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The New South Wales Blues State of Origin team for the first game in the 2015 series was announced on Tuesday afternoon and there were some massive glaring omissions from the side.
There were also some head scratching selections that have left more questions than answers for New South Wales fans.
NSW State of Origin team: Game 1
1. Josh Dugan, 2. Daniel Tupou, 3. Josh Morris, 4. Michael Jennings, 5. William Hopoate, 6. Mitchell Pearce, 7. Trent Hodkinson, 8. Aaron Woods, 9. Robbie Farah (c), 10. James Tamou, 11. Beau Scott, 12. Ryan Hoffman, 13. Josh Jackson
Interchange
14. Trent Merrin, 15. Boyd Cordner, 16. David Klemmer, 17. Andrew Fifita
This team has a number of areas that don’t really add up and none more so than the halves. Selected are two players who prefer to wear the number seven. Now in modern rugby league I understand that any half should be able to play either halfback or five-eighth, but what the Blues have done doesn’t add up.
Trent Hodkinson has been in ordinary form for the Bulldogs to put it nicely and has been selected in the number seven. Mitchell Pearce has been put in the six and is under massive pressure being given yet another crack at the Origin arena.
Pearce I will agree should be in the team and has been playing decent footy, however he should be in his preferred number seven and joined by either the in–form Blake Austin or Jamie Soward.
Austin has been in exceptional form at the Raiders and plays in the six. His game could really thrive in the Origin arena especially considering the Blues might have to find a different way to score points.
Meanwhile, Soward – yes he plays at halfback – is exceptional. He has played Origin before the Panthers have looked like a different team since he returned from injury. His kicking game in fact is probably the only reason the Panthers won against the Sea Eagles on Monday Night. How anyone can argue against him being there is just about beyond me.
As a side note, Adam Reynolds would have been the selection alongside Soward before his injury.
More State of Origin:
» State of Origin News
» State of Origin team news
» Queensland Maroons team for Origin 1: Expert reaction
» The Roar’s NSW Blues team for Origin 1
» The Roar’s Queensland Maroons team for Origin 1
Next up is the wing. The out-of-form Will Hopoate has been selected alongside Daniel Tupou. The selection of Tupou I can live with, however how on earth can anyone justify the selection of Will Hopoate.
He has not playing good football while other wingers like Alex Johnston and Pat Richards have been playing good footy for the Rabbitohs and Tigers respectively and are both worthy of a crack at the Origin arena.
Johnston has just recently played for Australia in the mid-year Test match and performed alright in a losing side. How he misses selection for the New South Wales Blues is a little bit strange.
Adding to the value of Johnston is his ability to play fullback if it was needed.
The other winger I mention, Pat Richards, has again this season been in stellar form apart from a little bit of an off game against the Newcastle Knights on Sunday. Pat Richards also brings a massive amount of experience although not in the origin arena and is probably the best goal kicker and field goal kicker going around in the NRL.
Moving onto the forwards now and the question has to be asked how both Trent Merrin and Andrew Fifita have found themselves only on the bench. Trent Merrin has to be close to the most inform lock in the game, yet he is coming off the bench.
At club level his impact starting has been far greater than that off the bench and with Gallen out he would have seemed the most probable option.
Fifita meanwhile has been close to the most in form front rower. With Tamou only finding form in the last few weeks it seems to be a strange call to have Fifita coming from the bench.
Another area of confusion in the forwards is how and why both of Tyson Frizell and Luke Lewis missed selection.
Let’s start with Lewis. He is one of the Blues most experienced players in the squad and with the likes of Paul Gallen and Greg Bird out who are a pair of experienced forwards it is hard to understand why he has been left out. Even a bench spot should have been given to Lewis who hasn’t done a lot wrong and would have brought the Blues a bucketload of experience.
What he also brings to the table is a lot of versatility, which with an injury the Blues will now struggle to cater for.
Let’s move onto Tyson Frizell. At the start of the season he didn’t even look to be in the Origin picture. With a barnstorming start to the season in a dominant Dragons outfit, he shot into calculations.
He was in fact playing so well that most respected journalists in the media were calling for his selection and it was hard to argue against it. Being left out for the likes of Cordner and Klemmer seems to be an interesting call from the Blues.
All in all this New South Wales Blues team named for the first state of origin clash has left me a little bit confused and asking a lot of questions of both Laurie Daley and the Selectors.
What do you reckon Roarers?