Blues legend Ryan Girdler has slammed the lack of feisty banter between NSW and Queensland, particularly the lack of hatred toward the Maroons ahead of Game Two of State of Origin.
Girdler said after a "lukewarm" build-up to Game One in Adelaide, he wants to see the state vs state rivalry go up a notch at ANZ Stadium on Wednesday evening.
"What we love about Origin is the two camps - we like some barbs, some banter being thrown, some genuine dislike between the two teams, and I haven't seen any of that so far," Girdler told Triple M.
"There's not enough dislike between these two teams.
"In the past you've got (Paul) Gallen and (Nate) Myles, you've got those personal clashes. You've got guys like Benny Elias who can't walk the streets of Queensland, you've got Wally Lewis and Cam Smith who come down here and absolutely cop it from the fans.
"There's just nothing. There's been no barbs thrown from either camp, there's too many nice guys in both teams, to the point it's going to be hard for NSW fans.
"They need to find a way on Wednesday night to give it to Queensland.
"I don't know who they're going to give it to because you take away some of those legends of Origin. They were easy guys for our fans to dislike.
"How do you dislike (Josh) Papalii? How do you dislike (Cameron) Munster? (AJ) Brimson, big Tino (Fa'asuamaleaui)? What's to dislike about these guys?
"They haven't been in the game long enough to create that sort of relationship with the fans."
Girdler said the tension between Australian Kangaroos players from Queensland and NSW used to be so great that only when coaches stepped in and forced them to bond, did they do so.
"I remember at points there was such dislike between the NSW team and the Queensland team that when they went into camp for the Australian side, they used to sit at different tables and wouldn't mix until Mal Meninga had to get them all back together," Girdler recalled.
At least north of the border Queensland coach Wayne Bennett and his side have been doing their bit to spark a bit of banter, questioning NSW critics of the inexperienced 2020 Maroons side in hilarious fashion.
"Do they drug test journalists?" Bennett joked during Tuesday's press conference.
"I think they should if they're making that kind of stuff up."
Girdler welcomed Bennett's cheeky shot, and argued that such banter only fuels the Maroons more, while the Blues have remained calm in response to barbs that have been thrown their way in this series.
"He's stoking the fire. Wayne Bennett knows what Origin is all about and he knows this has been a very passive couple of weeks," Girdler said.
"No one has stuck their head up at the moment. Gallen in the past said Queenslanders have two heads. Big Willy (Mason) called them all rednecks.
"This year? Nothing."
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