New South Wales squared up the 2015 State of Origin series with a 26-18 victory at the mighty Melbourne Cricket Ground on Wednesday night.
Here are five things we learned from the game.
1. Melbourne is the sporting capital of Australia (maybe even the world)
A crowd of over 91,000 on a weeknight in a non-traditional rugby league market is incredible. Yes there would be a component of that crowd that travelled down from the northern states, but the majority were Victorians that love sport.
The atmosphere at the ‘G was the equal of any State of Origin or NRL grand final I’ve attended in Sydney.
It’s also a testament to the impact the Melbourne Storm has had on the Victorian market.
The NRL should be applauded for bringing the game back to Melbourne and its greatest theatre of dreams.
It makes you wonder how good it would have been had the A-League taken the bold decision and held its grand final midweek at the MCG. It looks like the FFA missed a big opportunity.
2. Queensland have more upside heading into Game 3
Heading home for the decider, where they are extremely hard to be beat, the Maroons have far more upside than their southern counterparts.
Outside brief glimpses, the Maroons got very little from three of their spine players. Cameron Smith had a rare quiet game and Billy Slater was clearly not fit, hence his season ending shoulder surgery that was booked in the next day.
Johnathan Thurston was a one-man band in the halves, his kicking was phenomenal and his chasing was just as good, especially the chase which resulted in the much bigger Josh Dugan being dragged back into the in-goal.
Greg Inglis was the only other Queensland player to consistently shine. His move into the fullback spot for Game 3 will give him more time around the ball, which is sure to cause Laurie Daley some headaches.
3. Cooper Cronk must come back
Daly Cherry-Evans is not an Origin halfback at the moment and Mal Meninga will be sweating on the medical reports out of the Storm on the fitness of Cooper Cronk.
Even if Cronk doesn’t come up, DCE should not be in the seven jersey. One option is to move Thurston into that role, where he started his Origin career, bring Michael Morgan in at five-eighth and shift Cherry-Evans back to the bench.
Another is to call up Brisbane Broncos half Ben Hunt, leave Morgan on the bench and omit Cherry-Evans.
4. New South Wales’ halves paring somehow works
The much maligned halves pairing of Mitchell Pearce and Trent Hodkinson has been getting the job done for the Blues. The structured game of Hodkinson allowed Pearce to use his speed and dart around the ruck to great effect.
Pearce would have scored a try if not for a pass that floated slightly forward and was generally a menace, assisting on two of the Blues’ four tries.
It’s one of the great successes of Daley’s coaching career that he has made this halves pair of a halfback playing five-eighth and a half back who is struggling to get a club game work.
5. Origin football rules rugby league
We probably already knew this, but it was confirmed in the past week. Billy Slater putting state ahead of club to play despite clearly needing surgery that would end his season is a prime example of this.
The impact it has had on the NRL competition also needs to be addressed. Weekends of minimal games being being played between sides missing their best players is really not good enough in this day and age of professional sports.
For one night at the MCG, it was all worth it though.
Bring on Game 3.
Zorro
Guest
Not a solution, but I like midweek origin, the most obvious way to take some pressure off, is if it is 2-0 in a series, don't play the 3rd game
Hoy
Roar Guru
Thanks everyone.
onside
Guest
Another , 'five things we learnt from..... ' .Condescending article headline; a little more effort please.
Justthetip
Guest
I think the same about a lot of aspects of the game eg slater vs inglis but your loyalty dictates your opinion on some matters, it's called passion. Hate me for calling you on it, you're allowed to it's a free world. Klemmers did unleash but he was fresh at the end of the game against tiring players. Players who have done everything with what god gave them, klemmers still unproven. Carl Webb had his day in the sun and we all know how that turned out. As for me not being respected on here you obviously speak for the entire blog, maybe your ego doesn't allow you to realise when you're just being arrogant and disrespectful to warriors who have stood the test of time.
Freighter
Guest
Ha- im not sure big Mal would take respect from your post, but I'm also sure he takes the point that he needs to step up...The qld side is probably under more pressure than last year... We'll know how good they all are in 2-3 weeks
eagleJack
Roar Guru
Freighter I think we are actually saying the same thing. My point on the utility role was that DCE has been lambasted by many QLDers for having not done anything, citing games where he came off the bench. Giving Morgan as an example shows that the utility role is basically using a natural half as an extra backrower. Pretty tough for them to shine. Another time DCE has been lambasted was after Game I last year where he never trained in the halves. I simply feel the guy gets unfairly maligned. Give the guy time, he will absolutely shine. Btw I'm not saying Meninga is a crap coach. I have the utmost respect for what he has achieved. But his true test is to maintain this dominance whilst his once in a generation players slow considerably. I'm not convinced his tactics will allow this.
The Barry
Roar Guru
Yeah. That's what I mean by looking rushed. Defence was on him sooner than expected so he hesitated and cut back inside. But when I watched again, there was not much doing outside him anyway, no bodies in motion, players running decoys etc. He didn't make any howlers, he just didn't have a good game and he was far from the Lone Ranger in that regard. He hasn't slotted into the team very well but by Meningas own admission he's spent most of his time training as a back rower rather than a half. its interesting people are calling for his head when Thaiday ran for 35 metres or whatever it was and the worlds best front rower ran for 55.
Freighter
Guest
Right- So Mal Meninga is a crap coach? Aren't we rolling out 2007 arguments here? Your rant includes many well publicised criticisms of the QLD team- I just don't follow your logic from DCE starting at halfback to Morgan playing the utility roll. If we are seriously going to criticise coaches for halves not gelling in their first game, then the list would be painfully long...perhaps the fountain of knowledge should sit down and provide a masterclass- hope you have time for Mal before game 3
Birdy
Guest
The Barry , he pulled off 30 tackles and did a few good things but he delayed a couple of passes that looked bad,one was 10m out with an overlap. He cut back and passed inside. I'd have to watch the game again to name the player who he didn't pass to , the try was on. He looked like someone trying too hard .His timing and decision making were off for that game. Cronk needed time to settle in so does DCE. What he does need is a new manager I think things are going belly up at manly if Toovey goes,
The Barry
Roar Guru
Nail on the head eJ. I never understood last years explanation that DCE hadn't run with the team in the halves during camp. I thought DCE looked rushed but having watched the game again he was a long way from his best but it wasn't an out and out shocker. Everyone around him was poor and the team looked disjointed.
Jay C
Roar Guru
Nsw will lose Gallen, Scott, Farrah, Hoffman, Bird, Maybe the Morris bros in the same time. It's only because those guys have been around for so long. Out of the all is really only Thurston and Smith who are the best in their positions anymore.
Birdy
Guest
Yes freighter and EJ. DCE does need a few more games at that level and especially breaking into a team that has been so long together that they know each other's every thought and move. I'm just still dirty on him not going to the titans. But it doesn't really matter it's blues 2-1
Jay C
Roar Guru
Hopefully Papa gets himself together. I think Joe Offahenguae will play for Australia. Napa is a gun. McGuire is still young. I think Thaiday and Parker might have to play in the middle a bit more as well. Bring in a couple of bakeries with a bit more footwork.
The Barry
Roar Guru
When you lay it out like that, it's a lot of quality to lose over a short period. You'd want to hope they have a staggered send off like that and not 5-6 in any one year.
eagleJack
Roar Guru
Hi Jay C - you are spot on. QLD has great talent coming through as ready made replacements. On the whole I agree with your predicted retirements. But do you think Matt Scott will last another 2 series? I was really disappointed with him in the ANZAC Test. He stepped up for Game I but then had a shocker in Game II. Even in the NRL I don't feel that he is as intimidating as before. I get the feeling that he might not play Origin next year. But could be saved by the retirement of Lillyman, who will be replaced by Napa. In which case he will play in 2016. But surely 2017 is out of reach? Who is another prop coming through? Coupled with Myles retiring, it looks like McGuire and Napa will be leading from the front. But Im not sure who else is around. Ofahengaue is quite a few years away.
The eye
Guest
Can't you hear all that noise from down here from heartlanders pressuring Dave Smith to do something ?
The Barry
Roar Guru
Gavin Cooper is one of my favourite players. He's outstanding and doesn't get close to the wraps he deserves. He's in my supercoach team (killing it lately) and one of my kids is named Cooper...my wife didn't like Gavin.
Jay C
Roar Guru
Ouch. The reality is that it is and always has been incredible close. Despite QLD's 8 years of victory (Which contained 2 or 3 years of dominance) the games have always been hard fought. As they will be in the future. NSW has, or at least to hear them tell it, the stronger forward pack for the last 4 years at least. NSW are blooding some great young talents which should bode well for them in the next couple of years. But QLD has some real quality coming on as well. As is always the case NSW will have many more Origin quality players to choose from. But this can be as much a hindrance as it is helpful. In terms of QLD players retiring I think it will go like this. 2015: Hodges, Parker, Lillyman 2016: Slater, Myles 2017:Cronk, Scott, Thaiday, Thurston 2018: Smith There are ready made replacements for all, so it is really just a matter of getting it right.
eagleJack
Roar Guru
Was it truly a shocker, though? In the shocker category I would put Hodges, Thaiday, Scott, Myles, and Chambers. Plenty of other average performances, in which DCE was one. The fact is, as the brilliance of the elite QLD players wane, the lack of coaching ability from Meninga will come to the fore. DCE has done quite well coming off the bench for the Maroons in the past. Yet has been lambasted for it. Meanwhile Michael "I think he played" Morgan escapes scrutiny. Again not necessarily the fault of Morgan's. Why have his attacking brilliance in the team and then use him as a middle defensive man? He made 15 tackles but was used for zero runs for zero metres. The tactics of Meninga leave a lot to be desired. DCE came on last year after Cronk was injured, and we were later told that he never trained at half?! I mean that's smart. Why not just pick another backrower? That's what he used Morgan for, rather ineffectively. DCE is a different player to Cronk. You have to amend the attacking structure to accommodate his incredible talent. But that all seemed a bit too hard for Mal. Evolve or die as they say.
eagleJack
Roar Guru
Interesting that you always choose to play the man, rather than the ball. But I guess that's your prerogative. Your opinion isn't respected on here, but hey, we are all entitled to one. Klemmer managed to intimidate the current Maroons forward pack, so why would he, and the others, suddenly shy away from the "next gen"? QLD will have better halves. But the Blues will have the ascendency in the forwards. So it should keep the spectacle of Origin alive in the years to come.