NSW great has exploded in disbelief in a rant about Queensland claiming underdog status ahead of the State of Origin opener.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hate just how they think Origin\u2019s all about them, their own self-importance. It\u2019s embarrassing,\u201d Gallen told Sydney\u2019s 2GB radio on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo hear them talk about the underdog tag and how they\u2019re underdogs and how NSW are deserving favourites, it\u2019s honestly sickening. It\u2019s disgusting. <\/p>\n
\u201cLike, I don\u2019t understand why they need it so much. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve won more Origin games than us. They\u2019ve won more series than us \u2026 for them to continually carry on about it, it\u2019s sickening.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gallen, who played 24 games for NSW winning just nine, hit out at the argument Queensland cared more about Origin because of their eight-year winning streak from 2006 to 2013.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause of what happened in that eight-year period with us, they\u2019re able to say that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut when you\u2019ve got probably six or seven future Immortals in the side, you\u2019re probably going to win most games.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I hate them being able to say it. You know, whenever we win, we\u2019re just happy to win and walk away and wait till next year. We don\u2019t carry on and rub it into Queensland\u2019s face.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo I\u2019m hoping if we win this year, I\u2019m going to be letting every single Queenslander know about it for 12 months. <\/p>\n
\u201cYes, every single one of them, because the crap they carry on with is ridiculous.\u201d<\/p>\n
Queensland has won more State of Origin series, with 25 titles compared to NSW\u2019s 17. Two of the series were drawn.<\/p>\n
The Maroons won the most recent 2025 series 2-1, while the Blues took it out 2-1 the previous year.<\/p>\n
Gallen said he was annoyed that people kept believing the Maroons\u2019 claim on underdog status.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are actually the underdogs. We are actually the favourites.\u201d<\/p>\n
For what it\u2019s worth, the Blues are $1.68 favourites with the bookies and Queensland are $2.21 outsiders for Game 1.<\/p>\n
Both teams enter the series missing key players \u2013 the Maroons are without Reece Walsh and Tom Dearden, while the Blues are missing Mitchell Moses, Payne Haas and Latrell Mitchell through injury.<\/p>\n