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As I sat down at Suncorp Stadium to watch Origin II last night I thought to myself: “what was I thinking.”
I have never been to a more intimidating arena, and the build up with former Origin lock Billy Moore bobbing up everywhere and shouting: “Queenslander, Queenslander” had everyone joining in.
It was deafening, and by the time NSW ran onto the field they had their tails between their legs, and played accordingly.
The ongoing chanting had the opposite impact on Queensland as they all looked and played like goliaths.
They were simply stunning and underlined in big bold print that when they deliver their best game they are untouchable.
The NSW coach got away with using the Roosters halves combination of Mitch Pearce and James Maloney in Game 1 because the forwards dominated with four big men surpassing the 100 metre mark, but last night the two Sharks, Paul Gallen and the Blues best player Andrew Fifita, were the only two forwards to hit triple-figures.
Lewis, Woods, Hoffman, Bird and Watmough all returned poor figures while Merrin registered a pass mark. Is the big prop forward dead?
The Maroons took a big gamble by going athletic and only selecting only one genuine prop forward in Matt Scott, who played his best game in 12 months. It worked a treat, and the extra line speed by the Maroons simply suffocated the Blues, who only made a disgraceful 1,098 metres in total compared to their 1,528m in Sydney.
So how can NSW be 430 metres worse from their previous game? That is equal to running the length of the field over four times.
It was not any single thing but a number of things:
• No doubt the scary, biased crowd that provided an intimidating environment for the opposition and referees which contributed to a 5-2 penalty count against the Blues in the first half was a factor.
• James Maloney stripping the ball on the first hit up was dumb and led to a try one minute later that opened the flood gates. NSW needed to play smart and get into a grind.
• Nathan Merritt was the feel good story when he was selected but he has played first and last Origin game. Hayne should come straight back in.
• If NSW are going to stick with James Maloney, and they will, Coach Daley should consult Roosters coach Trent Robinson on how to protect him. He came to the Roosters as the worst defender in the NRL, but his missed tackle count improved enormously under Robinson.
Last night we witnessed the ‘old’ Maloney who looked like a revolving door, missing five tackles and conceding the Thaiday try in the second minute. It is just not good enough for Origin standard.
• Mitchell Pearce has one last chance to come good. As the on-field general he has led NSW to only three wins in 11 games, but in all of those games he has looked nothing more than a link man. His tactical kicking is always rushed and looks second rate compared to Cronk and Thurston.
If we go back to Round 1 this year when Souths number seven Adam Reynolds pulled Pearce’s pants down in a brilliant display, we all thought we had just seen the new Blues halfback. Sadly we will have to wait until next year when Daley finally gets it right.
• Paul Gallen went into the game with that injured knee, and while he still had great figures he did not dominate like he did in Sydney.
• Robbie Farah had to not only play hooker but also 6 and 7. I felt sorry for him and he remains our most important player.
• Aaron Woods was disappointing and Tamou should come back in.
• Luke Lewis was well marked this time and returned poor figures.
• Ryan Hoffman, like Game 1, made up the numbers and again failed to handle Hodges.
• Josh Dugan dropped one bomb, but apart from that he looked the Blues most likely player to make a break. NSW need his skills if they hope to defeat the Maroons in Game 3. Like Hayne did in Game 1, he will be a star when he plays in a team with good go-forward and field position.
The bookmakers are saying that Queensland will win their eight-straight Origin series in Sydney on July 17 by two points. If the game was played in Brisbane it would be closer to 10 points.
Ideally NSW should have form players Jamal Idris, Adam Reynolds and John Sutton running out with them, but Coach Daley has backed himself into a corner and will stick solid with his convictions. I expect Hayne to come in for Merritt and maybe Tamou for Woods.
Queensland will be unchanged, except they will not have Billy Moore revving up the crowd.
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