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FWC: BEL v SEN live on SN Extra'Never satisfied': how Grant became an 80-minute hooker
Joel Gould, AAP • July 1st, 2026 10:59 am
Harry Grant has become an 80-minute hooker for Queensland who will do his job with great impact | Photo: Mark Evans/AAP
Harry Grant is now an 80-minute State of Origin hooker for Queensland and he credits applying the wisdom of his schoolboy coach Terry Hansen for his progress.
Grant, 28, will play his 17th Origin match for the Maroons at Suncorp Stadium on July 8 with an earned reputation as the best No. 9 in the world.
He played 77 minutes in the 44-24 game-two win of this year's series and 80 minutes in the previous three Origin matches. Queensland won three of those games, with Grant playing as well late in the game as he did at the start.
In the years from 2020-2024 he came off the bench on seven occasions for the Maroons and would often share the dummy-half role with Ben Hunt.
Harry Grant will play the Origin decider in Brisbane at the top of his game | Photo: Darren England/AAP
Hansen coached Grant at St Brendan's College in Yeppoon near Rockhampton along with dozens of schoolboys who went on to play NRL and attain higher honours.
It is a Hansen mantra that has stuck with him.
"He had a good quote in school that was. 'if you do what you've always done, you will get what you always got'," Grant said.
"It is about always pushing the boundaries to try and evolve your game, training hard and don't stay within yourself. Understanding that (ideology) was a good one to go by."
The philosophy is one that Grant says drives the current Maroons side to aim higher, despite winning three of the past four series.
Harry Grant celebrates scoring the match-winning try in the 2020 Origin decider | Photo: Darren England/AAP
"I think good teams or every good player in whatever they do, you can't get comfortable or be satisfied with how you are," he said.
"You have got to keep looking to grow, evolve and be better otherwise the ship will sail.
"It is always a good environment when there is a collective in that mindset."
"That's just been the journey that I've been on," he said.
"I had a really good combo with Dozer (Hunt), similar to clubland with Cheese (Brandon Smith), and then it evolved into 80 minutes," he said.
"That's been the last few Origins. I don't really look at that as a thing, I think I just worry about my job and what the coaches want."
Grant, speaking at the Maroons fan day in his home town of Rockhampton, reflected on his 2020 debut for Queensland as "a great experience and something that's there forever", when he came off the bench in the decider in Brisbane to score a try and secure a 20-14 win.
Tune into Sport Nation for live commentary of State of Origin III: The Decider on July 8 - available on all NZ frequencies and the app.
