I thought we’d be all be assessing Laurie Daley’s coaching ability at the end of the three game Origin series but events of the past two weeks mean we’ll be able to make a pretty fair judgement after Game 2.
Daley did a magnificent job preparing his Blues for their first-up win but ever since that night, the news on all fronts has been bad, horribly bad, for the debutant coach.
There have been major injuries to key personnel that have (and still might) have a bearing on who runs onto Suncorp on June 26.
And then there was the James Tamou DUI incident, closely followed by Blake Ferguson and his nightclub antics that have led to an official police charge.
Daley must be wondering if the football gods are conspiring against him in a season when NSW has a serious chance of ending Queensland’s Origin reign.
It’s safe to say Lozza is disappointed and probably extremely frustrated with all of the player drama but the man is a realist. He knows he has to take the rough with the smooth and I reckon he’ll make the necessary adjustments in his team’s preparation for Origin 2.
He will settle on his line-up and make it clear to every player that he has great faith in their skills and ability to bring down the Maroons.
With so much distraction in the NSW build-up, I suspect Daley will encourage the Blues to prepare as underdogs and develop a Queensland-like siege mentality. After all, it has worked for them plenty of times, and it can work for us.
This is going to be a huge test of character for every member of the Blues’ squad. Each player will have to buy into the coach’s philosophy and follow his game plan to the letter.
Tactically, the coach and the players will be severely tested up in the cauldron and if the Blues perform well in a game of such magnitude, I believe we will know that L. Daley is made of the right stuff and could be at the helm of NSW for a very long time.
Losing Hayne due to a hamstring tear was a big blow but his replacement, Josh Dugan, brings similar qualities to the team and will make his presence felt.
He has played at Origin level before and is a player with the confidence and ability to be much more than just a replacement for the first-choice fullback.
Blake Ferguson, well, what can one say? He had the world at his feet after an exciting debut in the Sydney game and now he has been suspended indefinitely by the NRL and has a serious court matter to deal with on top of that.
Even though I thought Aiden Tolman had done more than enough to win NSW selection, I applaud the selection of Tigers’ up-and-comer Aaron Woods. He has been fantastic in a well-beaten team all season and deserves a shot in elite company.
Having said that, I hope the selectors keep Tolman in mind as a future Origin player.
I believe his form this season clearly stamps him as one of the premier front-rowers in the NRL.
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All the team list information for Round 9.
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