Queensland player Greg Inglis (right) in action during Queensland's defeat over New South Wales in the 2nd State of Origin match between against New South Wales at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Wednesday, June 16, 2010. (AAP Image/Dave Hunt)
The NSW team for game II this year is a good team and they would beat plenty of Qld sides from over the years. The problem is, of course, they are not good enough in 2010.
I believe the debate about this Maroons side being the best in Origin history is now over, and the sobering thought is that apart from Lockyer and Petro, all the current Queensland players, including those out with injury, are still in their twenties.
What NSW need to do to get back into the contest is to wipe the slate clean – almost.
Bellamy is a great coach, and despite unfair advantages at the Storm, he was integral in developing the young Storm players into the stars they are today.
But three series losses in a row is a dismissible offence, no matter who the coach is.
If the Blues can get a new coach who is not under the workload of coaching a NRL team, and if he’s given a couple of years to show what he can do, it will be a big help.
The NSW selectors were always up against it as the Blues are simply out gunned at the moment, but picking players out of position and recycling the same players every other year has clearly not helped.
They must all be sacked and three brave new selectors must be appointed.
And, hopefully, courageous selectors will lead to an improvement with the most important aspect – the players.
Queensland selected ten debutants for the 2001 series after the humiliating whitewash of 2000. The Blues need to use this tactic next year to build for the future.
I would keep Mitchell Pearce, Jarryd Hayne and Anthony Watmough for the long term and Nathan Hindmarsh, Luke Lewis and Luke O’Donnell (despite the brain snap) for the short term, to keep some experience in the squad.
Then pick the best young talent you have, picking players in the position they play every week in the NRL, and tell them before game I that they will be the team for the entire series regardless of the results.
The Blues will be underdogs for the next few years, but by blooding the best young talent, and investing in the future by showing faith in them, the team can build some cohesion and confidence.
Remember, Cameron Smith didn’t win an Origin series until his fourth attempt.
It is the only way the Blues will be able to compete.
Here are the players who the new selectors should already have in mind for the entire 2011 series.
The selectors must take a punt to fill in the gaps.
1 Jarryd Hayne
2
3
4
5
6
7 Mitchell Pearce
8
9
10
11 Nathan Hindmarsh
12 Luke O’Donnell
13 Anthony Watmough
14 Luke Lewis
15
16
17
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