Maroons Coast camp time to be cut

Johnathan Thurston keeps busy at State of Origin training at the Hyatt Coolum last year.

BRETT WORTMAN

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State of Origin II, 2010

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QUEENSLAND has altered its preparation for the upcoming State of Origin series, deciding the team will train on the Sunshine Coast only for games two and three.

The Maroons used Hyatt Regency Coolum as a base for all three games of last year’s series on their way to a record-breaking three-nil win and a fifth straight series victory.

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This year, they will head to the Royal Pines Resort on the Gold Coast for the bulk of their preparations before the May 25 series opener at Suncorp Stadium, but will spend their first four days in camp at Royal on the Park in the Brisbane CBD.

The Maroons had planned to use Hyatt Regency Coolum as their base for the three matches, but a convention has booked out the boutique resort.

They will be sharing the Gold Coast resort with a stack of female golfers, with the South Pacific Ladies Masters tournament set to be played at Royal Pines from May 23-25.

Coach Mal Meninga praised the Coolum resort’s facilities during the side’s campaign last year, after the dramas that shadowed the team’s 2009 campaign. Allegations of prescription-drug abuse while in camp on the Gold Coast hung over the side after its spiteful end to the series.

The team for game two, on June 15 at Sydney’s ANZ Stadium, will be announced on June 7 at Coolum, where the team is to stay in camp for a week.

The game-three team will be announced on June 28 for the July 6 match at Suncorp Stadium.

The Maroons are to attend two sponsors functions while on the Sunshine Coast but have not announced if they will host a fan day.

Tickets to games one and three went on sale yesterday.

The first Suncorp Stadium match was nearly sold out within hours. Only a handful of single seats were available late yesterday. A range of seats were still available for game three of the series in Brisbane.

QUEENSLAND PREPARATION

Game 1 – May 25, Suncorp Stadium

May 17-20 Royal on the Park Hotel, Brisbane, May 20-24 Royal Pines Resort, Gold Coast

Game 2 – June 15, ANZ Stadium

June 7-14 Hyatt Regency Coolum

Game 3 – July 6, Suncorp Stadium

June 28-July 5 Hyatt Regency Coolum