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Laurie Daley’s quest to bring the State of Origin shield back to NSW is already looking shaky, and we are still many weeks out from game one.
Daley published an article in the Daily Telegraph on Saturday explaining why he will be preferring Mitchell Pearce over Adam Reynolds for the halfback position.
His basic argument was that Adam Reynolds is not ready to play State of Origin.
In writing this article Daley has made his first strategic blunders, blunders highly typical of NSW in past years.
Daley, it appears, has fallen victim to previous NSW adminstrations by preselecting his team, months before necessary and ignoring current form guides.
He is not the first.
Ricky Stuart did it too. He had twice before the start of seasons 2012 and 2011 caught up with a select group of players that he was forming the NSW origin team around: Gallen, Hayne, Pearce, Gidley and a few others.
Stuart fell into the trap of picking players without taking into account what their upcoming form would be.
Pearce looked awful, Gidley got injured and Hayne was been a shadow of his 2009 form and barely warranted Origin selection.
It was wrong of Stuart to pencil in players before the season, and it is wrong of Daley now.
Form players were sitting on the couch on Wednesday nights.
Daley should be looking at form, and ignore friendship when picking his team.
I believe Daley when he says that he has nothing against Reynolds. The Rabbitohs are on top of the ladder. Undefeated, who would have thought it.
Adam Reynolds is the pivotal player in that team. He unleashes Greg Inglis.
He kicks so accurately and unleashes try-machine Nathan Merritt. He is also incredibly consistent.
A fit Reynolds compared to an injured Reynolds was the difference in last year’s preliminary final. He got injured: Rabbitohs season ended on the spot.
Mitchell Pearce is playing well, but inconsistently.
You cannot risk that in Origin.
Furthermore, Pearce has rarely looked like he can match it with the best at Origin level.
We don’t know about Reynolds at Origin, but pre-emptively saying he is not ready is a washy excuse.
If he isn’t ready now, when will he be ready? When did someone decide that Mitchell Pearce was Origin ready when he was in his early 20’s?
Pick origin players on form, not past form or because they are of an inner circle of Wayne Pearce supporters. Leave that nonsense for Cricket Australia.
Daley needs to stop following the erroneous paths of his predecessors.
To win Origin, especially against this Queensland team, 13 players need to be picked on form and form alone. If that means making a bold decision and picking a debutant at seven then make it!
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