Andrew Johns wants NSW to exploit the absence of Queensland enforcer Sam Thaiday in Wednesday’s State of Origin clash at ANZ Stadium.
Ricky Stuart’s side must beat Queensland to prevent a seventh successive series defeat, and Blues great Johns said the loss of Thaiday’s aggression and desire to be at the forefront of any on-field melees is a huge blow for the Maroons.
Thaiday will be replaced by David Taylor in the starting line-up for Queensland, with Brisbane lock Corey Parker moving onto the bench.
Johns, who played a starring role in the Blues’ last series win in 2005, is full of admiration for Taylor, but believes being without Thaiday will hurt the Maroons.
“Sam’s captaining the Broncos this year and his leadership is there for all too see,” Johns said.
“When something breaks out on the pitch, when there’s a melee he’s in there and right amongst them and they feed off Sam.
“From a technical point of view he’s on that right side of the ruck. He combines well with Justin Hodges and they play together at club level.
“It’s a huge loss and real advantage for NSW.”
The combination of Blues halves Todd Carney and Mitchell Pearce flickered rather than fired in game one in Melbourne, and Johns believes the pair will need to be much improved for NSW to win.
“The big word in footy now is the spine. (Hooker) Robbie Farah has come good and looks an Origin player,” Johns said.
“I thought Mitchell played well in game one, and fingers crossed he’ll play great on Wednesday.
“I’d like to see him use the ball more and take on line.
“He’s at the stage where the next four or five years should be the best of his career and hopefully he gets a man of the match performance.”
Carney was beset by nerves and his game suffered in Melbourne, but Johns voiced confidence in the Cronulla’s star’s ability to get it right in front of his home fans.
“He’ll be fine. It’s not so much the game, it’s the build up and how you handle the day,” Johns said.
“It’s the longest day of the year. You could see it in his face before the first game, he was a bundle of nerves.
“He’ll be lot more relaxed and better for the run.”
Although he believes the two sides are well matched, Johns conceded the Maroons’ consistency and ability to produce when it matters is something NSW have lacked.
“It’s the key moments that Queensland have stood up for that make them so good,” he said.
“They don’t have Darren Lockyer any more but they replace him with a player who’s not too bad in Johnathan Thurston.
“I think it’s so close. But those key moments are the ones that NSW need to improve at if they are have any chance.”
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