It’s a cruel, cruel world.
That is precisely the hymn being sang up Northern Beaches way right about now – heck, listen closely and you might even hear it all over New South Wales.
On Saturday night, the game’s most destructive young player, Tom Trbojevic, fell victim to what was originally feared to be a season ending injury in Manly’s 24-14 ‘home’ loss to the Broncos at Suncorp Stadium.
Word along the peninsula is that no sooner had the full time whistle blown in Brisbane when the first bar stool was thrown in anger at the Steyne Hotel; a 14-0 lead blown and a budding superstar shot down to boot. As the hangovers started to kick into overdrive come Sunday-Monday, Laurie Daley must surely have also woken to a throbbing sensation in the frontal lobe.
Alas, it didn’t take a genius to know Tommy Turbo was all but locked in to debut on the left wing for NSW in Game 1 of this year’s State of Origin series opener on May 31.
(AAP Image/Dave Hunt)
Further, it’s believed Daley and his henchmen had essentially pinned their attacking hopes on what can only be described as one of the most salivating left edges in Origin history: Trbojevic and Jarryd Hayne.
To add insult to injury – quite literally – the Hayne Plane was also grounded on the same turf as Trbojevic not even two hours earlier. Thankfully for Loz however, Hayne’s troubles turned out to be merely nerve pain.
As the coach and those mysterious henchmen go back to the drawing board in search of a Plan B good enough to win a series opener at the footballing equivalent of a waste management plant for anything wearing blue, they shouldn’t look back to go forward.
While its likely Brett Morris and a resurgent Daniel Tupou will be at the forefront of any serious conversations regarding Turbo’s ‘replacement’, Daley should go long and go bold when looking to fill the void.
Enter, Josh Addo-Carr.
Scrap that.
Enter ‘The Fox’.
While everyone marvels at the blistering speed and try-scoring nous the 21-year-old has shown since making the move south to Melbourne over the off season, it’s said that the man himself is working tirelessly behind the scenes day in, day out.
He is doing so under the watchful tutelage of a certain Craig Bellamy in the hope to become the complete package. As evidence, look no further than the ferocious tackle made by Addo-Carr to pin Anthony Don in his in goal during this year’s last ever City versus Country hit out in Mudgee.
This is a player on the up. Pace, tries and whack.
While Brett Morris is the sort of player you’d trust with your wallet in an Origin game, Addo-Carr is more your egotistic, trash-talking stockbroker who can turn $10 into $10,000 in five seconds. Sure, that tenner might just end up down the drain, but when points are at a premium, risks are essential.
All money metaphors aside, I’m a firm believer in the need for NSW to be audacious in all aspects of the Origin arena, selection included. Playing it safe will get us about as far as a kayak in a hurricane.
When the side is picked, we can only hope that Daley finds the right blend of flair, fight, youth, experience, poise, guile and whatever else is said to win you an Origin game.
To corner a cane toad though, you can do worse than unleashing a Fox.
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