Failures in NSW Blues selection
Roar Rookie By Nate Joe, 18 May 2011 Nate Joe is a Roar Rookie
- Tagged:
- Cam Smith, Jamal Idris, maroons, NRL, NSW Blues, Origin, robbie, Rugby League, State Of Origin
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The team was picked on Sunday at 5 pm and I must say I was astounded to see that the likes of Farah and Idris were not included in the team. Even worse, there were two hookers named in the team.
Now I have been following Rugby League my whole life and Origin since I was five. Never have I seen anything as ridiculous as naming two hookers for an origin side.
Let alone, two hookers that could not hold a candle to the man excluded.
Farah is undoubtably the best hooker eligible to play for New South Wales. If given the chance, he would run plays and lead the Blues around the field with ease.
If picked, Robbie would run rings around his Maroons counterpart in Cam Smith.
What I do not understand about the naming of the two hookers, is that a team attitude and style is developed around the hooker and the halves and if we some how chop and change our hooker, we will change the style of play.
This may trick the Maroons, but it is highly doubtful, as it will more than likely just confuse the other Blues players and result in stupid penalties.
Queensland will only name one hooker and he will stay on the field the full 80 minutes as they know that the foundation of how a team plays centres around the hooker, five-eight and halfback.
The other selection choice I am struggling with is Jamal Idris.
Idris is an enforcer and should never have been left out of the team.
If you watched him in the ANZAC Test, it is astonishing that he was excluded from the team. He played the game of his life in that match and deserves to be wearing the sky-blue for game one of this year’s state of origin.
I have read a lot of news about Hayne not being picked and to be honest I do not think he deserves a spot in the NSW team. Dugan is a great player, but I am very worried about his selection.
My team would not have been all that different to the team picked. Other than the fact that I would have had Farah at hooker to partner Pirece as he did in the City versus Country match, iI would have Idris either on the bench or playing at left centre and boot Young from the team.
That is my rant, you may agree or disagree, but it is my opinion, as a keen fan and a true lover of this sport.
Ricky, I have lost a little faith in you, with the selection of two hookers in the team. And both, I believe, both were the wrong choice.
- Explore:
- Cam Smith, Jamal Idris, maroons, NRL, NSW Blues, Origin, robbie, Rugby League, State Of Origin
May 18th 2011 @ 8:03am
peeeko said | May 18th 2011 @ 8:03am | Report comment
whilst i agree with your selections i dont consider that Idris is an “enforforcer”. Also they have not selected two hookers, Dean young is a forward utility who is a much better back rower than he is a hooker. I would have preffered selecting Farah as he is a great playmaker and creative but he would not “run rings around cam smith” as predicted by you.
There seems to be a lot of experts oput there with regards to Origin selection, i would have thought that Ricky with his years of experience as a player and coach and having the last few months to study every player and come up with a plan has a better idea than casual punters
May 18th 2011 @ 8:27am
Mals said | May 18th 2011 @ 8:27am | Report comment
Nate – while I can understand your concern about Farah not being picked I don’t see how you can call it a failure at this early stage. How about judging the team after the first game, or better still after the series is completed?!?
May 18th 2011 @ 9:39am
Renegade said | May 18th 2011 @ 9:39am | Report comment
I can’t believe you stated “farah would run rings around his counterpart – Cameron Smith”…Unbelievable!!
Though he might be unlucky to miss out, Farah should not be mentioned in the same sentence as Cameron Smith…..his not even half the player.
May 18th 2011 @ 10:47am
Nate Joe said | May 18th 2011 @ 10:47am | Report comment
i believe that Farah if given the chance, would run rings around Smith in an origin match. I made this comment because Smith plays a very little role in the Maroons origin side, where as Farah would be the key player for the Blues, the real playmakers in the Maroon jerseys in my opinion are Thurston and Lockyer. so i stand by the comment that he would run rings around Smith in an origin match. this is my opinion if you disagree that is your opinion. sadly we will not get to see who is right (at least in game 1 anyway)
i am not debating that Smith isn’t a great hooker or that he isn’t better than Farah, but Smith is no way twice as good as Farah.
May 18th 2011 @ 11:21am
Jimbo said | May 18th 2011 @ 11:21am | Report comment
I agree Farah should be there over Ennis, but he wouldn’t make a massive difference. Although he was playing in a weak team, he didn’t exactly set the world on fire last time he played origin.
May 18th 2011 @ 12:52pm
bingobinch said | May 18th 2011 @ 12:52pm | Report comment
Smith is wearing a green and gold jersy, Farah not even wearing a blue jersy!!!!! thats the difference , end of story…
The maroons will clean swept the series again , too much class, just look at Thurston took his side in the second half last week against the eels 30 unanswered points, “CLASS ACT” i think the majority thought the blues will beat the maroons is largely due to the absence of GI and HODGO ,they can still beat the blues easy. two main advantages they have over the blues , 1 they been together for a long time. 2 the willingness to win from the maroons. I might be wrong , however that the most accurate anaysis any experts will came up with!!!!!!!!!
May 18th 2011 @ 10:04am
Bilbo said | May 18th 2011 @ 10:04am | Report comment
Agree that Farah should have been selected, and that Ennis would be around 6th in the pecking order for an Australian spot (Farah is second).
However, picking two hookers has been a big part of the game for a while – all utility backs in rep and non-rep games are required to have some dummy half skills.
But yeah, I can’t see why or how Dean Young would be getting picked over Hayne as a versatile utility. Stuart must have been watching some different games than me – and I’m a dragons fan.
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May 18th 2011 @ 11:19am
Nate Joe said | May 18th 2011 @ 11:19am | Report comment
Bilbo I would argue that in Origin there should only be one hooker in a team, and yes i do agree all the utilities should have some dummy half abilities, but there again so should the halves. Also there is so much more to a hooker than jus being a dummy half, they should be like another halfback.
Correct me if I’m wrong but The hooker’s role is to guide the forwards and backs and help to complement the halves. Most teams style of play revolve around their hooker, the 1st and then lastly the second receiver, and thus the hooker should be one of the main playmakers. The teams playing style will change with a change in hooker, that is why i stand by my comment that naming two hookers is a stupid idea that will just lead to confusion and what is the point of having two of them?
and before anyone says it, I am not just an armchair fan, i used to play footy (for 12 years) until an injury from another sport ruined my shoulder (injury, where rotator cuff detached from the bone), I played the position of hooker before being moved to play in the halves as five-eighth and then after my injury I moved to play on the wing. before quitting 2 years ago, i also want it to be known I do have faith in Ricky and i realise that he is seemingly an expert. I will give him the benefit this time, as I am hoping that the Maroons will under estimate the Blues and lose game one, because of their cockyness.
aas i have stated before these are just my opinions, if you disagree with me that is your right and i respect that.
but i stand by Farah should be there
GO THE BLUES
May 18th 2011 @ 10:15am
jameswm said | May 18th 2011 @ 10:15am | Report comment
Hayne, Idriss and Farah should all be there.
I really don’t know what Ricky is thinking. If Hayne and Idriss were Qlders, they would be playing. Both offer something special and will win you Origin games over the years.
May 18th 2011 @ 11:25am
sledgeross said | May 18th 2011 @ 11:25am | Report comment
I dont know that Farah would ever run rings around Smith, but Farah is certainly a match winner on his day, hes just not as consistently good as Smith.
May 18th 2011 @ 1:02pm
Petebix said | May 18th 2011 @ 1:02pm | Report comment
The last time Farah played origin he couldn’t even run rings around himself
May 18th 2011 @ 2:33pm
JC said | May 18th 2011 @ 2:33pm | Report comment
I admit at times I can be a bit of a one-eyed blues fan myself but the statement “Robbie would run rings around his Maroons counterpart in Cam Smith” has to be one of the most ridiculous things i’ve heard this year. I’m not overly concerned about Farah’s omission to the team, whilst he may be a great play maker and be in good form I don’t think he would make a whole lot of difference to the team as is.
Jamal Idris was a shock omission from the team and whilst I’d rather have him in it, I thought Ricky justified his decision well at the media conference.
I think Dean Young is a good choice in the team, he’s a versatile player and can fit into the side in a few different positions if need be. With regards to Hayne, In my opinion his form hasn’t been all that great this year and his inconsistency is still a problem. On current form, Haynes omission from the team was the right choice imo.
Idris aside, I’m not fussed with Ricky’s team selection but the blues will still be hard pressed to beat a said of the quality of the Maroons.
May 18th 2011 @ 4:01pm
Nate Joe said | May 18th 2011 @ 4:01pm | Report comment
JC i respect your opinion but i am hardly what i would class as a one-eyed Blues supporter, all n all i think the team is pretty strong, I feel that not including Farah is a big problem however and Dean Young in my opinion has always been a over rated player and i would never select him in any rep side (city v country included). But Ricky sees something in him and i guess i have to trust his decision until it is proven to be wrong. i agree the Maroons side is quality and the Blues will struggle to beat them but they are not unbeatable. and i hope like hell the blues win game 1
May 18th 2011 @ 4:34pm
Gareth said | May 18th 2011 @ 4:34pm | Report comment
I’d like to see Farah get another shot at Origin, but I don’t think he’s up to it this year. He’s been playing busted and well below his best. The other difficulty with Farah is that the whole team needs to work with his style. You can’t just throw him into any team, whereas the no frills guys like Ennis and Young are more suited to being transplanted into a team with a different coach and different tactics.
That said, I think Ennis is there on the false premise that his grubby, niggly play somehow makes him a “hard man”, “made for origin”, etc. As always the Queenslanders will just laugh at his shenanigans and enjoy a few relieving penalties at his expense.
Maybe it was worth a punt on Hinchcliffe?
May 19th 2011 @ 6:05am
Gaz said | May 19th 2011 @ 6:05am | Report comment
Ennis is a good player but it appears his craving for the niggle is having a detrimental affect on his game and can help lead to his teams downfall. Hindmarsh got it right.
NSW are relying on Ricky Ticky to pull them out of the mud but you really can’t say he is a real coaching success. He failed at the Sharks was sacked at the Roosters and was Gus’s puppet when he won an Origin series. After a very public falling out NSW supporters better hope they’ve kissed and made up and Gus is back in the driving seat or you might be feeling the same as the other light blue jersey (Sharks) supporters did a while back.
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