He made the remarks at a function organised by the Blues Origin Legends on Thursday night, and the New South Wales team moved quickly to distance itself.
Elias called a Sydney local radio station on Friday to apologise for his comments made at the end of an interview with Fox Sports News.
He told the Austereo network the comments were taken out of context.
"It was a tongue-in-cheek thing, it was nothing more, nothing less," he said.
"If they take that out of context and take it seriously I think people really have got to have a good look at themselves.
"If it was all personal, too personal, I would never have got involved and helped the Queenslanders.
"I've got a personal letter from their premier, Anna Bligh, saying thanks for your support."
Elias had likened the New South Wales team's playing ability to make more of an impact on the Queensland side than the January floods.
"They are so cocky, they are so confident, they believe that they're bullet-proof and I can assure you there's something coming up there," he said.
"They're going to make these floods ... look like an absolute mimic when it comes to us coming up there because we're going to certainly create a massive storm."
Elias played in a former Origin players' floods fundraiser and said he had been involved in "seven or eight" other relief events.
Blues hooker Michael Ennis was determined to dismiss the remarks, having personally visited the flood-affected areas with his NRL club Canterbury.
"I'm extremely disappointed in terms of what I saw and the relationships that I've built with some people up there," he said.
"I think it was uncalled for."
- AAP
Tags: rugby-league, nsw, qld
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