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Can NSW prevent Mal Meninga’s Maroons from making it eight successful series in a row? This question will soon be answered as the 33rd annual State of Origin series is quickly approaching.
NSW will be looking to break a seven year drought with newly appointed, former Canberra, NSW and Australian captain, Laurie Daley at the helm. Daley has taken over from former teammate Ricky Stuart who, despite the efforts from NSWRL, has resigned from the job to take on the head coaching role at Parramatta.
Daley will surely have many sleepless nights prior to the series opener in Sydney on June fifth. Many players are vying for positions in the squad this year, however none more competitive than that of five-eighth.
One player in contention for this jersey is James Maloney. Maloney, along with Canterbury Bulldog Josh Reynolds and last year’s number six, Todd Carney, will be competing over the next few weeks to convince Daley that they are the right man for the job.
While both Reynolds and Carney were injured for this season’s City v Country clash, Maloney ensured he made the most of his opportunity with a very capable display for Country, who were the victors on the day.
Assisting Maloney’s bid for an Origin debut is the fact he plays alongside Mitchell Pearce every week for the Sydney Roosters. Daley has already stated that Pearce will be his selection for the number seven this year, leaving young South Sydney halfback Adam Reynolds looking to the future despite his superb club form and quality display for City.
Maloney has proved he is more than capable of working well with Pearce. Between them this season they have set up 12 tries.
The Roosters currently have the best point’s differential in the league and are the second highest point scoring team, behind leaders Melbourne Storm. Maloney has chipped in with 66 of these points.
It is also worth noting that the Roosters have kept teams scoreless on three different occasions and the ability to maintain defensive pressure is key in State of Origin.
It seems to be appearing all too similar on the other side of the border however, with Mal Meninga still the man in charge. The Queenslanders have recently dominated selection in the Kangaroos ANZAC Test team with nine members of the run-on-side being Maroons. Winger Brett Morris was the only New South Welshman from numbers 1 to 10.
Laurie Daley’s task is quite simple, pick the right players and stick with them throughout the series.
Overall, however, the Blues will have to conjure up every bit of skill, determination and passion to stop the Queenslanders from making it eight series wins on the trot.
The Maroons ability to stay switched on and battle out every last second cannot get the better of the Blues. They have to equal that. With two matches being played in Sydney this year, NSW has a huge chance to regain some honour.
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