The NSW Blues must give youngsters time and support

Despair not, Blues fans, all is not lost! Well, apart from yet another series, but as a group of wise men once said, “Always look on the bright side of life”.

Bright side!? What bright side I hear you ask. When one looks purely at results, it’s hard to find one.

Yet New South Wales can find a glimmer of light among the gloom that was Queensland’s tenth victory in 11 years.

His name is Tyson Frizell.

The St George Illawarra enforcer is no stranger to representative football, having donned the Welsh jersey in both the Four Nations and World Cup.

While State of Origin is a far more intense environment, he didn’t look out of place. In fact, he was close to the Blues’ best player.

In 108-kilogram monster made an almost try-saving tackle on Dane Gagai in the first half, running down the Queensland winger with unnatural speed for a forward.

He popped up again in the second half when he provided excellent support for Adam Reynolds and was subsequently rewarded with a try on debut, one that was crucial for the men in blue.

He should have had a second and locked the scores up if it hadn’t been for Michael Jennings’ unfortunate touch less than a second before.

A fantastic start to what is hopefully a long representative career.

Frizell epitomises what modern rugby league footballers need to be, big and barnstorming yet also fast and able to read the play.

Fellow Blues newcomer Josh Mansour is similar, large in stature but quick and agile enough to be a potent winger. He is a strong carrier of the football and looms as a player for the future.

His Penrith teammate Matt Moylan had a disappointing night out on Wednesday and was outsmarted by Johnathan Thurston and Cooper Cronk, but then again who wasn’t?

His Game 1 was solid and the Blues would do well to keep him on for Game 3, consistency is what is needed at the moment. His chief rival for the number one jersey is James Tedesco and the looming duel between them will rage for years to come.

While their team lost once again, these three rookies have avoided disastrous starts to their Origin careers.

Reynolds, while hardly a spring chicken, also must be given more time to adapt into the halfback New South Wales need him to be. James Maloney has made the most of his second coming and at 30, his experience in the game is needed.

Another change of halves is the worst thing the Blues can do at this stage.
The jury remains out on veteran Blues such as Greg Bird and Robbie Farah. Both are at the end of their careers and Laurie Daley must not be afraid to make some changes.

The same goes for the underperforming Jennings and James Tamou. The key, once those changes are made, however, is to give the new boys enough time to be judged fairly.

Queensland have built a winning formula based on a fantastic team culture, largely due to consistency in selection.

Form should be taken into account, yes, but selectors need to pick a young team with the potential to grow, and then give that growth time.

After years of trying to simply beat the Maroons, New South Wales must now look to emulate them.

Back in 2006, Queensland picked a young team and stuck with them despite a first game loss and bucket loads of criticism.

Look where they are now.