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Opinion
After a compromised season of rugby league, we now arrive at the annual series of State of Origin.
With Game 1 just around the corner, it’s great to have this series to look forward to after the finals concluded.
Queensland have had a number of new additions come into the squad whether it was due to injury or other reasons. As a result, Wayne Bennett has named eight debutants in his 17-man squad, which will certainly be a big test for the Maroons.
On the other hand, New South Wales won’t empathise about the situation of the Maroons. The Blues have only three debutants in Brad Fittler’s 17-man squad, and they’ll be looking to win the series for their third straight year.
The Blues are overwhelming favourites. Queensland is a team with plenty of unknowns. While they have their playmaking core of Cameron Munster and Daly Cherry-Evans, the supporting cast provides plenty of question marks on how they’ll handle Game 1.
(Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
The era of Queensland dominating the State of Origin scene with their core group of stars has long passed and it has since left the Maroons to rebuild. Obviously, lots of talent is absent with Kalyn Ponga, Corey Oates and David Fifita most notable.
However, Bennett also made the decision to not include the likes of Josh McGuire, Jarrod Wallace and Moses Mbye, who have been featured many times in the past. Instead, the Maroons have opted to bring in new blood. When they last won the series in 2017, only Dane Gagai, Josh Papalii, Coen Hess and Cameron Munster were involved.
Meanwhile, looking strictly at the starting 17, New South Wales have been fortunate to retain many players involved in the winning programs from the past two years. With Clint Gutherson, Luke Keary and Junior Paulo, the Blues have managed to add in-form talent to their already promising core.
The major concern in this match-up would have to be Queensland’s back line. The veteran in Gagai is surrounded with outside backs who are not only on debut but ultimately look outmatched. James Tedesco, Daniel Tupou, Clint Gutherson, Jack Wighton and Josh Addo-Carr mean the Blues are extremely stacked with multiple Dally M medal candidates and winners.
Queensland’s forwards do look solid and dependable and they have mixed veterans with young, explosive talent. However, outside of Papalii, who started all three games in 2019, the Maroons have not been able to find a consistent partner up front, this time going with Christian Welch.
Additionally, Felise Kaufusi – who participated in all three games last year – will be partnered with Coen Hess and Tino Faasuamaleaui. Faasuamaleaui has been a wrecking ball this year in limited minutes and Queensland will be hoping he can become a permanent fixture for the side going forward.
While Queensland’s forwards look more reliable than their back line, there doesn’t seem to be a dynamic edge to them. They will have to do very well to match the Blues’ forward pack and versatility.
(Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
Brad Fittler is bringing the band back with Daniel Saifiti, Damien Cook, Jake Trbojevic, Boyd Corner and Tyson Frizell who were involved in Game 2 and Game 3 last year. With Paulo joining these men, they have another big body who is multi-faceted with his running and passing game to trouble the Maroons’ defence.
The bench for both teams provides options to make in-game adjustments accordingly. However, there is stronger talent coming off the bench for the Blues. While Cody Walker didn’t have the best debut in 2019, he had a very strong season in 2020 and can be a bigger spark than Ben Hunt as a utility.
Moreover, Payne Haas, Angus Crichton and Cameron Murray are more polished and skilled products than Lindsay Collins, Jaydn Su’A and Jai Arrow.
Overall, the Blues’ squad is stronger across the park, but it’s expected when Queensland are focusing on potential and rebuilding. Most of the Blues’ starting 17 are in their prime years of 26 years or older. It’s very clear the two sides are in different stages at the moment.
Bennett is developing the future Maroons players that will hopefully be major players in the coming years. Outside of Jake Friend, the average age of the Queensland debutants is just over 22 years of age. This should come as valuable experience and allow for strong competition for limited spots once injured players make their return to the squad.
How will New South Wales deal with the mighty expectations of being overwhelming favourites? Will the Maroons come out swinging playing loose and free footy with nothing to lose?
On paper, this game and series is the Blues’ to lose. But if the Maroons can jump the Blues early, applying pressure to make the Blues work and earn a result, anything could happen. But that is certainly the optimistic perspective.
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