Comments on: Strange Blues selections raise plenty of questions

By: Terry Kidd

Terry Kidd — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 19:17:50 +0000

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.

By: westy

westy — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 12:06:10 +0000

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.

By: Gabriel Knowles

Gabriel Knowles — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 08:13:54 +0000

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.

By: Mushi

Mushi — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 06:29:12 +0000

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.

By: the all rounder

the all rounder — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 05:54:57 +0000

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?

By: Richard Brockhurst

Richard Brockhurst — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 05:02:04 +0000

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.

By: LeftArmSpinner

LeftArmSpinner — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 23:58:39 +0000

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.

By: LK

LK — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 23:42:28 +0000

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.

By: Jameswm

Jameswm — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 23:38:00 +0000

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.

By: Terry Kidd

Terry Kidd — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 23:30:57 +0000

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.

By: PuntPal

PuntPal — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 23:09:37 +0000

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.

By: Spiro Zavos

Spiro Zavos — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 22:08:05 +0000

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.