The State of Origin war of words has erupted before a ball has even been kicked, with Queensland coach Billy Slater reportedly set to freeze out a popular Sydney radio program after being labelled a ‘grub’ by former NSW enforcer Aaron Woods.
Slater has no intention of appearing on Triple M’s Breakfast with Beau and Woodsy during this year’s Origin series, with tensions still simmering over explosive comments made by Woods last season, according to News Corp.
On Monday, Woods hit back at Slater after the report surfaced and said, ‘If he wants to have a cry, he can have a cry up north, I couldn’t care less.’
The former Blues prop launched a fiery spray at Slater after Queensland axed veteran halfback Daly Cherry-Evans during the 2025 campaign, accusing the Maroons coach of cracking under pressure.
‘I want to see the real Billy Slater come out – the grub that we know of,’ Woods said at the time.
‘This is a bloke who kicked John Skandalis in the head and got a six-week suspension. Everyone wants to go ‘oh he’s such a nice bloke’.’
Former NSW Origin prop Aaron Woods ignited the feud with Billy Slater in 2025 when he called him a ‘grub’
Slater took the insult deeply personally and will reportedly have nothing to do with Woods’ Triple M show
The comments stunned many within rugby league circles and have not been forgotten by Slater, who addressed the issue in an emotional press conference ahead of Origin game two last year.
‘When you hold a position in the media or in our game, I feel that’s a privilege. And with that privilege comes a responsibility,’ Slater said.
‘I know Aaron Woods.
‘I actually ran into him three or four weeks ago at a footy game and he didn’t voice that opinion then. He actually brought his son over to introduce him to me.
‘When you degrade someone personally in a derogatory manner, you probably don’t deserve one of those privileged positions that we’re all in.’
The Queensland coach then appeared to reference the death of former Maroons coach Paul Green while discussing the impact personal criticism can have on figures in the game.
‘You don’t know what people are going through,’ Slater said.
‘And although I might be able to handle it, the next person mightn’t be. Maybe our last coach didn’t.’
Slater (pictured left) was part of Queensland’s decade of dominance as a player before becoming Maroons coach
Green died by suicide in 2022, one year after coaching Queensland, with a post-mortem later finding he had been suffering from severe undiagnosed CTE.
Despite the hostility towards Woods, Slater is not expected to boycott Triple M entirely during the series, given the network’s strong rugby league presence and its stable of former stars including Gorden Tallis, James Graham and Nathan Hindmarsh.
But his reported refusal to appear on Woods’ breakfast show shapes as the first major psychological battle of this year’s Origin campaign.
The Sydney Breakfast team of Woods, former NRL star Beau Ryan and anchor Cat Lynch spoke about the boycott on Monday morning.
Ryan: ‘Hang on, so we can’t speak to Billy Slater?’
Woods: ‘But literally, did we even ask?’
Cat Lynch: ‘We have never reached out.’
Ryan: ‘I was going to reach out this morning.
Woods: ‘Oh really? That was my No.1 priority to reach out to Billy. I couldn’t wait to talk to him.’
Ryan: ‘But we’ve got to talk to him. This has dragged on way too long.’
Lynch then asked a hypothetical question about what they would ask Slater if he did appear on the show.
Woods: ‘Honestly it wouldn’t bother me one single bit.’
Ryan asked Woods how he would respond if Slater called a truce in their feud.
Woods then pretended to pull his hand away from a handshake and said: ‘I would say, psych!’
‘Honestly it doesn’t worry me one single bit, but if he wants to have a cry, he can have a cry up north, I couldn’t care less,’ Woods continued.
The fresh tension comes as Slater prepares Queensland for a new-look campaign following several bold selection calls, including the shock dumping of superstar fullback Reece Walsh and the surprise elevation of Sam Walker into the Maroons squad.
NSW coach Laurie Daley has also already begun reshaping his own media commitments ahead of the series, stepping away from his regular Sydney radio duties during the Origin period.
