By Gabriel Knowles
April 23rd 2009 @ 2:08am
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Baby blues have it all to do in this year’s State of Origin
State of Origin. AAP Images
Notwithstanding the fact that choosing a 40 man “induction day” squad is ridiculous, especially when the top brass come out and say that players who missed out could still make the final team, NSW selectors have done well.
Given three years without a series win, the Blues needed the kind of shake up that our cricket selectors could learn a thing or two from.
For starters, how anyone, Roosters fan or otherwise, can complain about the omission of Willie Mason is beyond me.
Even his own coach at club level has only just given him back his starting spot following his drinking indiscretion.
The other notable omissions from the Roosters, in Craig Fitzgibbon and Braith Anasta, have more grounds to be upset, but not much.
Fitzgibbon has been a loyal servant for the Blues over the years, but the selectors have shown their hand and gone for fresher legs. Anasta, on the other hand, has never shown enough when he’s had the chance to cement a NSW spot.
He seems destined only to come into calculations once injuries hit.
Nathan Hindmarsh somehow managed to find time outside of trying to get his team back on track to pass the judgement that the Bulldogs’ Andrew Ryan was unlucky to miss out.
If I were an Eels fan, I’d rather Hindmarsh was thinking more about his own teams’ predicament and working out how to make an real impact again.
He is right, though, Ryan has been a tower of strength leading the Bulldogs this year and can count himself unlucky.
Or lucky, because apparently this squad doesn’t mean that much anyway.
But the players that have been left out shouldn’t be the main talking points.
The inclusion of the likes of Michael Ennis, Robbie Farah, Michael Jennings, Chris Lawrence, James McManus, Josh Morris, John Sutton and Alan Tongue is to be applauded.
Lawrence has put his hand up for a centre spot with two tries against the Storm, and the way he outpaced Billy Slater for his second won’t have gone unnoticed by Craig Bellamy.
Tongue would be a great bet for the utility role, and whoever gets the hooking job out of Farah or Ennis will probably come down to Bellamy’s game plan.
Either way, the Blues will have a dynamic rake to go up against Cameron Smith in an area where they’ve been shaded in recent years.
While they mightn’t all play, at least it’s a tangible step in the right direction for NSW.
Complacency crept into the Blues camp in recent times and Queensland gained the upper hand by wanting it more, as much as anything else.
The injection of some fresh faces should ensure that if any of the old brigade do get a game, they’ll be well up for it.
They won’t like it one bit, but Queensland can’t shy away from being firm favourites this time around.
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(6)
The Answer said | April 23rd 2009 @ 8:52am | Report comment
I don’t know if the inclusion of Josh Morris should be applauded seeing he was ruled out for 8 weeks the day before the squad was announced.
The Link said | April 23rd 2009 @ 9:17am | Report comment
1. Gidley
2. Quinn
3. Monaghan
4. Cooper
5. Williams
6. Campese
7. Wallace
8. Kite
9. Farah
10. Bailey
11. Laffrainchi
12. Stewart
13. Gallen
14. Watmough
15. Weyman
16. Mullen
17. Tupou
The Link said | April 23rd 2009 @ 9:19am | Report comment
No Trent Barrett in the 40 is the biggest surprise for mine
Perhaps a spot for Lawrence on the bench would be my only smokey
Greg Russell said | April 23rd 2009 @ 12:32pm | Report comment
I agree with Gabriel that the general philosophy here is to be applauded, especially in view of the facts that the game is faster than ever this year (although has it yet been confirmed that two referees will be used in Origin?) and that the Qld side is certain to contain old legs in many key positions (e.g. Lockyer, Price, Civo). With youth and speed, NSW will certainly be giving themselves some points of difference that may lead to a reversal of fortunes from the last three years.
The issue I have is that the NSW selectors may have gone too far with the policy and renewal and rejuvenation. This is captured best by the report in yesterday’s SMH that Kurt Gidley is likely to be captain. Come on, this is a guy who has never had a regular starting spot in the NSW side, and until B Stewart’s injury it was hard to see how he was going to get a starting spot in this year’s side. And yet he is likely to be captain? It’s hard to see that NSW can win with such an inexperienced leader and therefore inexperienced side.
Looking through The Link’s suggested team above, I guess Gallen is the other captaincy option. He is more experienced than Gidley, but he too would be fraught with potential problems as captain (discipline, anyone?).
Daniel Mills said | April 23rd 2009 @ 11:05pm | Report comment
The uncertainty of Origin and the speculation coinciding with NSW selection was inevitable, given half a 3rd of the national populations populations point of view.
I know one thing will be for certain come Origin one, Alan Tongue will be brilliant. Stats win games, and Tongue wins stats. Man of the match bolter, and its a big call this far out, but you heard it hear first!
Daniel Mills said | April 23rd 2009 @ 11:06pm | Report comment
Ignore that previous post. It lacked sense. revised version below!
*The uncertainty of Origin and the speculation coinciding with NSW selection was inevitable, given a 3rd of the national populations point of view.
I know one thing will be for certain come Origin one, Alan Tongue will be brilliant. Stats win games, and Tongue wins stats. Man of the match bolter, and its a big call this far out, but you heard it hear first!