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A five-star performance from James Tedesco in State of Origin III would highlight Laurie Daley’s folly in leaving the Wests Tigers fullback out of the team for Game 2, but could also ensure the NSW coach keeps his job.
Of course, there is no guarantee Tedesco will have a good game, but I’m as sure as I can be that he will. I reckon a State of Origin star will be born at ANZ Stadium on Wednesday night.
There have been conflicting reports about Daley’s future beyond this series.
He is contracted until the end of next year’s series and one report, after the loss by the Blues in Game 1, claimed he was safe to complete the deal no matter how this year’s series finished.
Then, after Queensland clinched the series by winning game two, NSWRL chairman George Peponis came out and said there would be a review of the NSW operation and that everything was on the table except Daley’s job, which was safe.
The latest speculation, heading into Game 3, is that NSW need to win for Daley to be assured of keeping his job.
NSW have lost three out of four series under Daley, including the last two in a row. He should have already lost his chance to coach the team again next year. If he didn’t have a contract for another year I suspect his cards would already be marked.
Craig Bellamy was the only previous Blues coach to survive losing two series. He lost three out of three series and was gone.
Some people react to the suggestion Daley should be moved on by pointing out how great the Queensland team is and that at least he is the one NSW coach who has actually won a series in the last 11 years.
But the Blues didn’t build on that 2014 series win as they might have. Some of the most promising young players in the game had to wait longer than they should have had to wait to get a game.
The good thing is that the form of debutants Tyson Frizell and Jack Bird for NSW in game two appears to have emboldened Daley.
The easy thing for him to do when selected halfback Adam Reynolds was forced out of Game 3 by injury would have been to select an established halfback, like Mitchell Pearce, as his replacement. But, instead, he brought Matt Moylan back into the squad.
So either Bird or Moylan will start in the halves with Maloney, and I reckon we’ll see all three players on the field together at some stage.
I’m keen to see Moylan play five-eighth in a game like this. He looks like he could make a successful switch to that position from fullback and this would be a great opportunity to try him there.
All Origin games are important, but at least this one is not series-deciding and with Maloney, Bird and Moylan all in the mix at least you’ve got three options for the two halves positions if it’s not working out as you would like during the match.
Dead rubber games are tricky beasts to judge. So much of it comes down to how much it means to the players in the team that has already won the series to win again. If they’re all up for it, fine, but if four of five of them are down a few per cent in intensity it can make all the difference.
It should be easier for the team that is down two-nil to get up for the game, to try to avoid a clean sweep. But, still, nothing is certain.
The chances of NSW winning will certainly be improved, though, if Tedesco makes the sort of debut he’s capable of making.
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