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Just over a week ago, I got a chill down my spine when injury rubbed Corey Parker out of Queensland’s State of Origin team. That wasn’t the cause, nor the reason.
The chill came when the Maroons named big Dave Taylor as his replacement.
Click here to read why Tim Prentice is wrong, and why the Blues will win Origin 2.
In my mind, the Maroons gambled on the x-factor of all x-factors. They named their T-Rex, their Tony Williams, their enigma. We all know what ‘The Coal Train’ is capable of, but will we ever see it?
MORE ORIGIN:
>> O’CONNELL: Why NSW will win Origin 2
>> [WATCH] Highlights from Game 2 2013
>> TURNER: Blues skipper Gallen poised for the game of his life
>> Roar preview for State of Origin Game 2
>> [WATCH] Highlights from Game 1 2014
Taylor has had six cracks at Origin football but has failed to fire a single shot. He is a giant athlete with so much to offer who has delivered pretty close to zero at State of Origin level.
So why did he get the SOS call from Mal Meninga when Parker was ruled out?
The answer is easy: Dave Taylor has been a standout for the Gold Coast Titans all season. In the NRL, he has ticked all the boxes in attack, defence, work-rate and so on. He has been playing like an Origin player and richly deserves another shot.
My concern is that he might convert all of his pent-up promise tonight. He looks like The Hulk and if he plays that way, the desperate Maroons will parade another superstar to contend with.
Taylor has shown that he is a confidence player. If he starts a game well, he usually finishes it that way. Few, if any, defences can contain The Coal Train at his locomotive best. Potentially, he can hurt the Blues way more than Corey Parker on a great night.
When assessing Queensland’s chances in this game, I am willing to overlook their injury concerns and look at their history in this series. They are not going to be the favourites, and we in NSW should know they are incredibly dangerous when they are genuine underdogs.
If you are backing the Blues, ask yourself if you think that Messrs Thurston and Smith could be as bad or as ineffectual in a second successive Origin game. If you do, I say that’s wishful thinking.
JT and Smithy will dominate from the outset whether Daly Cherry-Evans plays or is replaced by emerging young gun, Ben Hunt.
And when these two freaks get on the front foot, the Blues will need to be even more heroic in defence than we saw in Game 1.
Looking at the NSW line-up, the absence of the Morris twins, Josh and Brett, is a double body-blow for the Blues. Not enough has been made of their loss. I see William Hopoate and Josh Dugan as capable replacements but they will have to deal with a fierce Queensland blowtorch.
The heavy pressure is on Laurie Daley’s men to win this game. Ahead 1-0 and going into a home game, it’s their big chance to stop the rot and end one of the most incredible droughts in rugby league history.
Without doubt, an unexpected loss will trigger mass apoplexy for the Blues and their army of supporters.
Facing a decider up at Suncorp on July 9 would be like attending a funeral armed with little more than flags, bunting, false bravado and hope.
My prediction: Queensland by 4
Man of the match: Cameron Smith
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