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For the past couple of series, Paul Gallen has been the most despised New South Welshman in Queensland, but I am tipping he will lose that title at Suncorp Stadium tonight.
It will be bestowed on new Blues five-eighth Josh Reynolds, the feisty, in-your-face Bulldogs star who has been given a chance to start at number 6.
I would love a dollar for every time I have read that Reynolds is a footballer made for Origin football. However, it may turn out that tonight’s Origin opener is made for him.
He’s a very rugged customer, the supreme competitor. They handed him a Blues jumper last year but didn’t give him the opportunity to get it dirty. Reynolds was a Blues benchman but never left the pine.
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>> State of Origin preview (VIDEO)
>> PRENTICE: Why NSW will win Game 1
>> PRICHARD: Why QLD will win Game 1
>> GURU: I sniff an Origin upset
>> TURNER: Behind the scenes of Origin preparation
“I won’t hide that I was very disappointed,” he said. “I was ready to go but wasn’t needed.
“I’ve been given the chance now to start the game at No. 6 and I have never been so excited.”
A pumped-up, excited Reynolds appeals as the ideal injection into a NSW team that has almost forgotten what to do in a victory celebration. Eight successive series losses is like a toothache that won’t go away without surgery.
Josh Reynolds is a winner from top to toe. He plays his football that way for Canterbury, putting it all on the line for the entire 80 minutes. He is by no means the flashiest five-eighth NSW has fielded, or will field, but for him every pass, kick and tackle will be like a grand final.
He will make it his business to get right in the face of the Maroons playmakers from the opening minutes. He’ll try to smash anyone who gets in his way, be it Johnathan Thurston, Cameron Smith, Billy Slater or even front-rower Matt Scott.
Reynolds can be a lot of things for the Blues tonight and it would not surprise if there are times when he turns into a human wrecking ball for his team and state. I like him a lot and I’ve got as feeling that Queensland and their army of supporters will be hating him by the time 80 minutes is up.
A highly enthusiastic, physical player, NSW will need Reynolds to be subtle with his passes and kicks when the game is there to be won. His combination with his close friend and club-mate Trent Hodkinson will be critical.
Both will be given searching tests by the Maroons, but they can handle the big pressure with cool heads. They have seldom put a foot wrong for the table-topping Bulldogs this year.
The rebuilt NSW team will start as the underdog on Queensland’s home turf, and if they can hold their ground in the opening 20 minutes, they’ll be in this game up to their necks.
Blues coach Laurie Daley has named a strong and mobile pack for the opener. There is a nice blend of experience and youth and with the new rules speeding up play around dummy half, NSW is more than capable of getting their big name opponents on the back foot and pinning them there for telling periods.
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Robbie Farah’s quick ball distribution looms as a key factor. He will have strong and speedy ball runners on his left and right and an X-factor player in Jarryd Hayne who can – and will – bob up anywhere to spark the attack.
Club combinations all over the park should assist the Blues dramatically. NSW needed to come up with a worthy counter (or six!) to a Queensland team that has pretty much been playing together for five seasons.
Big Roosters winger Daniel Tupou, on Origin debut, can cause dire problems in the air for the Maroons. Providing he doesn’t overdo the tactic, halfback Hodkinson’s precise cross kicks shape as a frightening weapon with this high-flying giant on the prowl.
The Blues, in my opinion, have come up with an excellent bench. Any one of the four players chosen can change the course of the game in a blink of the eye. Could it be Tony Williams’ time at last? Everyone knows what he is capable of doing but we have yet to see it at this level. Sic ‘em T-Rex!
Queensland’s big guns have all hit form at the right time and they will be incredibly hard to subdue if the Maroons get a glut of possession. But this Blues team has plenty going for it, with Josh Reynolds likely to cut loose like an eager cattle dog.
I really fancy the fiercely committed NSW to spring an upset in this game.
With Game 2 in Sydney, interstate order might just be restored for the first time in many, many Blue moons.
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