the eventual premiers Wests Tigers 34-6 to end a great season on a very disappointing note. However, experienced commentators continued questioning Lockyer's value as a five-eighth during representative matches. He traveled with the Australian national team to Europe for the 2005 Tri-Nations but injured his foot at training and missed the last few games of the tournament, including Australia's stunning 24-0 loss to New Zealand in the final. 2006 After a poor start to the 2006 Brisbane Broncos season following a 36-4 loss to the North Queensland Cowboys at Suncorp Stadium in Round 1, several critics argued that Lockyer should either return to or lose his spot on both the Australian and Queensland squad. There were also rumours that Johnathan Thurston would be chosen as the Queensland five-eighth, with Scott Prince at halfback. However, after the ANZAC Test, in which Lockyer scored two tries in Australia's 50-12 defeat of New Zealand, the critics eased off. Lockyer's performances in the five-eighth position improved greatly in the weeks leading up to the 2006 State of Origin series, resulting in his selection as five-eighth and captain for Game I. Lockyer underwent further criticism when the Maroons lost to the Blues 17-16 after a poor first half. His position was again debated, with new Queensland coach Mal Meninga at one point telling Lockyer he wanted to pick him at fullback for Game 2 (to which Lockyer responded with "pick me at five-eighth, or don't pick me at all"), but strong performances against the Bulldogs and the Warriors resulted in his retention in the Queensland side. Queensland then made an impressive comeback in Origin 2, thumping the Blues 30-6, with Lockyer receiving the Man of the Match award. He was then responsible for sealing the series victory for Queensland in the deciding match. With Queensland down 14-10 with 5 minutes remaining, Lockyer intercepted a pass from NSW player Brett Hodgson and scored the match-winning try. It was Queensland's first outright series victory since 2001 and also stopped New South Wales from achieving their 4th consecutive Origin series win. After the match, Lockyer received the Wally Lewis Medal for player of the series, and also received his third Ron McAuliffe Medal. Immediately after Queensland's State of Origin success, the Broncos entered a 5-game losing streak, in what Bennett referred to as the "slump that wasn't a slump", but bounced back to comfortably win their final three