental not only in the Blues' successful series wins in 2003, 2004 and 2005, but had plenty of impact as he revolutionised the role of the utility in the no.14 jersey.
Former Roosters mentor Phil Gould was the man to call Wing upon for the side in '03, giving him free rein in a move that more often than not turned the tide of battle and shifted momentum in favour of the men in sky blue.
But being a pioneer of the role, it was up to Wing to determine what he'd mold the no.14 jersey into.
Inside Camp: Connor Watson
“I just made it up myself really,” Wing explained.
“I had no idea where I was going on the field other than ‘you’ll probably get hooker at some stage, but you need to cover the other positions.’ But I kind of made it my mission to watch how the best of the best would train and what they’d do in their position.
“I came up with the mantra for myself that I had to change the tempo of the game or do something differently, or make an impact.
“To be fair, I was always trying to get a starting position too, so I wanted to go out there and do a better job than the guy I was replacing. As I got a bit older and understood the value of my role, I just took it on myself to cover everything as well.
“I always liked to go into a game prepared and know what is exactly required for me, whereas that utility role you don’t really know, hence the reason why I had to make up that my role was to change the tempo of the game.
“But, on the flip side of that, I kind of knew that there was no one I could learn from who was trying to do what had done before. It was exciting in that I was trying to work it out."
Two decades on from his heroics in the Origin cauldron, the proud former Rooster is spurring on Watson to do the same in his debut for his state next Wednesday, in a critical match that will determine if Game III at Suncorp Stadium decides the series.
“Even when he first came into first grade and signed with the Roosters, I noticed him then when they tried to draw a similarity in our styles,” Wing said of his successor.
“He’s tough, he’s got skill, he’s got strength, he’s got a good engine and he’s prepared to put his body on the line. He’s got everything that you need to do that, and he’s fast.
“I’ve been excited to see him get a role like this. I think now that he’s a bit older, he’s more mature and he’s probably learned to control his tempo as opposed to going 100% at everything all the time.
“For me, I was probably going 100% all the time in my younger years and it wasn’t until I got a little bit older that I learned tempo, and that’s probably your greatest attribute.
“There’s also patience on the field, you have a bit more vision but him going into the Origin space, I think he’s got a clear understanding of what he’s supposed to be doing and when he goes on there.
“I’m excited to see Connor go out and play and hopefully I’ll get to relive some memories of my own in his style of play."
I’m excited to see Connor go out and play and hopefully I’ll get to relive some memories of my own in his style of play.
Craig Wing Rooster no.990
Wing gave some final words of wisdom for Watson ahead of his debut.
“Don’t start warming up until kick-off," he said.
“Don’t get your adrenaline up until they kick the ball because otherwise, you’ll burn out in two minutes on the field.
“I think Harry Grant does a good job of it for Queensland, so he only has to look across to his opposition player to see what he’s got to do.
“Hopefully when he goes on he’ll make some tackles, pick the tempo up and make some good runs and then that’ll just lift the team at the right time.
“Go the Blues.”
