Earlier this week Maroons assistant coach Matt Ballin was able to shadow Wallabies coach Dave Rennie and assistants McKellar and Scott Wisemantel, and take what he learned back into Queensland camp ahead of the Origin clash in Perth on Sunday.

The coach, who has supporting roles with Queensland and the Brisbane Broncos, said the experience overseeing the Wallabies' preparations on the Sunshine Coast for their upcoming Test against England, was hugely beneficial.

"It was a fantastic meeting with Dan, Scotty and Dave Rennie," Ballin said. "We just went through the day with them, seeing what their meetings were like before the session and watched the session. All the coaching staff had their own specific roles during the day, so they're very methodical and really pragmatic.

"It basically came about through a bit of personal development through the Broncos and we just decided to go up the highway to Twin Waters. Scotty was a bit of a leaguey and Dan appreciates league too. It was really impressive and a great learning curve for me."

Ballin said the meticulous planning that went into each Wallabies session was inspiring, with McKellar's coaching approach a particular highlight.

Queenslander McKellar recently departed Canberra after five seasons as coach of the Brumbies, that included two Super Rugby AU grand finals and one title in 2020, a Super Rugby semi-final in 2019 and Super Rugby Pacific semi-final in 2022.

"Dan was really impressive with his articulation of the game," the Maroons assistant said of the former Brumbies coach.

"He really understood what he wanted from his players. It was really detailed what he said to them, simple and clear.

"So they all went away with a really clear process of what they were doing because this was only their second training session together.

"There's a lot of similarities between league and union, and the main part was how the coaches related to their players, and got the best out of them. They asked questions, challenged them, and rewarded them."

The Maroons have so far experienced success under new head coach Billy Slater with an uplifting display in Game One, but Ballin and the Queensland squad are wary of the changes NSW have made for Perth.

"They didn't do a whole heap wrong [in the series opener]," Ballin said. "They'll bring that same style of football and the changes they've made have been impressive."

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: