Walters gets Queensland Origin job

Excluding Hunt for his GF performance is a little harsh, how many players go up against JT and come out on top? Not his best game for sure but his consistency and skill was outstanding throughout the year.

The current QLD coach will be overseeing a rebuilding of an aged side over the next year or two. This will be the second most important coaching roll in rep footy behind the rebuilding of an aged Australian side.

I'm not convinced the QLD coach is very important with that current crop of players.

i don't think it's fair to slump Hunt into that category when he was one of few bright spots in the four nations tournament coming off the bench. (Really anybody could've stepped into that roll after the embarrassment that was, for the however many times it's been tried, bringing Farah off the bench) Hunt seems like someone who can fit into gameplans without losing his creativity while DCE seems like someone who needs the gameplans to revolve around him and his strengths. Not a criticism of Cherry-Evans mind you. Just the general feeling I get watching the two of them. DCE does what he does, and he does it well. (Still think he's QLDs Mitchell Pearce though)

Daly Cherry Evans has never performed at Rep Level so I think he will be under pressure to retain his spot considering the Maroons dropped him and aren't that clinical when he is starting in the halves. Kind of think this will happen to Hunt as well. Milford is a star though.

That's a good point pete. And is the reason why Thurston was vouching for Morgan to partner him in the halves. Thuston and DCE are both ad lib style players. Play to what is in front of them, create off the cuff plays. Cronk on the other hand plays to a structure. You require both styles of players in the halves. Think DCE/Foran for example (oh the memories :) ) Throwing Thurston and DCE together isn't a great mix and proved to be the case. It meant that one of them wouldn't play his natural game. And you saw that with the game plan Mal put forward, expecting DCE to mimic Cronk which was never going to happen. The media, however, picked up that Thurston singing the praises of his Cowboys teammate meant that DCE was disliked. When it in fact had more to do with playing styles. Which is fair enough.

I think it is more that DCE doesn't fit as well when he isn't the dominant creator alongside two of thurston/cronk/Smith. If Thurston and cronk are gone I take DCE in a heartbeat, but with the others I probably go with one of the other options who can be plugged in a more defined role. Just about all the players have some sort of black mark right can't see them holding too much of a grudge for staying at your club, especially when so few were affected.

I don't think he is unpopular at all. But it fit with the general rhetoric pushed by the media when he backflipped on the Titans. It was supposedly "un-Queensland" like to do such a thing. Even though Inglis had done so beforehand (although to be fair he is from NSW). But now that Mal Meninga has broken a 5 year contract (an actual contract no less) with the PNGRFL to take up the Australian coaching post, surely the "sins" of DCE can now be forgotten? I'd be surprised if Hunt has moved ahead of DCE, especially after that GF performance. But either way the QLDers certainly have some talent in that position. I won't be complaining if Manly retain DCE through the Origin period.

Big year for DCE wrt Qld selection. I get the "feeling" that he is not the most popular player in the Qld squad. And in his limited opportunities replacing Cronk in SoO he hasn't had particularly good games. Can't blame him for the latter as he is a very different style of player to Cronk and trying to fit into the existing Qld system. In my opinion, Hunt has moved ahead of DCE for Qld half position so DCE needs a big year for Manly to stake his claim.

I feel Morgan is the best suited to an interchange roll due to his versatility and good line running. Hunt I think once JT and Cronk move on after 2017 is ahead of DCE for the 7 spot atm. If Cherry-Evans does retain his bench spot he would have to play his pants off because it's hard to argue that he deserves it when there are younger and better halves in the wings. He is capable of some magical performances but besides a dead rubber I haven't seen him do much at origin level.

I know I wouldn't have. Can't think many would blame him for telling them where to shove it either. Whole process has been a messy affair and I'm hoping whatever Betros/the QRL board has against Kevvie doesn't impact his coaching plans for the worse.

I cannot recall a coach EVER with so many halfs to choose from. There is no doubt barring injury that Cooper Cronk will be the 7. Have a look at the star studded list chomping to replace him: 1. Michael Morgan 2. Ben Hunt 3. Dally Cherry-Evans 4. Anthony Milford Morgan is likely to make the bench with the other super 3 unable to make the 17. All 4 would likely make the NSW 13.

Yes yes yes I feel no respite for NSW here. In the first twenty years of origin the stats were ( as I recall ) almost 50/50 in every respect , so NSW have to wipe the floor with Kevvies bunch consistently over the next 3 yrs in an attempt to bring back the status quo.

Finally sanity has prevailed.

It was an odd press conference. Felt very uncomfortable. Betros referring to Kevvie as "Mal" was one thing, but he appeared to not want to even look at him. Good on Kevvie for being man enough to pick up the phone. Cause I'm not sure Betros would have.

It's become paifully obvious that for some reason Betros, at the very least, didn't want Walters as coach. I wonder what the juicy goss is there.