Opinion
It’s a massive call to compare anyone to Cameron Smith but what I’m seeing from Isaah Yeo reminds me of Queensland’s greatest ever hooker.
He’s only played five Origins for NSW but the level of influence he has over that team in attack while fulfilling a non-stop amount of defensive work in the middle of the ruck is like what Smith used to do for the Storm, the Maroons and Australia.
The Blues have a very good spine as it is but to have Yeo as “the fifth Beatle” is an amazing luxury for coach Brad Fittler to have heading into next Wednesday’s first State of Origin in Sydney.
I’m adding him to the NSW spine because of that extra dimension he brings and he’s playing better now than he ever has with Penrith.
(Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
I’ve been watching him closely for several years but his development in the more traditional lock role for the Panthers and it’s not just the skill with which he plays but also the toughness he brings that makes him the perfect No.13.
He’s got good size, a big motor and really good game sense and Origin is all about that – knowing what to do, when. Origin it’s more critical to know in the right moments when to go for the big plays, knowing the type of tackle to make and putting yourself in the perfect position.
Yeo’s middle-third defensive work is reminiscent of the influence Smith had on the Queensland team for a long time and his ability to slow the ruck down played a huge role in winning Origin games.
(Photo by Brett Hemmings/Getty Images)
They both share that ability to rarely if ever look like they’re under fatigue. When you know how much work they’ve had to do, how many minutes they play and the effort they put in, they should always be short of breath but they both never look flustered.
Yeo gets across the ground very well and is the sort of consistent, relentless player with a high worker who’s a good talker around the team and you can see he’s a real leader on the field. He balances their attack by complementing Nathan Cleary and Jarome Luai, linking with James Tedesco and Damien Cook too.
It’s hard to find forwards with an all-round game like him with such good hands who can pass it wide when it needs to get out to the backs or have the size to take the line on like he did last week against the Cowboys in scoring a try early.
The back five battle will be a beauty and there has been a lot written and said already about Brad Fittler selecting Daniel Tupou over Josh Addo-Carr on the wing and I can see why he’s gone with the bigger man as part of his back three.
I’ve had to study Tupou in depth in my role with the Kangaroos when he plays for Tonga and he’s almost the hardest player to defend against when he’s bringing the ball back hard on kick receptions.
(Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
Coming out of yardage he’s got deceptive strength and has the superb ability to bend the line, break tackles and generate a quick play-the-ball.
Rarely does he miss a kick in the air and he’s got that relationship with Tedesco at fullback from club level. Then the Blues have got Brian To’o who is probably the guy who rivals Tupou as the toughest to tackle coming out of the back field with his leg speed and powerful ball running.
NSW will build their sets with those three then they’ve got Kotoni Staggs and Jack Wighton to chime in off the back of them as well. Then you throw Cleary’s kicking game in at the end of the set and it’s going to put a lot of pressure on the Maroons at the back.
Selwyn Cobbo is a fantastic young player but he hasn’t been under the Origin blowtorch before on play one and play two. He and Xavier Coates have an advantage with their height but Billy Slater, as coach, will understand that the main part of the role for the back three will be getting momentum early in sets.
They’ll have less time, less space and some heavy collisions waiting for them.
Kalyn Ponga will be working overtime with his wingers to make sure they bring the ball out of the backfield at speed and must run aggressively to get Queensland on the front foot.
Coates and Cobbo will also have the benefit from having the experience of Dane Gagai and Valentine Holmes in the centres, who have both played a lot of wing at rep level.
A bit like Mal Meninga when he first started coaching Queensland in 2006, Billy has stuck solid with a lot of the guys who have put in the hard yards the last couple of years but has brought in young talent like Jeremiah Nanai, Selwyn Cobbo, Reuben Cotter and Patrick Carrigan who all deserve to be selected.
In fact, he’s gone with a team that are fit, has players in good form and for the most part they are playing in winning teams including the Storm, the Cowboys and the Broncos.
I love his confidence around not being underdogs and he never saw NSW being better than his team – if he can get the team to buy into that, it’ll create a lot of belief.
It’s the first time the series opener has been at Accor Stadium since 2016. It will be slippery, low-scoring and tight until the final minute.
(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
Latrell Mitchell and Tom Trbojevic were instrumental in getting the better of Queensland last year so their absence gives the Maroons extra hope of causing an upset in game one. They will have to be exceptional in just about every area to get the win.
And Billy will have to be spot on with the final make-up of his team, the strategy, the bench rotation, ensuring everyone’s really clear on the approach they’ll be taking.
It will probably take him the length of the series to truly find his feet. I remember Wayne Bennett saying to me after he offered me the Queensland job back in 2004 that coaching Origin is about the three Ps – Prestige Pressure and Preparation.
Billy will do a great job but nothing prepares you for Origin when you make your debut as a player and coaching is the same.
It’s mentally and physically draining. It’s a huge occasion and a great honour to coach your state but the intensity of it can get to you and you don’t know how to handle it until you are immersed in it.
Michael Hagan is a former dual-premiership winning first grade player and current assistant coach of Australia's Kangaroos team. Hagan played 183 games for Canterbury and Newcastle and represented Queensland five times. He transitioned into a successful coach and took the Knights to a premiership in his first year in charge back in 2001. He went onto coach 205 NRL games and six times for Queensland in Origin.
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