With State of Origin looming large on the horizon, and NSW supporters full of hope, what better place to start the countdown to Game 1 than revisiting Game 3 of last year. A match the NSW Blues won 18-14.
Ask anybody what they remember from the match and a majority of punters would mention two things. Firstly, the stunning last-minute brilliance of Michael Jennings to win the match. And the ‘Leap of Ridiculousness’ from Aaron Woods during the celebrations.
Watching the whole game through, however, you’re left with a very sobering thought. Outside of that last try, it was another typical State of Origin match, with Queensland’s fingerprints all over it.
The half-time stats tell an astounding story.
The possession rate was 61 per cent NSW and 39 per cent Queensland, with the Maroons completing only eight out of 15 sets. Queensland made 194 tackles compared to 126 by NSW. The Blues were tackled in the Queensland 20-metre zone a staggering 36 times, while Queensland only managed seven forays into the NSW red zone. The penalty count was 9-1 in favour of the Blues. And for the last ten minutes of the first half, Queensland played with only 12 players due to Cooper Cronk being sin-binned for a professional fowl.
And what was the score at half time? 6-4 to NSW.
If you flipped these stats around I shudder to think how many points Queensland would have posted against NSW.
A dour second half saw NSW clinging to a 12-10 lead until the inevitable happened – a Queensland try to six minutes from full-time that saw Josh Mansour slip while attempting to cover a bomb, with the ball falling perfectly into the hands of a flying Darius Boyd. This would normally be game, set and match to Queensland. The Blues, to their credit, somehow managed to ‘do a Queensland’, snatching victory in the dying seconds courtesy of Blake Ferguson and James Tedesco combining to take play five metres out from the Queensland goal-line to pave the way for Jennings’ grandstand try.
So a word of warning, NSW supporters. Don’t go looking for hope in Game 3 of last year – it pretty much told the same old story, except for the last 20 seconds.
I’d rather go looking for hope with the appointment of Peter Sterling as an advisor to Laurie Daley. The most interesting thing come Game 1 will be whether Sterling’s appointment influences NSW’s strategy in the series.
Numchuck
Guest
A Cummins special
steveng
Roar Rookie
That Woods leap and fall was a classic laugh, but the worst was that no one gave Jennings a thought after he scored that brilliant try.
Charles NSW
Guest
Once again NSW will choose their team and once again we will fall flat on our faces. So much talent and yet we keep saying we do not have the talent especially in our halves. Every team has its strenghts and weaknesses and Qld is no different We continue to fail in our game plans and we try to use strength as our only purpose of attack The key position is the halfback and we utilise Mitchell Pearce over and over again without success. Yet the brains are so quick to get him back again for another go. A good club footballer he offers nothing in SOO against the likes of the QLD halves. Maloney is the type of player we need and I see Moylan heading the same way. At least they can think ahead of themselves instead of catch and pass mentality that Pearce has. As always nothing suits me better than to beat the QLD I hate them However if Daley chooses Pearce and we lose the first game Daley should go.
Remo Shankar
Roar Pro
'goal line' NOT 'goalie' - sorry, site wouldn't let me edit....
Remo Shankar
Roar Pro
Watching the match, and especially the last ten minutes of that first half, when QLD were playing with 12 men and defending set after set on the goalie, the biggest concern is watching the repetitive nature of the NSW attack - they kept going from one side line to the other side line and being rounded up like sheep by a sliding Marone defence line. Is it a coaching flaw or a flaw of the playmakers on the field?
madrid john
Guest
Except that if you were the coach Big Willy, you'd be very concerned that a 9-1 penalty count in your favour is very unusual and yet you only scrapped home for a win. Only an incompetent coach would not consider how an even split of penalties might have impacted the match. So yes, lopsided stats don't tell you everything, but only a foolish coach would ignore them.
Big Willy
Guest
Your points are mostly sound, except to say that the possession rate, penalty count, tackle count stats etc have some sort of automatic bearing on the scoreboard. The best team won, that's all that matters.
Bunney
Roar Rookie
Letting NSW win game 3 was simply part of a continuing and cunning plan by Qld to lure NSW into a false sense of hope. To sucker NSW into believing that the squad they had was close, and the bounce of the ball was all there was between the two teams. To prevent NSW from revitalising its squad the way they really should; cutting the losers and introducing fearless youngsters. Back in 2000, NSW got greedy and with a better team embarrassed Qld in game III. It sparked Qld into action. Massive changes were made for 2001, and Qld won - with an inferior squad. Same in 2006 after another trifecta of series losses. Qld know that the very best thing they can do is keep it tight, so as to foster the deluded belief that NSW are close. Only once in their 10 out of 11 run have they won all three games of the series, despite pretty much everyone agreeing they had, for the most part, the superior team. Coincidence? I think not.
kk
Roar Pro
MM, always a pleasure to read your lucid reasoning and opinion. The selection of players free from injury worries is shaping as the biggest hurdle for both teams. Sterlo says he is just there to lend a hand. Let's hope he can slap some sensibility into Laurie's noggin. Where is Roy?
Baz
Guest
Our good forward pack is let down by our try scoring ability. As in please no more jennings i think his time has come. We need jarrod C from canberra
Zero Gain
Guest
NSW are in their usual selection dance. If they just learnt to pick and stick they would have a chance. It's musical chairs every year with them all fighting over a spot. So much talent, so little loyalty.