The New South Wales Blues have been forced into a late Origin change on Wednesday afternoon with incumbent half Nathan Cleary set to be replaced by Mitchell Pearce after failing to pass fitness on an ankle injury.
Cleary, who injured his ankle during Game 2 and failed to play in the second half of the Blues big win, was always a long shot to take part in Game 3 despite all the positive news which was flowing out of the Blues camp.
It paves the way for Mitchell Pearce, who was talked about as an option for the first two games, but was ruled out of both games himself with injury, to be rushed into camp.
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Pearce’s selection, while coming from his form, was always a case of last man standing, with Luke Keary and Adam Reynolds also out injured, while Cody Walker was dropped after a sub-standard performance in the series opener, which the Blues lost in Brisbane.
New South Wales were hopeful of being able to use the same halves pairing that rolled to the big victory over the Maroons in Perth as James Maloney played alongside Cleary in place of Walker, however, it was always overly optimistic to expect Cleary to clear his injury.
Pearce has played 18 games for the Blues during a much-maligned representative career, and while his form has been undeniably good at club level for the Newcastle Knights, the Blues didn’t lose him during last year’s series, which was their first win since 2014, which Pearce also sat on the sidelines for.
Around that, Pearce made his debut in 2008, but played heavy parts in the 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2017 series, all of which New South Wales lost.
Pearce’s overall record in the Origin arena reads a less than promising 13 losses from those 18 games, and the decider in Sydney next Wednesday shapes up as a chance for redemption for Pearce.
TAZZ
Roar Rookie
Guess not
Lozza101
Roar Rookie
True. Being next to Jimmy Maloney I think will be comfortable for Pearce. Good luck to them!
Papi Smurf
Roar Rookie
Too late now though. Hang on! No doubt it is going to be a bumpy ride on the "Mitchell Pearce Origin Rollercoaster". It always is, and it ALWAYS ends the same way. :-(
P Air
Guest
Agree. Maloney and Graham would have got the job done. No need to bring Pearce in at all.
Ben Lewis
Roar Pro
I'm relatively happy with the call. Cleary hasn't been up to Origin standard in either game this year so I think Pearce deserved the nod over him. I just hope he doesn't try and control the side - that's Maloney's job. He's far better at it than Pearce. Still think NSW will win comfortably but I don't think a punt on QLD at $3.00 to win is too bad.
souvalis
Roar Rookie
True, outplayed by ex- Shark Lichaa last week..
farkurnell
Guest
Souv ,I agree Chad's form has dropped off recently,I'm hoping he'll bounce back soon. The one I'm concerned about is J. Brieley - lost his spark of late ,dunno if he's carrying an injury but doesn' want to let little bro grab the jumper.,definitely something affecting his game.
Farkurnell
Guest
No love there while Angus is a Chook.I agree Robo's ruined his game.If he ever puts the Blue jumper back on, then the bromance begins
Farkurnell
Guest
DP classic media beat up pandering to all those scarred by Qld dominance era.next week the focus i’ll be on the men in the middle or weather Qld can unearth a replacement Referee Smith
Farkurnell
Guest
Cause that’s what we do down here.look around for some one to blame instead of admitting being beaten by s better team during that era.However the tide has turned - the Maroons in decline now its our time to shine .
Papi Smurf
Roar Rookie
"Angus still has plenty of time to improve" Improve? Angus has gone backwards since joining the Roosters! The Rabbitohs developed him into an Origin rep level player, just a whisker off playing for Australia. Now Angus can't even get picked for Origin and he was only picked for game 1 on reputation and incumbent loyalty not on form. The Roosters aren't giving him enough game time or opportunities on his favoured right edge as the Roosters keep playing to their left attacking edge to favour Latrell Mitchell, and now Keary. I suspect young Angus might be a hit at right centre but he will never get a shot in that position with Joseph Manu there. It would be far simpler and best for Angus if you return him to Redfern in the Bunny carry case he arrived at Bondi in. The same thing happened you know with Dylan Walker when he went to Manly. They ruined him Farkurnell. He went from being an Australian incumbent to a park footballer almost overnight. In the end he got frustrated trying to relive the "Glory, Glory" days at Souths playing "Rugby League Live 4" on his XBox One and hit the headlines not long after. It's too late for poor Dylan I'm afraid but it isn't too late for the young bull, Angus. If you love him you would set him free Farkurnell. Set him free! ;-)
Farkurnell
Guest
Geoff we’ve got plenty of halfbacks at the Sharks at the moment,in fact too many,we don’t need another one.As for the Milf he’s been suffering from coaching overload -the poor guys brain’s been scrambled by the coaching merry go up in Bronc-Vegas.
Farkurnell
Guest
On Keary -providing he doesn’t come back gunshy,we’ll see very soon.Angus still has plenty of time to improve.I remember they castigated Wade for our loss in 2017. Now he’s our hero
Papi Smurf
Roar Rookie
Thanks for clearing that up and IMO Pearce is the Steven Bradbury of NSW halves, the last man standing after Walker shot himself in the foot, Reynolds is still not 100% after returning from injury and Keary (the talent developed by the Rabbitohs) still needs his head examined, not least of all because he joined the Roosters! Fortunately for Keary though that change has not been the career ending death sentence that it was for Angus Crichton! ;-)
Geoff from Bruce Stadium
Roar Rookie
That should have been the dream combo for Queensland Matt. Such a shame that Taylor hasn't realised his potential at the Titans. Perhaps he needs to a team like the Roosters, Storm or Sharks that is more demanding. He can cruise at the Titans with little expectation. And Anthony Milford should be one of the best players in the comp given his ability. He exploded at full back at the Raiders, had one or two good years in the halves at the Broncos but he almost looks washed up at 24 years of age. If the Broncos want him to play full back he needs to get leaner so he can use his explosive running power again.
Albo
Roar Rookie
Cleary is playing to instructions to take the "back seat" ( at Club & State games) when partnering with Maloney who will always dominate the playmaking role. At 21, he is still learning his trade and will soon become a dominant playmaker, as well as already being proven tough enough physically & mentally to play at the highest pressure level of our game , that is SOO.
Farkurnell
Guest
Papi.. how low can you go accusing me a chook,wash your mouth out with soap.If I was a Knight I wouldn’t want him to get injured n ruin there chances in NRL. This has nothing to do with club loyalty - it’s picking the best available man for the job.IMO MP is the best fit regarding the balance of the team we’ve got. Of course he’s damaged goods but in Freddy we trust.Blues by plenty!!
matth
Roar Guru
We are talking Norman up because there is literally no one else left. I was expecting a halves combination of Taylor and Milford by now, which looked great on paper...
matth
Roar Guru
Brandy Alexander 0%. https://www.theroar.com.au/2019/07/03/state-of-origins-anonymous-winners-and-quality-losers/
Duncan Smith
Roar Guru
Compare him to James Maloney. Maloney throws forward passes, intercepts, drops the ball etc, but at least he sets up a few tries and worries the opposition defense. Defense and low mistake rate is not the be-all, The Bulldogs had the highest completion rate didn't they last year, but came near the bottom.