It’s the buzz phrase of the modern rugby league aficionado. The team’s spine is what gets it over the line: the 1-6-7-9 positions.
Not the PIN to Nathan Tinkler’s Knights account, just the hugely important positions of fullback, five-eighth, halfback and hooker/pivot/dummy half.
Note: I have given the number nine several names, due to the fact that a modern rugby league hooker does as much hooking as a failed deep sea fisherman (and you thought I was going somewhere much worse!).
That being said and given the truism that 1-6-7-9 is pretty much the key to winning, what possible hope have the New South Wales Blues got in the upcoming State of Origin series?
Let’s be honest – Mal Meninga has known what his spine was going to be the – injuries aside – since Darren Lockyer got chaired off the ground In SOO three last year. And even if one or all of Billy Slater, Johnathon Thurston, Cooper Cronk and Cameron Smith suddenly contracted some nasty tropical disease or got snapped in half by an angry backrower (insert your own Matt Prior joke anytime), Queensland seem to have a plethora of back-up vertebrae to call on to fill the spinal cord.
But NSW? Good Lord, the Blues can’t decide on their spine and the team looks like a scoliosis victim because of it. Is it that hard for coach Stuart to say, “look, cancel that City-Country farce, I know my team and my spine is Stewart, Carney, Pearce and Farah.”
That is my personal choice but insert anyone you want as long as they, you know, actually play the position each week for their club. And from there, pick the rest of the side.
Instead, we’ve had every NRL coach push their own man’s barrow, unless they don’t want them playing State Of Origin for fear of injury (but there’s no self-interest in league of course). And we’ve got all these wild plans to play guys out of position (again, and that trick hasn’t worked for the last five years).
Jarryd Hayne is a fullback. A damn good one when he’s on song. So why on earth was their noise about him playing five-eight in Origin, especially given Todd Carney’s hot form on the paddock and his quiet form off it?
If Stuart wants to pick Hayne, put him in a jersey with “1” below his name and above whatever beer company sponsors the Blues this year.
And pick the Morris twins but give neither of them the number one jersey. Why? Because, well, they ain’t fullbacks. It’s the one position New South Wales does seem to have a variety of choices for, why stick a winger there?
Hopefully, Carney and Pearce have now become self-evident for Sticky but can I just annoy all those wonderful Newcastle fans and wonder what on earth all this new-age love was for Danny Buderus?
Only Alan Langer can superannuate himself in the comfort of the English Super League and come back to the fire that is Origin. Buderus’ unfortunate injury may have spared Stuart’s blushes when his rumoured preference was exposed at Origin level. 2008, in league years, is a long time ago.
Feel free to post nasty responses when Buderus wins the series for New South Wales in Origin 3 with a turn-back-the-clock performance.
In the meantime, much as I hate to say it, Queensland are sitting straight and tall with their strong spine while New South Wales slump alarmingly to the side.
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