VICTORIOUS Queensland captain Darren Lockyer and evergreen prop Petero Civoniceva have made a pact to play on for the Maroons in next year's State of Origin series after wrapping up the first clean sweep of their careers last night.
There had been speculation over whether the veterans would continue their representative careers beyond this season but Lockyer said last night they would almost certainly return in 2011.
''At this stage, I'm keen to be there again next year,'' Lockyer told Fairfax Media. ''Petero and I had a bit of a chat about it and he wants to go again. We're in the same boat. Obviously, things can change quickly but at this stage we're keen to be here again next year.''
Lockyer, with blood seeping from a cut beside his left eye, was in a jubilant mood as he sat back to reflect on the series whitewash completed at ANZ Stadium. He agreed that comparisons with the famous Queensland side of the late 1980s - which achieved the feat in 1988 and 1989 - were more than justified.
''I've been playing Origin since '98 and never done it,'' he said of the clean sweep, which capped off a fifth successive Queensland series victory. ''You look at the late 80s - they won back-to-back, 3-0. It's not easy - you put so much into an Origin match. You need everything you've got to win them. For us to pull that out when the series was already won was very pleasing.
''We had to win in a different way tonight. The first two [games] … we cruised home, whereas tonight they put us under a bit of pressure. We knew ourselves, five years ago when everyone was writing us off, how that makes you feel. They come out and had a real red-hot crack. It's a sign of a really good team when you win in different ways. We had to dig deep, find some character.''
It is hardly surprising that Lockyer, who is enjoying a career renaissance at 33, feels he can go on.
''Just physically, I'm in better shape,'' he said. ''I've just hit a patch where I'm enjoying it and I just feel like I'm moving a bit better. I don't really think about the end … I know it's coming but I don't think about it too much.''
Civoniceva said he would wait for his body to tell him if it was time to reduce his workload by giving up representative football. ''At this stage I still want to keep playing until they stop picking me,'' he said. ''I'll assess things at the end of the year, as I've said all along I would do, but I'm very mindful of how great it is to be a part of this team. It will be a sad day for me when I am no longer a part of it.''
Lockyer's halves partner, Jonathan Thurston, said the Maroons had been spurred on by wild Blues celebrations when lock Greg Bird scored to give them a lead for the first time with 10 minutes remaining.
''I had a look up and I saw them walking back all jumping around yahooing and carrying on like they had it wrapped up,'' Thurston said. ''Ten minutes is a long time in Origin. I knew if we controlled the ball a bit and got down their end we'd be a threat and we ended up wrapping it up.''
Thurston hailed the efforts of front-rowers Matt Scott, Civoniceva and David Shillington and fullback Billy Slater, who produced the match-winning plays by holding up Anthony Watmough and then crossing for a try to put the Maroons back in front.
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