While the grand opening of this year’s State of Origin bonanza is still a few months off, for the incumbent NSW halves, it should feel a million years away.
Both Nathan Cleary and James Maloney have struggled for form and consistency so far this season, and apart from a few defensive efforts from the latter in Newcastle last week, neither have really made a dent on the 2019 competition.
In Bathurst on Saturday, both were poor.
Sure, halves shouldn’t be blamed for a defeat when their pack fails to fire, but Penrith weren’t without chances.
For the first half hour, the Panthers had a healthy amount of quality possession and at one stage repeatedly peppered the Storm line.
With the amount of ball they had in the opposition red zone, two State of Origin halves should be able to convert that dominance into points.
When it came to points though, the Panthers only managed two. All game.
Cleary in particular looks to be struggling with the ball in 2019. His move to the left doesn’t appear to be bearing fruit as he tries to develop his combinations on that flank.
This will hopefully change with time, but time will soon begin to run out if he has serious aspirations of holding on to his Origin jersey.
(Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
Brad Fittler will undoubtedly want to remain loyal to the No.7, particularly given his age and enormous potential, but youth and loyalty doesn’t win football games though and State of Origin is far from a charity.
To compound the struggles of Cleary and Maloney, Luke Keary is fast establishing himself as the state’s premier half.
So strong has the form of Keary been that some are genuinely questioning whether the Roosters are a better side without Cooper Cronk. For the record, I am not one of those.
There’s no denying that Keary has been masterful, however, and it’s reached a point where he simply has to be there injury permitting for the Origin opener.
Whether he plays No.6 or No.7 is up to Fittler and the incumbents.
It’s not implausible to suggest that Cleary and Maloney will be fighting for one Blue jumper in the coming months.
If both fail to fire, however, Fittler and his advisors may need to give serious consideration to an entirely new halves pairing for the 2019 series.
With Cameron Munster and Daly Cherry-Evans firing for their respective clubs in Round 3, the Blues can ill afford to head into this years series with a halves pairing severely under the weather.
Depending on how the next few months pan out, Adam Reynolds may well jump to the front of the queue to partner Keary at the NSW scrum base.
(Photo by Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images)
The Souths No.7 is in career-best form and has played Origin before. He and Keary have all the ingredients to make for a very dominant representative halves pairing. It’s also worth noting that they won a premiership together with Souths five years ago.
Maloney and Cleary should be concerned.
In more positive news for the incumbent batch of Blues, Tom Trbojevic and James Tedesco were more than just sublime over the weekend.
The fact it was Trbojevic’s first game of the season made his two tries all the more impressive.
Talk of Blake Ferguson’s return to Freddy’s good books may have lead some to forget about these two superstars, but Kevin Walters and Brad Fittler wouldn’t be among them.
For Nathan Cleary and James Maloney though, their form must improve.
Otherwise, Fittler and the Blues may just be forced to forget about them.
steveng
Roar Rookie
Gee its on again, the Blues are in conflict and changing things, what a mess waiting to happen. A. Reynolds should definitely be in the side if he maintains his form, he’s got the experience and his kicking game has been exceptional,. Maloney on the other hand??? Is a risk if he’s not in form as he could do even more damage. To me I would have the ex 2014 GF pair Reynolds and Keary they would work exceptionally together and the Blues couldn’t go wrong, especially as both of them are so experienced and have been there and have done it before on the big stage.
Duncan Smith
Roar Guru
Pick Josh Reynolds and Trent Hodgkinson from reserve grade as NSW halves. You know it makes sense.
jimmmy
Roar Rookie
Give me Fergo any day over JAC. Faultless at Origin level . Pretty much the mistake free footballer. Signed , QLDer very concerned that NSW put the most appropriate team forward.
ASB
Guest
Are you a Queenslander? Or is this an April Fools Day joke?
Zavjalova
Roar Rookie
Maloney should keep his spot. Cleary not so much
AE47
Roar Rookie
Noooooo please pick them , they have “potential “
WarHorse
Roar Rookie
I'd stick with young cleary but replace an aging maloney with keary. The cleary and keary show has a good ring to it.
Doug Graves
Guest
I agree with the sentiment but I think you've overlooked the one player that truly deserves a NSW call up, Mitchell Pearce. If his red hot form holds till Origin I think he should the first player picked for the Blues this Origin campaign.
Papi Smurf
Roar Rookie
I understand the arguments for Ferguson and Turbo but what has Josh Addo-Carr done wrong? All 3 are in great form (albeit Turbo has only played 1 game since the start of the season. I favour sticking with the same side that has already done the job with Cameron Murray coming in to replace JDB and Luke Keary being either a "super sub" or part of an extended bench but part of the squad.
Freddy from Bondi
Guest
1.Tedesco 2.Trobjovic 3.Mitchell 4.Roberts 5.Ferguson 6.Keary 7.Reynolds
Papi Smurf
Roar Rookie
Here we go! That time of the year when QLDers start giving "tips" for NSW selection out of the kindness of their hearts and because of their well deserved reputation for being good sports and gracious losers. It is also the time of the year that irresolute Blues supporters start to jump at shadows and are spooked by the "well meant" selection tips from "concerned" QLDers without ever considering that the cause of their concern is the prospect of yet another looming State of Origin series defeat and a Blues dynasty to rival their own. Usually the first area to be targeted is the Blues spine. Disrupt that and a team will collapse like jelly on a plate. This is precisely the reason that, despite their current club form, QLD has always stuck with their incumbent spine while defending a previous series win and have only changed when their hand was forced by injury, suspension or retirement. The Blues need to learn from QLD and stick with incumbent players that have already proven to be a successful combination under pressure. Introduce limited new talent like Cameron Murray and Luke Keary as part of the squad but don't make the mistake of chopping and changing just for the sake of it. Cleary and Maloney are not solely responsible for the Panthers poor form. They are playing behind a forward pack that is not going forward and making too many mistakes, as are the rest of their team (i.e. Dylan Edwards against the Storm). It is hard for any halves pairing to perform in a team that is continually digging holes for themselves and are always on the back foot. In short, "DON'T PANIC!"
souvalis
Roar Rookie
You could almost see the smoke coming out of Cleary’s enraged ears during the presser..rumors are flying thick and fast about how he was actually brought back to the club and if true Gus must have a pretty ravaged tongue from the self inflicted bite marks on it..sounds pretty toxic out there..doubt that Origin is anywhere near their radar right now..
RandyM
Guest
who cares if its round 3, based on the back end of last year I would have Reynolds and Keary as NSW halves. But yes this is a discussion for round 6ish at least. I think Fitler will stick with the incumbents though, if he changes them and loses game 1 he will cop massive criticism.
Joe
Roar Rookie
The attack looked a lot better with Wade Egan on. I have doubts on Dylan Edwards and I think DWZ should be given a shot. He was outstanding playing 1 for the Kiwis last year and when filling in when Edwards was injured. I think he has a lot more to offer both in attack and defence. Agree on Blake who seems less impactful than last year. Have to wonder if that's to do with the loss of Kikau though who attracts a lot of defenders. Even with the outs I still expected more from the halves as that was pretty much the strongest backline the Panthers could field with Mansour back. I also don't get the switching of the halves to the other side unless its to cover for Maloneys defensive deficiencies next to Kikau. We'll see when Kikau returns whether the attack ramps up as we've seen what one star player can do when they return with Manlys Turbo over the weekend.
Albo
Roar Rookie
As a Panther fan, I am not overly concerned....... just yet ! I have seen this all before. Whilst the performance in Bathurst was pretty pathetic against the Storm, it was against the team we just can't beat in any era. They always find a way to lose to the Storm ( now 18 loses in the past 20 matches). Indeed we went overboard with it this time, with Dylan Edwards having an absolute shocker with his handling errors that had cost the Panthers the match by early in the 2nd half. Whilst the Panthers had some first half possession in the Storm's half, they were missing their two prime attacking forwards in Yeo and Kikau ( and they are already noticeably missing the attack of Peachey, May and Harrawira -Naera), and they were facing the usual Storm defensive tactics of slowing the play the ball and that famous " line speed". It was just one of those nights. Blaming Cleary & Maloney already however, is rather fanciful. They will orchestrate more wins than they lose by seasons end. The Panthers however, are short of some attacking flair amongst their other troops. I rate Waqa Blake the only player ever likely to make a break in their backline and needs more early ball. And Dylan Edwards has returned from injury lacking all confidence. I would be looking to get Jerome Luai somewhere into that backline, and Wayde Egan to play 9, so that some flair is injected into the side.
Joe
Roar Rookie
Still a ways to go but I think the halves definitely have to take responsibility for the loss in Bathhurst and not the pack. The pack got them into the attacking zone. They had over 30 tackles inside the attacking zone in the first half alone and could only come away with one penalty which turned out to be their only points for the whole game. Give that amount of tackles to Cleary and A. Reynolds and I'm sure they come up with more points. That said Maloney had a blinder last week so as others have said form is temporary and class is permanent. I do think though there will be alarm bells ringing for these two.
Paul
Roar Guru
Best to say Cleary and Maloney are underperforming for their Club side and leave it at that. Way too early to "deciding" who will play in the SOO.
Chris.P.Bacon
Guest
April the 1st?
BA Sports
Roar Guru
FFS. It is round 3! Round 3!!! Who cares. What an incumbent players does in Round 3 means squat as it relates to Origin. Write about how it relates to the Panthers going forward. Hypothise the cause for the form slump. Why are Nathan and Ivan not working? Surely that is the more interesting and relevant news than whether they get selected for a game in June? This is why Origin is bad for the NRL.
Forty Twenty
Roar Rookie
Adrian Lam was half when the toads won a series 3 nil against the odds. They replaced him in the next series and they lost 3 nil. It's easy to use a simple formula to crucify selectors.