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I loved the way the Blues entered Origin 3 at ANZ Stadium, wanting to throw the ball around.
Yes, they played sideways and out the back too much as we all heard Gus Gould saying on the TV, but the fact NSW went out on the field with that mindset was encouraging.
Laurie Daley and his team will know that another series belongs to Queensland, and there’s a lot to improve on.
Perhaps the main thing that stuck out about way NSW played Game 3 was their execution in attack – and I’m not talking about the obvious stuff like passes being too high or too low, or players knocking the ball on in the tackle. I’m talking about executing the correct options; the decision-making side of things. That comes down to the halves working certain aspects of the gameplay with a purpose, to reveal another later in the game. It actually reminded me somewhat of the shortcomings in Game I, when NSW had all that possession yet couldn’t convert it into points.
Execution of a gameplan and the ability to think and adapt on the field is the reason Johnathan Thurston and Cooper Cronk have become the legends they are.
NSW’s halves need to watch the way Thurston and Cronk construct their tries, which Joey Johns attempted to highlight in the pre-match coverage. They’ve scored countless tries using the same play with slight variations for years.
We all know the block play, where Thurston or Cronk will take it to the line with one or two forwards as decoys then pass to the fullback out the back who has an overlap, who will then hit the centre or winger to cross in the corner. But what comes before this is equally important.
Early in the game, in past games especially, Queensland usually play the front men into the NSW halves, waiting for their defensive line to change.
And from a Blues perspective, why wouldn’t you play the front man, Josh Jackson, to run at Thurston more often? Ditto Cronk.
Instead, NSW played out the back too early on in the game and had the attack running at Greg Inglis’ channel at centre or wider. For Inglis it was easy pickings, enabling him to herd the attack towards the sideline, a place you don’t want to go near on a greasy ANZ. Hence the reason it looked like NSW were going ‘sideways’. How often were we hoping to see speedsters Jennings and Tedesco with a little bit of space one-on-one and wondering why they weren’t getting it?
What NSW needed to do was attack the space inside and outside Thurston and Cronk with some big hard runners. Yes, Thurston is a great player and solid defender, and he will most likely put a few hits on, but forcing him to make tackles saps energy and creativity from one of their best players.
It also makes defences nervous. Eventually the bigger man on smaller man is going to yield gainline pressure. Either the back rower will need to push out, creating space on the inside, or the centre (Inglis) will need to come in, creating space out wide. If not the defence will end up on the back foot.
You have to earn the right to go forward first, not just go straight for the space that Queensland want you to see on their flanks.
Responsibility here lies with the halves. Your 6 and 7 have to get all your players into the right position on the field, and running the right lines, into the right holes. Then the halves must not only make the right decision as to whether to go to the front man or out the back, but also decide when according to what they have been working towards.
Moylan, admittedly a first-time five-eighth at this level, will learn quickly that execution is more than accurate passing. He will learn to use his plays not just to soak up tackles, but to work the defence over. This starts with introducing doubt in the defence, which creates overlaps and opportunities.
That’s what makes Queensland so good. JT hits the front guy early, then go out the back once he sees the defensive line change.
Take Queensland’s first try. NSW had jammed up and in, looking for the short play, which is perhaps a safer defensive strategy offering a little more protection for a new unproven five-eighth in the line. As past experience has shown, Thurston would normally hit his front runners hard into Moylan’s channel. Instead the ball went out the back and found its way to Inglis, who crossed untouched for an easy-looking try.
This is successful execution – executing a play to make another play work better, later. So Matt Moylan or Jimmy Maloney should have played the front man early, and then would have seen the space open up for the outside backs later in the game.
The Maroons also have the ability to bounce between different plans, depending on the defence. If they’ve been attacking down JT’s side again and again, suddenly they’ll hit you on Cronk’s side, and he’ll take the right option against a defence that has stacked the other side, focussing on stopping attacks from Thurston.
With NSW, you can see which side they are going to attack. Clearly they’re trying to develop the same style of intelligence around the park and they do manage really good ball movement to either side of the field. That’s what got me excited about NSW thinking “they’re here to play”. However at that level it’s all execution.
It’s execution of lines they’re running, and taking the right options, and choosing the time at which they take their options, as well as ballplayers doing their job committing the right people.
NSW had so much ball in attack, but the Maroons’ defence was rarely in two minds, until Jimmy Maloney started running through them – not around them but through them – near the seam between the forwards and backs, where the halves usually hover.
The way Queensland (and the Broncos) defend is to squash up tight, show you the sideline, and make you think you can get around them. It’s a trap that’s hard not to fall into, especially for an inexperienced playmaker. They push you to the sideline and use it as a defender. You need to play straighter, because otherwise they’ll slide out and get you.
On another note, I would like to make note of the elephant in the room that everyone was blowing up about: the penalty count.
That’s the first time anyone’s stood up to Queensland in the ruck. During the game I only saw one soft penalty – the rest were accurate.
The officials stood up and actually did the right job. Cameron Smith’s well within his right to complain about what they’re doing, but I’ll share a little story with you.
I remember Gus doing a video session on it at Origin training back in the day, and he explained that when Queensland want to slow down the game by infringing, they do it with consistency, and they do it as a team. They’re happy to give away a few penalties early when they’re all fresh because they know the ref will eventually drop off because he feels the penalty count is getting away, or he’ll square up later.
When NSW have tried the same thing because they’re tired, only one or two blokes will do it, and they’ll get pulled up on it so they stop.
And it’s stuck with me how Queensland do it consistently, and as a team, but only marginally: they’re only a little bit offside; they only wrestle that little bit extra.
But you’re either onside or you’re not. And for the first time in years, last Wednesday night I thought to myself, “someone’s actually pulled these guys up on it.”
The refs didn’t favour the home team, they just pulled Queensland up on the areas they usually get away with.
Penalty count aside, NSW have been so close for so long, and I’ve been encouraged by what they’ve done for a while now. In no way are these guys out of their depth. It’s always been so close.
One moment, one lapse in concentration is all it’s taken for Queensland to get them in the tight games. The teams that have played together longer have the advantage in tight games. You look at those Queenslanders. They play together at club, then at Origin and then for Australia (with their old coach). What a huge advantage experience-wise it is for those guys. But it’ll turn, for as I know first hand, on or off the field, father time is always the winner. What remains to be seen is if NSW can knock these guys off whilst they’re together, or if they have to wait for one for the masters to retire.
But there is a lot of depth in NSW now, they just need to find and stick with the right combination.
Tyson Frizell is a powerhouse player; fast, strong, skilful and with a good work ethic. I see him playing a lot of Origin.
Moylan played really well considering the hand he was dealt. He’s not yet a five-eighth at Origin level – you need to be the best of the best for your position, and he’s not played there consistently enough to be that yet. Coming into Origin to play in the halves is not like coming on as a utility after an early injury. There’s much more responsibility. Oppositions have formulated their gameplay around you too.
He has plenty of potential and I loved how he tried to get his hands on the ball as often as he could, but his ball-playing could be better, as could a lot of his option-taking.
You can tell Maloney is really comfortable with his role at club level and state level, and he is the one Blue who brought creativity consistently throughout the series.
I was impressed with Adam Reynolds’ first Origin series. I’m sure he knows by now Origin is a different beast and you’re not as fresh, nor do you have as much time to do what you do for Souths. He’s only going to get better with the experience.
I can’t help but think how much of a difference the ‘new’ Mitchell Pearce would’ve had on the team. The adult that has returned from league media purgatory. Pearce has had a lot of time put into him by the powers at NSW, and while everyone looks for a scapegoat after a series loss, the Blues need someone who can get them around the field well.
They need strike.
Having Mitchell Pearce and Maloney would be a great combination for the Blues, because whatever you might say about Pearce, this year all the Roosters’ creativity comes through him, so why wouldn’t you push that into the Origin arena?
I already hear the critics say he’s been tried before and he’s failed. What most people seem to overlook is that he was thrust in there as a boy, with players around him that were freshly experiencing the Maroons juggernaught at its prime. Those same players are a little more hardened now, a little more aware, and grow ever hungrier. And there’s no denying how much Mitchell has grown as a man off the field, and a general on the field without Maloney as his halves parter, regardless of the Roosters win ratio.
Overall it was an encouraging if flawed performance, which highlights to me how crucial the execution of the plan is. We need the halves to do it.
It’s not about just going through the plays off the top of your head making the obvious choices. It’s about playing that game of chess breaking down and setting up your opposition, then executing the final blow.