Queensland discovery Pat Carrigan has put the Blues on notice, saying he can only get better and will not allow the Maroons to become complacent as they chase back-to-back Origin crowns next season. Carrigan says he will use the bitter-sweet experience of Brisbane’s NRL finals collapse and stunning elevation into Australia’s World Cup squad to make him a more dangerous force in the Origin arena in 2023. As Origin baptisms go, few rookies revelled in the code’s toughest arena like Carrigan. Regarded as an outside hope for the Queensland squad this season, the Broncos ironman took the Origin scene by storm. In his debut campaign for the Maroons, Carrigan clinched the Wally Lewis Medal as Origin’s player of the series, then iced the celebration cake as a co-winner of the Ron McAuliffe Medal with Ben Hunt as Queensland’s best and fairest. It was a remarkable individual feat by Carrigan, who made his Test debut in Australia’s recent World Cup opener against Fiji – and warned the Blues he will not be satisfied with just one fairytale Queensland series win. “The best players keep finding things to get better at,” Carrigan said. “I’m really grateful to be in Australian camp with a lot of great players and some pretty good forwards. “I want to watch and learn, and not get complacent. “The good teams I’ve played in so far, like in Origin this year and coming into this World Cup camp, is the top leaders like ‘Teddy’ (NSW fullback James Tedesco) and ‘Chez’ (Queensland captain Daly Cherry-Evans) make everyone feel like they belong. “When you get that feeling in a team, like we did for Queensland this year, you go a pretty long way to being successful before you get to the footy. “I absolutely loved my first year in the Queensland team. But I know I have more to offer. “That’s how I’ll approach things next year.” Carrigan hit Origin like a tsunami this season. The Blues felt the full force of his impact, with Carrigan’s whirlwind stint off interchange in his debut in Game One igniting Queensland’s fightback to steal the series opener 16-10 in Sydney. And when the series went to a decider at Suncorp Stadium, the 24-year-old was tireless, charging for 124 metres from 18 runs and amassing 39 tackles to inspire Queensland’s epic 22-12 boilover of the Blues. Maroons coach Billy Slater has made it clear with his selection philosophies that he wants ‘effort’ players in his Queensland teams. Workhorse Carrigan personifies that term. “Patty finished off the series in great style, forcing his way into the starting line-up and earning himself the Wally Lewis Medal (as the overall player of the series),” Slater said. “Before the series we spoke about the word ‘earning’, and if I look at Patty Carrigan the past 12 months, he suffered a season-ending knee injury last year and to come back the way he did was outstanding. “He earned himself a Queensland Origin jersey, he earned himself a starting position in that team, he earned himself a series win, and he earned himself the Wally Lewis and Ron McAuliffe Medals.” Carrigan is determined to parlay his rise with Queensland and Australia to helping the Broncos, who narrowly missed the finals in 2022 after going from fourth to ninth following a shock late-season losing streak. “It was definitely disappointing from a club perspective,” Carrigan said of missing the NRL finals. “In saying that, whilst I wanted to play finals footy this year, it’s a blessing in disguise for us. We will take some key lessons and learnings out of this year to make us better next year. “It’s got me excited and hungrier for next year. I know the work the boys are going to be putting in through the pre-season for us to challenge the top sides next year. “We haven’t accomplished anything at the Broncos yet, to be honest. There are a lot of driving factors that have got me hungry for next year. “I want to keep getting better and have success at club level next year and hopefully that puts me back in the Queensland team.”