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With the announcement of the Blues team last night, there was a notable absence in the lineup.
Morris, the man who was Inglis’ opposite in game two, maintained his place and Hayne was an automatic inclusion (who has later withdrawn due to injury).
However, celebrated try-scorer and all-round nice guy, Nathan Merritt, did not make the cut.
Daley has named an extended bench, with McManus replacing Hayne and Dugan holding his spot at fullback.
Despite the injury cloud, which is ominously hovering over the NSW team like a cockroach about to be squashed, selectors have ignored the form of the flying winger Merritt and gone for tried and tested Origin players.
Some may say that Merritt had his chance and blew it. But what message does this send, not only to the current crop of NRL players, but to the kids who aspire to play at this elite level?
Debuting in Queensland, at Suncorp, is never going to be easy, and with a game plan that involved Merritt jamming Inglis (which left Boyd unmarked and with a free passage to the tryline), it is difficult to imagine how Merritt is supposed to do everything at once.
When asked post-match if he thought Merritt would maintain his spot, Inglis seemed dumbfounded that his Rabbitohs teammate might be dropped for the Origin decider.
This shows a difference in the attitude on either side of the border: the Blues have chopped and changed their lineup for the last seven years, in the hope of stumbling across a combination that works and breaks the hoodoo.
Meanwhile, Meninga’s men are seasoned performers, with combinations not only at club level, but a familiarity that springs from years of Origin games together.
Personally, I think that while Merritt’s debut may have been rather ordinary and underwhelming, the enormity of the occasion and the fact that NSW has always struggled to perform in QLD means he should be allowed another chance.
Even if he held a spot on the bench, or was just named in the 20 man squad, this would be better than shunning him all together and pretending he was never involved in this series.
Overall, I think NSW could do with some team building and just a general confidence boost. We all remember the drama surrounding John Sutton’s selection: he was called into training, only for Josh Reynolds to be picked ahead of him and the media (and consequently, Sutton’s family and friends) misinformed about who actually made the team.
QLD are a very professional success machine- and if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.
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