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The smoke has cleared and the dust has settled. The cat is out of the bag, the writing’s on the wall, the NSW Origin team has been confirmed.
Aside from eleven debutants, you’ve got the usual suspects. The captain, Boyd Cordner. The obvious half option, James Maloney. The ever-consistent forward rotation of Jake Trbojevic, Dave Klemmer, Tyson Frizell and Josh Jackson.
Wait, Jackson wasn’t picked? The 2016 NSW Player of the Series and 2017 Game 2 man of the match (in a losing team, mind you), Josh Jackson has been snubbed by Brad Fittler – the very man the Player of the Series award is named for?
Surely there’s a good reason. Maybe he’s injured or suspended? Hmm, no, he’s fit as ever and his record is squeaky clean. Maybe there just wasn’t room for another second rower? Let’s have a look at this side.
Peachey and Crichton? And both on the bench, mind you?
Now I’m a Souths fan, so I know that Crichton is the real deal. And Peachey is alright too, and he’s been waiting for a while. But to snub one of NSW’s most consistent in recent years for two debutants is a bit foolish of Freddy and it might come back to bite the Blues.
Jackson’s omission is a disgrace. After years of service for NSW through a tough period of unfortunate mistakes from the men around him, Jackson is wearing the burden, with Freddy opting to gamble on a young debutant instead of sticking with one of the most consistent squad members.
With Queensland saying goodbye to a generation of talent, there is an obvious opportunity for the Blues to go one up on the cane toads by cutting the dead wood and starting afresh. However, this is a poor decision by Fittler.
And as leader of the unofficial Josh Jackson fan club, I am easily the most frustrated by this unfortunate call.
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