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So … how did that happen?
How did the Blues blow a 10-point lead with thirty minutes to go and a shot at their second State of Origin series in 12 long lonely years?
How did they go from all-conquering flat-out beast-masters in the first half to supplicant fraidy-cats in the second?
How does that work? Talk us through that mad action, Bluesmen.
Answer is there is no one answer. Hell – you watch the Raiders lose by four points after leading by eight with less than two minutes to play, and tell me if anything makes sense anymore in this Godforsaken crazy mixed-up world.
No – some things have no answers. At least not easy ones.
At least not hurtful, truthful ones.
Because you want to hear the truth? Do you think you can handle the truth?
This is the truth: NSW lost because they’re not Queensland.
Oh – check out the big brain on Brad?
Allow me to retort.
Fact is being from Queensland means more to a Queenslander than being from New South Wales does to a New South Welshman.
Fact.
You think Jarryd Hayne cares about the state he grew up in? It’s like a municipality. It doesn’t really matter. He’d sooner care about Campbelltown City Council. And he doesn’t care about Campbelltown City Council any more than Israel Folau cares about it, and he grew up there, too, and played for Queensland.
(AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts)
But Queenslanders? They care about Queensland. And when there’s 30 minutes until they’ve lost the State of Origin series they believe is theirs by divine right, they dig in and have a crack.
Other reasons NSW lost include:
• Jarryd Hayne didn’t pass the ball to Brett Morris who would have scored in the corner, increasing NSW’s lead to 14 with a kick to come. And Queensland would not have come back from that had they snorted flaming Bundy Bear fur.
* Instead Jarryd Hayne hung onto the ball in the belief he was on another dummying barnstorming burst over the line and into the love of Blatchy’s Blues.
• The Blues did not run at Johnathan Thurston’s shoulder which was hanging off the bone like a hunk of bruised osso bucco. Why they did not will confound scholars of this greatest game of all rugby league until time immemorial. One reason would be that…
• NSW lacked leadership. Boyd Cordner is not a talker, they say, he’s an action man who leads by example. But NSW needed someone to tell them to run at Thurston’s shoulder. League 101 says run at the busted blokes. And if it’s Thurston you do it three times a set.
• NSW choked. What else could you call it? They stopped playing footy with their eyes on the prize. Their eyes flared in the headlights. Queensland came hard at them. And NSW choked.
• Hayne dropped the ball and passed into touch, and we already mentioned hogging the ball with B-Moz out wide believing he was going to dummy his way over the line as he had in Game 1 before running into the blue-wiggers for all the love of Jesus.
• Andrew Fifita was gang-tackled by three and four men. Yet Nathan Peats didn’t exploit all those big tired bodies around the ruck.
• Johnathan Thurston: the best there’s ever been? I’ve got a thing for the King. Many anoint Holy Joseph Johns. But you can make a very good case that Thurston is the best we’ve ever seen.
(AAP Image/Dean Lewins)
• And he’s got some mates – Cam Smith, Billy Slater, Cooper Cronk. These people are ridiculous. They’re 34. They’re still owning rugby league. The dynasty lives, with a vengeance.
• The Blues didn’t think Josh McGuire could break so many tackles (and Josh McGuire probably didn’t think so either) and initiate a superb 60m attacking raid supported by Cronk who passed to Will Chambers who flopped a superb no-look pass for Dane Gagai who scored yet another Origin try, he looks as if he belongs.
• Referee Matt Cecchin didn’t penalise Queensland for taking out Josh Dugan and Hayne as they chased bombs. Fair enough in Origin they let some things go .. but you still have to apply the actual rules.
• Johnathan Thurston. Yes – we mentioned him. But how about him? When he lined up that conversion it was like, of course he’ll get it. It’s Johnathan Thurston. How about him. Champion.
• And so is Billy Slater and so is Cooper Cronk and so is Cameron Smith, and they owned the Blues on Origin night, they played super-smart footy out wide and just kept on playing and believing that things would come good.
• The Blues tried not to lose. And choked. And lost.
The end.