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If the hot air being generated in the Sydney press post-Origin 2 is to be believed, the Blues simply need to turn up at Lang Park tonight to again be handed the State of Origin shield.
But one does not simply march on to Lang Park dressed in sky blue and win an Origin decider.
And one does not simply defeat a Queensland side being steered around the hallowed turf by Cooper Cronk.
STATE OF ORIGIN LIVE SCORES – GAME 3
More 2015 State of Origin:
» State of Origin news
» State of Origin fixtures
» State of Origin teams
» State of Origin 2015: Game 3 preview
» Why NSW will win Game 3
» Why the Maroons will win Game 3
Cooper Cronk
Alliteration is a powerful thing. Look at your average cartoon superhero alter ego: Peter Parker, Matt Murdock, Bruce Banner, Reed Richards. That’s way too many to just be a coincidental literary device.
Enter Cooper Cronk: not just the superhero that Queensland needs, but the one it deserves. That he has the healing powers of the Wolverine when it comes to shattered limbs and shredded cartilage only adds weight to this tenuous argument.
As does the fact that he’s cool, calm and collected in the clutch, and would be the smartest footballer on the field tonight if it weren’t for the other two blokes in maroon calling the shots.
Brains – lots of ’em
The recent Disney flop Tomorrowland (do yourself a favour and don’t bother) posits that the Eiffel Tower is in fact an inter-dimensional rocket created by Gustave Eiffel, Nikola Tesla, Jules Verne, and Thomas Edison.
This has nothing to do with rugby league. But in the aforementioned Cronk, Johnathan Thurston and Cam Smith, the Maroons have footballing brains capable of wondrous things that defy the laws of physics.
New South Wales, meanwhile, are pinning their hopes on a bloke whose most significant contribution to State of Origin mythology thus far is the insightful phrase, “Get ****ed you ****.”
Corey Parker might be a ****, but at least he’s a talented ****
If there’s one thing I’ve learnt in my short, undistinguished career as a fantasy football coach, it’s that you always drop the C on CP13 when he’s on home turf.
Like a cage fighter, being walled up inside Suncorp Stadium brings out the best in Parker – something we haven’t seen this series, especially in the offload department. With Greg Inglis handed a roving commission at fullback and Michael Morgan lurking with intent once he takes the field, the Maroons will find the second-phase metres they’ve lacked in Games 1 and 2.
Make no mistake, Parker will have a point to prove; ‘respect’ to earn back.
And he’ll find the going significantly easier once Josh Papalii has smashed half the ribs in David Klemmer’s back.
Greg Inglis is a fully operational battle station once more
Something strange happened at the MCG three weeks ago. For the first time all season, Greg Inglis looked genuinely interested in playing rugby league.
Not only that, but GI is shaping as the only player in Origin history to be in better condition as a series progresses; the mystery leg ailment troubling him all season seemingly shaken off in Melbourne as he did his best impression of a steamroller powered by whatever’s under the hood of Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes.
Be afraid, NSW. He’s baaaaaaack.
Hodgo’s farewell tour
Before the corresponding game last year, I wrote that some of Queensland’s ageing heroes had pride to salvage and legacies to cement in stone.
Billy Slater has since fallen apart at the seams, while Justin Hodges is teetering precariously on the brink of proving the ‘it’s better to retire a year early than a year late’ cliché.
I was there when on Origin debut Hodgo did a better Phil Duke impression than Phil Duke himself, and again at the G, 13 years later, when his opposite Michael Jennings made him look like Constable Plod.
I won’t be there tonight, Queensland, so breathe easy. Hodgo will fire in his last goodbye.
One does not simply march on to Lang Park etc etc
Flippant thought it may be, paraphrasing an actor who rarely sees it through to the end credits is appropriate in this instance.
The last time the Blues clinched a series decider at the best rectangular stadium in Australia, Andrew Johns was having a career game in the NSW No. 7.
The time before that, the current opposing coaches were opposing captains.
The time before that? There was no time before that.
In short, a NSW win on enemy turf with everything on the line is rare as rocking-horse crap.
And with every feral, two-headed Queenslander with a high disposable income worth their salt screaming unprintable things from the stands, the atmosphere will make that record MCG crowd feel like Monday night football at Homebush.
Queensland by 10. Will Chambers first try-scorer. And Cam Smith to miss out on man of the match regardless of how well he performs to spare the host broadcaster the ignominy of his refusal to speak to them after the match.
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