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I don’t buy into this ‘culture’ thing that the NSW Blues try to use as a motivator. Geez, if you cannot rev up to play your best for your state then you should not be in the team.
The Blues have tried everything from giving up the drink to moving camp up the coast to Coffs Harbour.
The players must wonder who will be the motivational speakers this year and how many times will Steve Roach clinch his fists and swear?
More Origin Coverage:
>> PRICHARD: Reynolds and Hodkinson my Blues halves
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> Queensland Origin 1 team: Expert reaction
The Queensland Maroons have the ‘secret’ formula to a winning culture simply because for eight years they have had the best players. It is a myth that the Maroon players and their supporters are more passionate about their home state than the Blues.
They are all NRL footy players and parochial supporters and the Maroons just happen to have some of the greatest players in the history of the game, including Cameron Smith, Greg Inglis, Billy Slater and Johnathan Thurston. You cannot legislate against talent like that.
It is disappointing to see quotes from the Blues coach Laurie Daley pointing to a commentator “unsettling his campaign”.
We have not even had a ball kicked and already the coach is making excuses. Let’s be fair dinkum!
Players at this level do not need to be coached, they just need to be happy, but Daley’s most important job is to make sure that he has a final 17 who are capable of upsetting the champion Maroons.
It can be achieved.
There is little point in the Blues heading off to Suncorp Stadium and thinking about defence because normal defence does not stop this team. They must test their arm and play ‘hot potato’ footy. You need to be fit enough for 80 minutes and have good hands, if playing up tempo can be sustained then we may see an upset.
You cannot fight fire with a water pistol.
The Blues have a great match-up with Jarryd Hayne taking on Slater and even Robbie Farah has shown in recent years that he can match Smith, but it ends there.
The Blues’ six and seven – according to Twitter it’s Josh Reynolds and Trent Hodkinson – would not get a look in at the Maroon camp against the interational combination of Cooper Cronk and Thurston, which really is the massive advantage.
There is no doubt that over the last eight years the one major distinctive competence that the Maroons have had is Thurston. He has had the knack of producing something extra special when his team needs it most, and he has been doing it consistently for a long time at state and international level.
The Blues have always been able to produce wonder fullbacks and hookers, and even some great centres to match-up with Inglis, but they have not had anyone to compare to Thurston since 2005 when they had the eighth immortal Andrew Johns.
The good news for NSW is that this may be the last series that we see the great JT and even maybe Cronk, who may retire from rep footy if they win a ninth series.
This also may be the last year that we see Hayne play fullback, as the super Tiger James Tedesco will be putting his hand up along with his team mates Luke Brooks and Mitch Moses in 2015.
If they make it and achieve what the Maroons have achieved over this century it won’t be because of culture, but because of immense talent.
News Flash: The 2014 NSW Blues according to Twitter
J. Hayne, B. Morris, J. Morris, M. Jennings, D. Tupou, J. Reynolds, T. Hodkinson, P. Gallen, B. Scott, R. Hoffman, A. Woods, R. Farah, J. Tamou
If this is the real NSW side, then it is the worst 13 I have seen from the Blues this century. Forget about hot potatoes, let’s get ready for next year.
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