By Gabriel Knowles
June 24th 2009 @ 2:14am
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Strange Blues selections raise plenty of questions
New South Wales team huddle before their final training session at ANZ Stadium, Sydney, Tuesday, June 23, 2009. New South Wales take on Queensland in the second State of Origin match tomorrow night. AAP Image/Dean Lewins
When it comes to Origin, Darren Lockyer knows what he’s talking about. So when the Maroons captain comes out and publicly questions the selection of an opposition player, you know something is amiss.
Clearly, Lockyer isn’t having a go at Josh Morris’ playing ability, nor is he engaging in ritual pre-match gamesmanship. It seems he, like many, is perplexed as to why the Blues selectors have gone the way they have.
WIth Craig Wing ruled out, many were predicting the inclusion of Ben Hornby in the utility role. Even Michael Ennis would have offered more variety off the bench than Morris.
The problem for the Blues is that if Morris is called into action, then a myriad of positional changes will most likely occur. Kurt Gidley, Jarryd Hayne and Joel Monaghan will all potentially shuffle around if, as expected, Robbie Farah is given a rest at some stage.
For a team who have struggled for cohesion in recent times, it’s hardly an ideal scenario to be facing.
On the other hand, if there is an injury somewhere across the back line, then they’ll have more than adequate cover – but only slightly more than what Hornby could have offered.
The other potential problem facing the Blues is the decision to only go with one frontrower on the bench. Despite the Maroon’s frontrowers getting on top of the Blues pack for all but the back end of each half in Origin One, the NSW selectors have opted to up the ante on their policy of having mobile forwards.
The Maroon’s are fortunate to be largely unchanged, once again, and they have all the momentum heading into the second match.
While they’ll miss Justin Hodges on their right side, Willie Tonga has been in good form of late and has done the job at this level before. Whether he can move away from his preferred left side is another story, but modern footballers are more than capable of playing on different sides these days.
Across the board, the Maroon’s have too many game breakers, even on the bench, who will be able to turn the game in the unlikely event that it’s a close one.
The Blues selectors will need to go back to the drawing board for Game Three if they want to get anything out of this series.
Again.
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Spiro Zavos said | June 24th 2009 @ 8:08am | Report comment
It would be very interesting to see what sort of team someone like Phil Gould or Warren Ryan would pick for NSW. it always seems to me that the NSW selectors for the State of Origin team do not look at the structure of the side. They tend to try to play too many playmakers or too many hard men or too many players out of position. There does not seem to be a coherence in their selections. This may come because in most years they have a plethora of choices. Queensland usually just plays its best players, about 8 or 9 of whom are very good and then put in the best of the journeymen available.
PuntPal said | June 24th 2009 @ 9:09am | Report comment
Morris has been picked for speed and it makes perfect sense to have someone like him on the bench. If they picked Hornby, where would have he been used? He is a halfback for Saints, but surely Wallace will play 80. Would you really want Hornby slotting into fullback in a must win Origin? Maybe 3 years ago, but the demands on the fullback are greater now…they need to be explosive and I dont think Hornby is any more.
It is clear Hayne and Gidley will share fullback position and we can expect a lot more teams to do this in the future. This is because the running that is required of a modern day fullback is simply too great for one man to handle (especially at Origin game speed).
So…
Morris will have a run in the centres, Monaghan will have a run on the wing, Hayne will have a run at fullback, Gidley will have a run at hooker and Farah will get a 15 minute breather sometime in the game.
If you ask me, there is nothing strange about the selection of Morris on the Blues bench. QLD should be more concerned about their immobile forward pack and the penalties that will be awarded to a forward rolling NSW pack that is chock full of aggression, speed and skill.
Blues to win by 8.
Terry Kidd said | June 24th 2009 @ 9:30am | Report comment
Or a slightly different scenario ….. Morris starts on the wing, Hayne moves to fullback, the centres stay unchanged and Gidley moves to the bench for the utility role …. and that makes a far more balanced structure than what was originally selected.
The only sure thing is that Gidley will not play the whole game at fullback.
Whatever, I’m a Blues supporter but I can’t see them winning this game unless Qld don’t bother to turn up.
Jameswm said | June 24th 2009 @ 9:38am | Report comment
Qld have more experience in almost every position and most of the test team playing for them. They’ve all done it all before.
The Blues have been hit by injuries.
The Blues selections are questionable.
The Blues have had a poor lead-up.
It sounds like the Blues coaches haven’t worked out who will start where.
All the pressure is on the Blues.
Qld have won the last 3 series.
Qld are the heaviest favourites ever for a game in Sydney
Sounds to me like it’s set up perfectly for an upset.
LK said | June 24th 2009 @ 9:42am | Report comment
It was reported yesterday that Bellyache would drag Wallace at half time if he wasn’t performing. I’m not sure if I believe it. If that is the case, Morris to wing, Hayne to fullback, Gidley to halfback. I don’t think the skip will be on the bench at the start of the game.
LeftArmSpinner said | June 24th 2009 @ 9:58am | Report comment
Despite having the bulk of the NRL teams/players to choose from, the NSW selectors have failed to find and stick with 17 players capable of winning two out of three games. Why is this? The answer lies in one or more of the following:
1. The situation got progressively out of hand (game and series losses started to accumulate) when the selectors remained faithful to players who were past it;
2. The NSW selectors don’t have access to the quality of players required to win Origin, particularly in the spine of the team: Hooker, half, 5/8 and fullback.
3. The selectors have not allowed the new blood time to acclimatise and develop self-belief that they can succeed at origin level, again particularly in the spine positions.
4. NSW doesn’t take Origin as seriously as QLD;
5. The NSW team is ineffectively administered and structured, (i.e. Selectors, coaches, managers, back office) positions that players in the players in the key positions.
Overall, my opinion is that it is a combination of all of these things but that it will continue while the current selectors remain. Too many and not courageous enough. Follow QLD, select a coach who also selects the players he wants and lives or dies by the results.
the format of three games a year, no warm up games to build test players demands loyalty to blooding young players.
Richard Brockhurst said | June 24th 2009 @ 3:02pm | Report comment
LeftArm Spinner.. NSW take origin seriously alright. Haven’t you seen the tears over the years. Qld has had 2 captains sent off in origin games. One of them being the great W. Lewis. Meninga was a team mate playing in that game. Wally wasn’t treated very well by Arthurson & Co either. The other captain was Tallis whose send off was a farse . There is bad blood there.
the all rounder said | June 24th 2009 @ 3:54pm | Report comment
Gabriel, it has also been stated in the lead-up that if Peter Wallace has a poor first half he will be benched by Bellamy at half time. Do you think that the NSW selectors are trying to cover for the possibility of a poor Wallace performance? In any case if Michael Ennis or Jamie Soward were selected as a versatile utility wouldn’t they be a much better replacement for Wing than Josh Morris and the myriad of position switches that will take place?
Mushi said | June 24th 2009 @ 4:29pm | Report comment
Punt Pal the mobile forward fallacy is what has actually built this era of dominance for Queensland. Mobile forwards have much more impact at club level where they effectively substitute for a star play maker. If you need your forwards to cover for lack of play making ability in a rep team then well you have more than enough problems.
Also not picking enough cover in the front rower actually detracts from the mobility advantage. Origin is faster so historically props can’t play as many minutes at the same effectiveness as club which means some of these mobile back rowers are going to be thrust into the role of make shift prop. You’d want to already be rolling forward when that happens otherwise you’ll never get a chance to showcase that mobility.
Gabriel Knowles said | June 24th 2009 @ 6:13pm | Report comment
I can’t see Bellamy taking Wallace off at half time unless things are going terribly, mind you he has made some obstinate decisions in the past. ie. leaving Stewart on the bench until well into the second half. If the selectors are making contingency plans for a poorly performing half back that they picked then they need to be replaced asap.
I think they should have picked the experienced Kimmorley to guide the younger, more dynamic Blues around the park, look how well he’s doing it for the Bulldogs this year.
Mushi. you’ve hit the nail on the head – Origin is about go forward far more than club football. I think they’ll regret not picking another prop.
westy said | June 24th 2009 @ 10:06pm | Report comment
Just as i see the passion of test rugby union I see the passion in rugby league’s SOO. I do not doubt the devastation in the eyes of the NSW players and coach.Great sporting theatre. Iwatched the game with genuine sporting interest as i watched the Socceroos v Japan. For those who do not I think they miss a great contest.
Must say Watmough what a surprise. The boy can play. Just love to watch Hayne and Inglis but the real star in my eyes was Thurston both in attack /kicking but especially defence. Some of the best small man defence I have seen.
Terry Kidd said | June 25th 2009 @ 5:17am | Report comment
A well deserved win to Qld, their defence was very good. Nsw were let down badly by Williams, 6 errors costing 4 tries., Gallen who did bugger all and Wallace who again was ineffective …. surely he has had enough chances now? I thought Hayne was good whether on the wing or at fullback. Gidley is one out too much and his kicks were not good nor intelligent.
How good was Michael Crocker and Thurston for Qld …. players you would kill to have them play in your team.