Craig Wing must sit down sometimes and wonder who he has offended. Not only does he play out of his socks every time he takes the field, but he invariably has to do so in a multitude of positions.
Despite this, Wing may miss out on a spot in the NSW State of Origin team simply because selectors and media commentators alike seem to continually ignore his on field form.
It appears Wing may be the victim of Jason Taylor’s inability to set him in a permanent position, rotating him from hooker, to five eighth, to lock back to the bench.
I like to call this often-cruel coaching indecisiveness as the “Mark McLinden syndrome.” This is when a player’s career can be potentially destroyed by their own versatility.
Wing was selected in the City Country game this year and had a blinder for City, setting up tries at will with his roving running plays. Yet nobody appeared to notice.
Isn’t this a game supposedly billed as an Origin trial match?
Ricky Stuart never seemed to notice his brilliance either, not even when Wing helped win a competition for him at the Roosters playing halfback, only to be dumped to the hooker/bench spot the next year, replaced by Brett Finch.
History will show that the Roosters may well have won three competitions in a row if Wing was selected in the halfback spot.
Has anybody taken note that Souths have knocked over some big teams in the last fortnight when Wing finally got a run in the number 6 jersey?
Perhaps Wing needs to fire his publicist, because for reasons that are difficult to fathom, nobody appears to notice he is one of the best number 6’s in the game.
Enjoy sports? Enjoy a bargain? All Sports Online has your favourite sporting brands at up to 70% off. Online only, premium quality sporting goods and merchandise at discounted prices. Get a deal now.
The Crowd Says (3) | Page 1 of Comments
Have Your Say
Do you have what it takes to become a sports writer? Write for the roar
Rugby League articles
- Rugby league’s new era: where to now? (10)
- New dawn for rugby league gets underway (10)
- Rugby league commission ushers in new era (3)
- Ennis confident about his NRL fitness
- Why sporting seasons should never cross paths (33)
- Independent Commission four years in the making, but worth the wait (24)
- Kearney still to choose Eels kicker
- Rugby league’s new era: where to now? (10)
- Federal Court has it wrong on sports broadcast copyright (44)
- An open letter to Channel Nine (104)
- The NRL’s scariest players (56)
- Is the All Stars match increasing the divide? (25)
- Channel Nine needs NRL-cricket ODI compromise (36)
- The NRL needs a vision (52)
Hoy said | May 22nd 2009 @ 7:41am | Report comment
He was a super 6 when he started for the Rabbits. I will always remember a try he scored when he stood Peachy up against the sharks. It was a while ago, and the memory plays tricks, but I think that it and the one that Blacklock scored after taking a bouncing ball and shooting straight through two defenders, are two tries I think are two of the best I have seen in league.
Hoy said | May 22nd 2009 @ 7:43am | Report comment
Sorry, I also agree with your McLinded syndrome and have stated on this site somewhere else that he was ruined when they started shifting him, and possibly the same with any footballer tagged as Utility. McLinden was another super 6, and I reckon they ruined him by playing him all over the park.
wallythefly said | May 22nd 2009 @ 3:57pm | Report comment
Thanks for writing this, i agree completely and was going to write a similar thing (although more a ‘Memo to Souths: DONT release Wing’
notice how the second Sandow went off and Wing played at halfback and started calling the shots Souths put on two tries?! He is an invaluable player and all this talk of Souths releasing him for salary cap room makes fans lilke me very very nervous