- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
The Queensland Maroons defeated the New South Wales Blues 6-4 at ANZ Stadium in Homebush last night to take first blood in the 2016 State of Origin series.
In a tight and tough affair – as you would expect of an Origin encounter – the Maroons were victorious courtesy primarily of their customary grit, as they held off NSW, despite playing well below their best.
More from State of Origin 1:
» The big issues examined
» The Liebke Ratings
» Laurie Daley drops a post-Origin bombshell
» State of Origin Game 1 full time: Queensland hold on to win
» All the action in our live blog
It was a fairly lacklustre game, but there remain a number of points worthy of discussion. In fact, I’ll dust off the magical number five.
1. T’was a nothing game
Last night was the least memorable Origin game since… well, I can’t remember. Which makes perfect sense, really.
The standard tension aside, nothing of note really happened in the contest. There were no ‘moments’.
No scintillating tries, no big hits, no confrontations, no moments of pure genius, no controversial referee decisions, and no – heaven forbid – punch-ups.
An Origin game will always be a spectacle, and last night was no different, but it certainly won’t be a replay anyone will rush to watch.
The only lasting memory of the night will be Sam Thaiday’s post-match interview, where he served up this incredible quote: “It was a bit like losing your virginity. It wasn’t very nice, but we got the job done.”
I’m hoping the PC crowd don’t get mental today, and just take the comment for what it was: hilarious.
Though I appreciate that not every game can become an instant classic, last night’s encounter was about as vapid as they come. Let’s hope Game 2 provides some highlights.
In fact, I’ll settle for just one.
2. ‘That’ try just before half-time
Queensland scored an relatively soft try – from virtually nothing – two minutes out from the half-time break. Quick hands from Cooper Cronk to Johnathan Thurston, to Darius Boyd, to Dane Gagai saw the Maroons head into the break up by two points.
Though it wasn’t the most brilliant of Maroons tries, it was well executed, and for NSW, it was very disappointing at the time, given they had been extremely dominant for the previous 20 minutes.
Calling it ‘demoralising’ would have been hyperbole, yet in hindsight, it proved to be just that, as the play ended up being the match-winner, considering neither team scored in the second half.
It was the type of error that has haunted NSW over the years, as they see impressive patches of play undone by one simple error that Queensland capitalise on effortlessly.
Though they weren’t to know as it happened, that one lapse cost the Blues the game, and possibly the series.
3. Dylan Walker disaster
The NSW selection of Dylan Walker was a head-scratcher at the time and has become even more baffling post-game.
What exactly was his role?
The utility player came off the bench in the last ten minutes, but it was unclear exactly what position he was playing, or what strategy was being utilised by having him out there, other than the clichéd ‘fresh legs’.
His only impact on the game was giving Queensland possession by clearly going out of his way to plant the ball on the marker, Cam Smith. It was the sort of mental error you would expect from a debutant.
Why anyone thought that throwing a rookie player, who isn’t even in good form, into the final ten minutes of a two-point Origin game, would end happily, is well beyond me.
4. So Cooper Cronk actually was injured?
Heading into the game, the talk out of the Queensland camp was that Cooper Cronk was questionable to play, yet no one south of the border was buying it.
State of Origin has long history of teams playing mental games and creating narratives that don’t really exist. Only they know if such silliness actually has any impact, but what is not up for debate is that everyone expected Cronk to play and felt that he was under no injury cloud.
However, given his performance, I’m inclined to think the halfback actually was injured. He lacked his usual precision and execution, and a number of his kicks, in particular, were very un-Cronk like.
Though he was far from a liability, it wasn’t the performance we’ve come to expect from the No.7, and it’s worth mentioning that the Maroons have never lost a series with Cronk fully fit.
If NSW can’t beat Queensland with Cronk playing injured, what chance do they have when he’s back to his best, especially in Brisbane?
5. Are there any positives for either team?
Despite the loss, and the prospect of having to win at Suncorp Stadium to keep the series alive, there actually were a number of positives for Laurie Daley and his team.
The back three of Matt Moylan, Blake Ferguson and Josh Mansour all had very good games. Though there was some miscommunication at times, a dodgy pass in-goal by Ferguson, and a knock-on by Moylan, for the most part, all three players didn’t look unnerved by the occasion, and appeared comfortable at that level.
Ferguson and Mansour were very strong and helped their forwards out with some crucial metres, while Moylan showed plenty of class with some deft touches and defensive positioning.
At around the 50-minute mark, reserve forwards Andrew Fifita and Dave Klemmer really imposed their will on the game. Both had strong runs that bent the line and penetrated the Maroons defence. Fifita, in particular, was a constant threat that needed three, four and sometimes five Queensland defenders to bring him down.
Adam Reynolds’ kicking game wasn’t as crisp and accurate as we’ve come to expect, but he still looked like the best halfback – with the best kicking game – that NSW have picked in a very long time. He was excellent in defence, and overall, will be much better for the experience.
James Maloney showed the poise, maturity and level-head that he has been displaying for the Sharks all season long, and also put Boyd Cordner over for the Blues’ only try. He was close to NSW’s best and like Reynolds gave the Blues some long-missing direction from the halves.
So there is plenty for NSW to build on, and with a little more variety and unpredictability in attack they’ll be dangerous for Queensland in their own backyard.
As for the Maroons, if they need to look for any reasons to be optimistic, I’d suggest that playing poorly but still being up one-nil – and heading back to your home state for Game 2 – is extremely positive.