TOM Flegler believes he “got lucky” winning his maiden Queensland Origin jumper last year.

But the Broncos firebrand admits he cannot ride his luck again if he hopes to retain his Maroons jumper for Queensland’s Origin revenge mission in 2022.

In State of Origin’s 41-year history, there have been few bolters quite like Flegler, who rocketed into the Queensland side for Game Three after Jai Arrow was kicked out of Camp Maroon for breaching the NRL’s Covid protocols.

Despite patchy club form for the Broncos, Flegler lifted on the big stage, impressing off the bench in the face-saving 20-18 victory that saw Queensland avert a 3-0 series sweep to the Blues.

Buoyed by his unlikely Origin debut, Flegler was hellbent on finishing his 2021 Broncos campaign with a bang.

In a sense, he did – for all the wrong reasons.

He was suspended twice for high tackles, including a month-long ban for a careless shot on Cronulla’s Jack Williams that will see him miss the opening three rounds of the 2022 premiership.

Flegler will return in Round 4 behind the eight ball in the battle for Queensland front-row berths. The Broncos bookend concedes he must fix his tackling style – or put his long-term NRL and Origin future in jeopardy.

“I’d love to play Origin again this year,” said FOG No.221 Flegler.

“I had a pretty average start to the year (last season), then I got lucky with Origin and had a good back-end of the year.

“Unfortunately I missed a few games due to suspension, which I need to work on and fix up a bit.

“You can’t really play too well sitting on the sidelines, so I need to stay on the field a bit more.

“I’ve been working with a few of our defence coaches. I just need to tackle a bit lower.

“With the new rules, they’ve been a lot harder on high shots. We’ve got to adjust to the new rules.

“To start off, my priority is to get back to playing consistent NRL footy and try not to get suspended.

“If I can be more consistent, the rest will come with it.”

Flegler, who turns 23 this August, has always been touted for big things in the Queensland system.

Coming through the Broncos ranks, he was likened to a young Shane Webcke with his fearless, bullocking running style.

Flegler underscored his potential when he played 23 games in a fine rookie season in 2019.

But the following year, under then-Broncos coach Anthony Seibold, Flegler lost his way, barely making an impact in a disappointing 13-game campaign, with his erosion in confidence spilling into the 2021 season.

While Flegler’s Origin call-up was a shock, and in some way an insight into Queensland’s skinny depth compared to the Blues, his Maroons baptism was the show of faith he needed to boost his spirits.

“It definitely gave me confidence going to into a Queensland team with such good players around you,” he said.

“To get a win (in Origin III) and know what that winning feeling is like again, it was great.

“Being in the Origin squad was an eye-opener – just to see how guys get themselves up for such a big game.

“Every kid dreams of playing Origin, and to get that shot and run out with a big crowd, there was plenty of atmosphere and energy among the boys.

“We lacked that for a long time at the Broncos (during their wooden-spoon season in 2020) and to get that feeling again helped find a spark for me.

“I needed that boost coming into this year. It’s really helped me.”

A veteran of 56 first-grade games, Flegler contracted Covid during Brisbane’s 2022 pre-season but says he is healthy again and wants to press his Queensland claims by forging a formidable front-row alliance with NSW enforcer Payne Haas at the Broncos.

“I ended up catching the virus, which was unfortunate, but it’s good to be back,” he said.

“I was pretty good. The whole team is double-vaxxed, so the symptoms were pretty mild.

“Payne is definitely our main front-rower, and I personally let him down last year.

“Consistency is a massive thing for me to work on this year. It’s time to let my football do the talking.”