What a fickle world we live in. All I’ve heard since Wednesday night was that the selectors did this, the players did that, the Queensland team is too good, Origin isn’t as good anymore.
Grow up everyone and think back to only a few years ago, in 2005, when NSW had just won their third series in a row and their 10th out of the past fifteen series and there were many out there saying the concept of State of Origin had lost its edge and Queensland couldn’t compete like they used to, blah blah blah.
I don’t necessarily agree with the team the selectors have put on the field, but to bag the players, who were picked for being beaten, is just low.
Matt Cooper, Beau Scott, Brett Morris and Joel Monaghan had to face one of the best backlines in Origin history and it’s no surprise they were, at times, made to look foolish.
But I have no doubt they tried their hearts out the entire time.
I have no doubt they hurt the next day, both physically and emotionally.
Many people are calling for the head of the halves in Trent Barrett and Mitchell Pearce, which is ludicrous. Whilst again I might not have thought Barrett was the way to go, he tried his guts out on Wednesday night, like he has every time he has stepped on the field.
Pearce was outstanding in defence, taking down the much much larger Sam Thaiday on a number of occasions.
Sure, he was only seen in attack in the final 20 minutes but have a look at how many times the Blues got into the Maroons 20m red zone before that and you’ll see why.
I’m sure I could go through the entire team and you’d see that most, if not all, the players showed passion and pride for the NSW jersey, but a combination of a poorly selected team, along with an opposition that would’ve beaten most if not all the great NSW sides of the past, as well made it tough.
The choice is simple for game three.
Stick with the same bunch of boys and give them the chance to earn back the respect they deserve or wipe the slate clean from the very top and begin fresh.
That means removing the ridiculous system of a Selecting Committee and allowing the coach to select his own team.
If you are going to attack the coach for the game, then let him have control of the players he wants. Responsibility and blame then fall squarely on his head and there is no finger pointing at fifteen people as to why we lost.
The game is not over, State of Origin is not over, and every game, dead rubber or not, is filled with pride, passion, blood, sweat and tears: all the things we love about the greatest game of all!
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