NSW don’t need to make wholesale changes for Origin II but I’d be making one key tweak to their bench and taking a different tactical approach after what we saw in game one on Wednesday night.
Brad Fittler will work on the Blues’ wrestle a bit more between now and the second game in Perth to slow the play-the-ball down.
Queensland got away with a fair bit and they were clever with how they did it.
We all know that the referee won’t blow as many penalties in Origin so you can get away with a bit more in the tackles and push the envelope a bit by rushing up in the defensive line and they exploited that better than NSW.
They nullified the Penrith connection of Nathan Cleary, Jarome Luai and Isaah Yeo, as well as James Tedesco when the ball eventually got to him.
Every time Yeo got the ball he’d have defenders rushing at him, limiting his time and space, stopping NSW putting any shape on in their attack.
(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
I think NSW when they review the video they’ll be looking to do that style of game a lot more in Perth, whether it’s slowing the play down in the tackle, putting your hands on the footy to make sure there’s not a quick play-the-ball, getting up in the Maroons’ faces.
The refs are aware that the more they stay out of the game, the better the spectacle is for the fans and Queensland did a better job with that.
Unless they’re penalising you, then you might as well keep doing it.
If Queensland are going to rush up in defence, NSW have got to back themselves to kick in behind them to pin them down their end of the field.
Queensland’s kick pressure put Cleary off his game. I think his kicking was not up to his usual high standard and there were a few balls landing in the wrong spots. NSW need to make that same effort from marker to do that to their kickers.
Apart from tactics, the only change I’d make selection wise is to bring in someone on the bench with speed who can get out of dummy half and cause problems for the Queenslanders like what Craig Wing used to do for NSW when I played.
Apisai Koroisau (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
There’s not many players like that in the NRL at the moment but the guy I think who would suit that role is Api Koroisau. He’s a good ball player, an attacking threat and you could keep Damien Cook on the field and play two hookers at once like Queensland did when Harry Grant and Ben Hunt were on at the same time.
I’m not a fan of having a specialist centre on the bench so I’m not sure whether Stephen Crichton should stay there. He might end up in the starting side depending on how bad Kotoni Staggs’ shoulder injury turns out to be.
The Blues started with the momentum and I thought that first try was a great set move. Damien Cook skipped the pass out to Cleary and he tipped it on short to Luai and it was a pretty easy try for Jack Wighton in the end.
I thought they might keep attacking that side after that with Queensland having young Selwyn Cobbo on the wing but there wasn’t too many more set plays through the middle of the game that NSW were able to execute well.
That try just before half-time to Queensland was amazing – it was actually an average pass from Kalyn Ponga but Cobbo picked it up and scooted away and showed a lot of talent to kick infield for Dane Gagai who knows how to sniff out a try as he’s shown plenty of times in 20 Origins now.
I think that was a real momentum shifter just before the break as well as the no-try ruling against Junior Paulo.
And then in the second half when Paulo was held in the scrum a bit and Daly Cherry-Evans scored, you could see the Maroons were brimming with confidence.
(Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
I think Paulo was held back a little bit but that happens all the time in scrums and it was more a case of Tariq Sims over-reading the play in defence and DCE taking advantage of that.
It was great to see Kalyn back to his best and when he saw a prop in the defensive line for a three on three on a pretty big short side, he just eats them up and it was no surprise to see him set up that try for Valentine Holmes and that period there was where the game was won and lost.
Often those moments can go to waste if a player doesn’t capitalise. I don’t know whether he overcalled someone on the other side to go that way but it worked and that’s the kind of player he is.
I liked that Cook was running off quick play-the-balls in the last 20 minutes and NSW were playing more off-the-cuff football on the back of that.
Cameron Murray’s late try was a well-worked move and the Blues went very close there at the end but I thought it was all a bit too little, too late.
The Maroons were better in the big moments and that’s one of the main reasons why they won the game.
Kent Dorfman
Roar Rookie
wonder why deBelin hasn't been selected for the Blues. Oh yeah, he's probably still hiding under the bed
Justin
Guest
NSW should pick the best number 14 in the game . Hynes. Proved it at Melbourne.
steve
Guest
So it was Teddy's fault he put up a 5th tackle bomb which the opposition caught easily in the in goal? Watch it again...he had no one near him in that instance. The same with just about every 5th tackle kick he put up. He was fracking awful.
Cadfael
Roar Guru
:laughing:
sheek
Roar Guru
Mushi, Ha, ha! Yes, he was a good player, but not as high as he is sometimes rated. For example, in an exercise for the best 30 players 1978-2008, RLW ranked Fittler 3rd behind Johns & Lewis, & ahead of Lockyer, Langer, Meninga, Sterling, Daley & Kenny. IMHO, Fittler wasn't better than Meninga, Daley or Kenny (from similar possies). But RLW lost me when they put Johns ahead of Lewis, clearly to appease the wider NSW readership.
JennyFromPenny
Guest
Panthers have proven only a few years back to the Griffin days, if they are told not to attack in your own half, only run one out, and kick it on the last, you are always a chance of losing the game. Completions becomes balony. You can't score points not trying to score. Wouldn't matter if the whole Panthers team played. If they weren't allowed to play their natural game, you probably wouldn't see much different. Amazing that Fittler let them run free last year, and fancy that. They romped in.
JennyFromPenny
Guest
Almost every set was chaos. Definite coaches choice to have wingers + Tedesco use up half of every set, sometimes more just with running. Only one team interested in passing to score. Surely he needed to be allowed to call the shots, and captaincy had a lot to do with it. Teddy walked them out through the tunnel like they were going to the electric chair. Not once did he turn around and face them and give them a stir. They were gone before they started. Nothing changed on the field. All fine when in front, but what did he do when they were down. You can't lead from #1.
mushi
Roar Guru
Form is a small sample size though. And situational.
Cadfael
Roar Guru
No. but if the side had been picked solely on form, he wouldn't have been there. To be fair, Ponga is the same.
mushi
Roar Guru
So after that game your thought was "teddy was the problem"
mushi
Roar Guru
I am an unabashed fittler fan as a player. But as a coach? He should win the Wally Lewis medal every year for his services to QLD
sheek
Roar Guru
Kurt, I agree with your banner headline. What we saw last Wed night was Qld play smarter but not necessarily better. The game could easily have gone the other way. The problem for Qld is that thy don't hav a full squad of really good players. Which means they're always going to need to plug some holes. And what's this rubbish about Fittler bing some kind of genius? Maybe he believes his own press but he & Alexander were outsmarted by a trio of legends in Slater, Thurston & Smith who all sit higher on the legends pedestal than the NSW pair. All he's done since losing the game is try & blame the loss on the ref & whoever else he can find. Maybe he should have stuck with JA-C & Jake Turbo from his winning combo last year. No, what last Wed demonstrated is that Fittler is not the genius he thinks he is. And some of his NSW players, while champions at club level, might not be able to carry that talent to a higher level. Plenty of guys have been found out in the past. This is nothing new. It's called the 'Peter Principal', whereby you elevate people above their station until they fail.
sheek
Roar Guru
EagleJack - yeah, I'm not a Fittler fan. I reckon he was overrated as a player, & he is definitely overrated as a coach. He might actually become a very good coach once he swallows a huge dollop of humility.
Steve
Guest
Please spare me lol. Cleary had the worst game of his career. How may putrid bombs did he put up under zero pressure? That's not Teddy's fault
Tony
Roar Guru
Well, he got what he deserved. :happy:
astro
Roar Rookie
Tony, I think you'll find Freddy's reasoning for selecting Sims is rock solid: "Tariq played all three games for us last year, and I just like what he’s about. He’s not too old. I’m old. He’s always done a job for us. Players always look better in better teams.” In other words, I picked him because I like him and he was there last year. Brilliant.
JennyFromPenny
Guest
Start with taking Tedesco's captaincy away constantly undermining Cleary's run of general play. Demanding the ball at every opportunity only to add to his run metres tally. Squid Games and leader of the State is a bit stinky itself.
Megeng
Roar Rookie
They're wasn't much in that first half. Arguably the first QLD try was lucky, even if it came off good skills. The pressure QLD put on both Cleary and Tedesco really stood out to me. It's not actually genius; you just need your players to listen up. Seems to me that RL is an inherently even sport defined by turnovers, just like basketball. Targeting the playmakers on turnovers make obvious sense, no?
johnno 2
Roar Rookie
NSW wouldn't go wrong to select the basis of the PENRITH PANTHERS and fill the unqualified positions with the best from other clubs. NSW don't have that special spiritual and brotherhood ingredient as do the MAROONS always had , that's been stated many times before. The PANTHERS have a semblance in their club that is why they are a great TEAM That won't happen over night as a selection of various good players and that creates a situation where good players aren't up to ORIGIN standards. Some Penrith players may have to be disregarded even so , but that's only my opinion. The MAROONS were selected to do an individual job and they did it together this time . Good coaching and management and of course SPIRIT
The Sporacle
Roar Rookie
That's a point but I'm pretty sure Mango had periods where he was in front of Billy and Barba was a class above for a season. Slater was the qld fullback, Teddy is the NSW fullback and will remain as such until his form at origin drops way below Paps form in club land. Remember when QLD had these halves waiting in the wings... Taylor and Norman, great at club level but unproven. Sometimes the shiny new thing doesn't work as well as the proven tool that you already have. Cobbo and a few Queensland players may argue that though :thumbup: