- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
The Blues and the Maroons have the ideal opportunity to blood future Origin players in the Game 3 dead rubber to be played in Brisbane on July 9.
Will NSW and Queensland select their strongest possible team or will they take this opportunity to experiment?
Will the powerful Origin brand be cheapened if the best players are not in?
Cooper Cronk has indicated he will be available after an arm fracture in Game 1, but he may have second thoughts now that the series is done and dusted, despite the $30,000 match fee.
The Storm’s Will Chambers is a certain replacement for the unlucky Brent Tate, who sadly may have played his last game.
Jacob Lillyman will likely start for Matt Scott, who has a suspected fractured cheekbone. Although Ben Hunt trained all week with the Maroons and was the shadow player for Cheery-Evans, the likely utility is Anthony Milford, who is a genuine Origin player and heads the Billy Slater succession plan.
Origin 3 would be a perfect chance to see how Anthony Milford handles the pressure, but who is going to tell Billy Slater to take a rest and hand his number 1 jersey and his $30,000 to another player?
Slater and his skipper Cam Smith just turned 31 on Wednesday, and while they still have plenty of Origins in them, the long-term benefit to the team would be served best if Rooster Jake Friend was given a run with Milford.
There is no doubt that the future of the Maroons will rest squarely on Daly Cherry-Evans and the selectors and coach Mal Meninga will never get a better opportunity to hone a winning spine combination with Milford and Friend all in the same side.
For the Blues, Laurie Daley will likely have to make a call on Will Hopoate if Josh Morris is available, or maybe young Daniel Tupou will be rested. Daley also can test gun wingers Jorge Taufua or Josh Mansour.
The Blues now have Paul Gallen aged 32, while Anthony Watmough, Ryan Hoffman, Luke Lewis and Beau Scott all over 30. Game 3 is the perfect opportunity to test Josh Jackson and Wade Graham under Origin conditions. Boyd Cordner could also be available.
Blues halfback in waiting Luke Brooks will have to postpone his debut a little longer after Trent Hodkinson scored the series-winning try in Game 2, and Brooks’ Wests Tigers teammate James Tedesco appears to have an even longer wait as NSW have an abundance of class fullbacks. The Blues best player, Jarryd Hayne, is only 26, and Josh Dugan (24) and Brett Stewart are also in front of Tedesco.
Trent Hodkinson’s try rubber stamped him a certain starter for 2015, simultaneously snuffing out any chance Mitch Pearce had of reclaiming his old position. ‘Hodko’ may not be the best halfback in NSW but he has a combination with Josh Reynolds and if he was to be replaced, the Blues would need to find another goal kicker.
The players all say Origin 3 is important to them. If they are a Blue they want to go through the series undefeated, and if they are a Maroon then they want to avoid a whitewash. They are all keen to play and risk injury for their state over their loyalty to their clubs. I wonder how many would have that mindset if the big prize money was not on offer.
Both squads have many players over 30 but normally the blooding of future players is not part of the Origin stage.
Why not? The series is over.
No player would willingly stand down, even if carrying an injury, it would have to be a decision from the selectors and the two coaches, but they are also unlikely to rock the boat.
Many would agree it is a logical step to build some new combinations in this nothing game, but the reality is it will not happen.
Reckon you can pick the winning team? Build your own dream team with Draftstars daily fantasy and compete on any match. For great odds on the NRL head on over to PlayUp. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.