NSW were not disgraced at Suncorp last night in State of Origin 2 in their 26-16 series loss, but they will never beat Cameron Smith’s Queenslanders until they lift their culture level.
The Queenslanders have a telling saying – “Play for your mate, play for your state”.
That’s a pretty simple culture, but it’s a winning culture.
Last night was Queensland’s 20th series success, and their tenth series win in 11 seasons.
More from Origin Game 2
» Game 2: Queensland seal the series
» State of Origin results
» Re-live the action with our live blog
» Origin 2 in pictures
» Swing the axe, Laurie – NSW cleanout must start immediately
» Five talking points from Origin 2
» State of Origin Game 2 player ratings: Queensland
» State of Origin Game 2 player ratings: NSW
Origin was very even up until Mal Meninga took over as Queensland coach in 2006, and from that point the balance of power swung heavily north of the border.
With the exception of 2014, Queensland have won, won, and kept winning.
Such dominance could easily become boringly one-sided, but there’s nothing boring watching Cameron Smith, Johnathan Thurston, and Cooper Cronk strut their stuff, and that’s not even mentioning Greg Inglis who has so far had a very quiet season by his lofty standards.
Last night, Smith was again the master technician and the man of the match.
There’s nothing of him physically, but his football nous is second to none, and as dummy half he dictates the play for 80 minutes with his snappy accurate passing and tactical kicking.
Add his defence, and Smith is the complete footballer.
But so is Thurston, plus the complete goal-kicker as well, the two of them Immortals-in-waiting.
Thurston never ceases to amaze at what he can accomplish on the rugby league field.
And that’s not mentioning Corey Parker, Sam Thaiday, Matt Scott, Darius Boyd, and a couple of speed kings on the wings – Dane Gagai and Corey Oates.
Gagai scored a hat-trick last night, his fifth Origin try in just three games to equal Inglis’ impressive record. A wide-eyed Gagai admitted he hadn’t ever scored a hat-trick in club football.
On the other side of the field, Oates scored just one try – but it was a blue-chip four-pointer.
And the entire squad took a leaf out of their skipper’s book with snappy, accurate passing to entertain eager supports who backed up in droves.
That’s where NSW fell down.
While there was no doubting their dedication and courage, their floating passes to flat-footed supports got them nowhere in a hurry.
There were moments when they lifted their performance bar, but it didn’t convert to points. There were also times when they looked the better team, but again it didn’t convert to points.
But the 26-16 result flattered NSW.
Their best was debutant Tyson Frizell who not only scored a try by backing up, but very nearly caught Gagai on his 80-metre runaway try, despite giving him five metres start – no mean feat for a forward chasing a flying winger.
Still on the credit side, David Klemmer proved he should be in the starting line-up in the squad to play Queensland in Origin 3
On the debit side, it’s impossible to fathom why high quality and super fast centre Michael Jennings was so starved of possession – a tragic waste of talent.
Changes must be made for July 13, with skipper Paul Gallen, hooker Robbie Farah, and centre Dylan Walker not deserving of another run, and half Adam Reynolds has a severe shoulder injury and is likely to be out for at least a month, which will be rough on South Sydney as well.
In light of another Origin series loss, there will be calls for Laurie Daley to be replaced as NSW coach.
Hopefully, those calls will be ignored, but Daley must bury his pick and stick policy for Origin 3 and select form footballers with promise at the elite level.
It’s time to prepare for Origin 2017, and in the interim find a culture that suits the Blues.
Failing that and it will be time to prepare for Origin 2018, and so on.
Queensland often has the right mix of generational talent, playmaking brilliance and these nuts-and-bolts players that bind them together like glue.
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