Rugby: Lockyer a tough act to follow

Lockyer is legendary, but there's no splitting hairs that Cooper's talent is flourishing. Photo / Getty Images

Queenslanders yesterday woke to a massive hangover and, as deliriously foggy heads cleared, came to the realisation they're only halfway through the Tale of Two Five-Eighths.

Wednesday was all about Darren Lockyer, the champion Maroons pivot, who cast a spell over Suncorp Stadium as a Queensland player for a final time in their State of Origin-clinching win over New South Wales.

Tomorrow, young first-five Quade Cooper gets his turn in the Suncorp spotlight and, frankly, the banana-benders expect Lockyer-like magic from their Tokoroa-born talisman.

Not surprisingly, yesterday's local paper, the Courier-Mail was full of Lockyer - the first three pages and the six at the back - but Cooper did not go ignored by any stretch.

Five former Wallabies were asked which first five-eighth they would pick in their hypothetical World XV and who was going to win the final.

Elton Flatley, David Campese, Michael Lynagh and Toutai Kefu all gave the nod to Carter, while Matt Pini said he would pick the Crusader if the first five-eighth was required to do the goalkicking, but would pick Cooper if there was another kicker in the backline.

All of them pick the Reds to win.

A public poll asked if Cooper was now a better first five-eighths than Carter - 80 per cent of them responded in the negative, proving that Carter's influence on a game is still feared and respected.

Said Lynagh: "Overall, Carter is No 1 in the world at first five-eighths. He invariably makes the right decisions and he has the experience."

Kefu also pointed to Carter's runs on the board and his big-game experience.

"The thing with Carter is he just does his job so well," Kefu said.

"He doesn't need to pull anytricks out of his bag.

"Quade likes to do something unexpected. When you play that way often enough it does leave you open to the occasional mistake.

"When something so important is on the line, Carter is such a bankable commodity."

Cooper appears relaxed and ready to carry the responsibility of being his team's go-to guy, a leader with or without the captain's armband.

If he can do that for another decade or so, they might starting talking about him in the same reverential tones as another Queensland five-eighth of a different code.