Roar Experts Ryan O’Connell and Brett McKay have climbed back into the Cheap Seats for a State of Origin Game 1 special.
Recorded in the aftermath of the NSW Blues 14-6 victory over the Queensland Maroons in Sydney last night, the boys give their view on the big plays in the game, the performances of the stars and the debutants, and a complete set of player ratings for both teams.
Game 1 Origin talking points:
• Superb games from Jarryd Hayne, James Maloney, Robbie Farah, Luke Lewis and Greg Bird for NSW;
• Josh Reynolds’ flawless game off the NSW bench;
• The stars that shone for Queensland, and the stars that didn’t;
• Much disagreement in the ratings of Johnathan Thurston and Cooper Cronk;
• And even more for Ashley Harrison.
Summary of player scores is below, detailed explanation is contained in the podcast, and expected debate welcome in comments below.
Origin Game I Special: Ryan & Brett’s Player Ratings
New South Wales Blues
Jarryd Hayne:
Brett 8; Ryan 8
Brett Morris:
BM 7; ROC 7
Michael Jennings:
BM 7; ROC 9
Josh Morris:
BM 6; ROC 5
Blake Ferguson:
BM 7; ROC 8
James Maloney:
BM 8; ROC 9
Mitchell Pearce:
BM 6; ROC 7
Paul Gallen:
BM 8; ROC 8
Robbie Farah:
BM 8; ROC 8
James Tamou:
BM 6; ROC 5
Luke Lewis:
BM 9; ROC 10
Ryan Hoffman:
BM 7; ROC 7
Greg Bird:
BM 9; ROC 9
Interchange: Andrew Fifita:
BM 8; ROC 8
Anthony Watmough:
BM 7; ROC 7
Trent Merrin:
BM 6; ROC 7
Josh Reynolds:
no rating (flawless)
Queensland Maroons
Billy Slater:
BM 7; ROC 7
Darius Boyd:
BM 6; ROC 5
Greg Inglis:
BM 7; ROC 6
Justin Hodges:
BM 8; ROC 8
Brent Tate:
BM 7; ROC 8
Johnathan Thurston:
BM 6; ROC 4
Cooper Cronk:
BM 8; ROC 4
Matt Scott:
BM 7; ROC 6
Cameron Smith:
BM 7; ROC 7
David Shillington:
BM 7; ROC 5
Nate Myles:
BM 7; ROC 9
Sam Thaiday:
BM 7; ROC 6
Ashley Harrison:
BM 8; ROC 3
Interchange: Corey Parker:
BM 8; ROC 7
Matt Gillett:
BM 8; ROC 7
Ben Te’o:
BM 8; ROC 7
Chris McQueen
BM 8; ROC 7
Stay cheap, peeps!
Nick
Roar Guru
I think your assessments of Cronk and Thurston are quite accurate. Your rating of Slater is a bit too generous. He was pretty slow, uncreative and was one of the tacklers that didn't (and should have) prevented Hayne from making the line.
the spectator
Guest
Hoffman and furguson may have to move aside for the Stewart boys, not bad replacement for the forwards and backs. Furguson being able to play centre as well is awesome for the next few weeks if any injuries, NSW has depth, what is going!!!!
Damn Straight
Roar Rookie
My sentiments exactly.
Mango Jack
Guest
Hhmm, tricky. On the one hand he wouldn't want to change a winning team, yet Stewart is a more natural fullback (I wouldn't think of Dugan yet). So if he moves Hayne to the wing, who misses out? Probably B Morris. Tough call.
Carlos
Guest
So turbo, how about that Hayne try and his try saving tackle on Cam Smith and milking that penalty against Inglis You were using this website to run an anonymous nasty little hate campaign against Hayne. How about showing a bit of heart and coming out and admitting that Hayne was excellent last night and easily the best full back on the park (including the ones playing center and wing)
Ryan O'Connell
Expert
Don't be sorry! You're on the right site! Look at the tagline beside The Roar logo . . .
Ryan O'Connell
Expert
The plot thickens!
maximillian
Guest
it will be interesting to see what happens for game 2 as I assume B Stewart was the 1st choice fullback before his injury? If he becomes availlable for game 2 do they put him back in & move Hayne to the wing, or stick with the status quo? Hayne was great but I think the balance of the side could be better with Stewart/Dugan at the back & Hayne on the wing. Either way these are good selection issues for Daley to have.
maximillian
Guest
Turbo you love to bag Hayne but he was good again. He probably could run it back with more gusto but his positional play was good & that was probably the biggest concern for me. 8 out of 10 is fair.
damoinaus
Roar Pro
Tamou wasn't in great form last night - I thought he would be one of the best on field, but he was disappointing. I wouldn't go dropping him for game 2 though...
Ricky Stuart's Beard
Guest
I think it's easy to see that unless your forwards are creating the space, your half pairings are never going to shine. Apart from a handful of games in the past 7 series have the blues forwards dominated, hence the fact that there has been a thousand combinations tried. Oh and sorry ROC I am a blue but have been living in enemy territory for 20 years and can't help but have an opinion on everything.
Renegade
Guest
Yeah he made a couple errors but the passes were terrible....he was clearly the best on ground last night without doubt.
Renegade
Guest
I thought Hodges was their best....he gets under my skin during Origin but he was brilliant for Queensland last night. Parker and Smith were also very good.
Ricky Stuart's Beard
Guest
Go home turbo you're drunk
The Greatest Game Of All
Guest
To be fair to you Brett, I was referring to the QLD ratings, should not have used the word "overall", my bad. Being a Qlder, I was critical of the players because of the high standards they have set themselves. I thought you were one point too generous to most players, I also thought Cronk and Harrison had shockers. I agree with most of your NSW ratings.
Tiger
Guest
I don't mean to replace Farah..as Farah has done nothing wrong to be dropped..I just mean if Ennis had the attitude and discipline that he has been showing now he would've done much better in Origin then what he did..Go Bulldogs (forget my Tiger name!!!!)
Mango Jack
Guest
Hayne stepped up, as we knew he would, but was not perfect. He is so slow returning kicks. Myles could have taken Gallen to anger management classes and still been back in time to tackle Hayne inside 20m.
Brett McKay
Expert
No I wasn't, but I am right now, funnily enough...
Ryan O'Connell
Expert
And that's the sound of you losing me! And I'm a Dogs fan!
db swannie
Guest
Jt deserves the 4. Mal deserves a ONE for allowing a sick/injured player(Main playmaker) to play. Clearly DCE should have been in . & a fully fit JT in game 2 will make a hell of a difference