Round 14 Talking Points: Blues need two new halves if Cleary out, Maroons can cover injured duo, ref's penalty call right

When the Maroons lost the 2014 series, I remember asking Mal Meninga what the plan was for the following year when we were doing our series review.

We’d won eight in a row and Paul Gallen led NSW to a drought-breaking victory and there was all this talk that Queensland’s players were too old and we needed to make changes.

Mal just said we’re not gonna change anything. We are just going to get better at what we do. That’s it. And that’s what we did. He just backed the Queensland way of doing things and that’s the sign of a confident, decisive leader. 

It’s never as good or as bad as it seems when you lose an Origin game you are expected to win!  

Jarome Luai. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

And most Queenslanders have a bit of a chuckle when alarm bells start ringing in NSW like they’ve done since they lost on Wednesday night about sack Freddie, get rid of Teddy, Cleary’s gotta go. He might be gone anyway after his hamstring injury on Sunday night for Penrith.

Brad Fittler won’t worry about all that outside noise. And I don’t think he will make mass changes for Origin II. 

Now is the time for the Blues to get behind Fittler and James Tedesco and Nathan Cleary (if he plays, although Nicho Hynes could find himself starting at halfback) and show faith in their key men that they can get the job done. 

Tedesco was sensational for the Roosters on Sunday to lead them to a much-needed win over Canterbury. It’s not wise to knock a champion player like him.

Latrell Mitchell pulling out a couple of days before game night had a big effect on the Blues in Adelaide. Stephen Crichton made a few crucial errors in his place but apart from Latrell coming back in, I think they’ll only make a few tweaks here and there, including playing Josh Addo-Carr outside him.

In game two NSW will need to score more points and I would consider bringing Cody Walker in at five-eighth because he is the game’s most dangerous attacking player with 19 try assists this year, five more than anyone else. He also has a great relationship with Latrell.

If Tom Trbojevic is not going to be match fit for the second match in Brisbane, I’d be bringing Campbell Graham straight in at centre and judging by the impact he made when he came onto the field in Adelaide, they’ve got to start with Liam Martin in the second row.

Nathan Cleary clutches at his hamstring. (Photo by Brett Hemmings/Getty Images)

He’s a Test player now and I’d be bringing in his Kangaroos teammate Angus Crichton into the squad to bring a bit more experience to the pack. 

NSW won time in possession, metres carried, the back five metres comfortably, the line breaks were 3-all. Statistically it wasn’t their worst performance by any means but it was certainly their worst last 10 minutes of recent times. 

It’s been blown out of proportion on the back of that. This has been going on for decades. 

Fittler looked a bit more anxious in the lead-up to the game. 

Because his contract’s up for renewal and because they lost the last series, he seemed to be a little bit more more uptight. 

Billy Slater was asked about his position beyond this year and he didn’t seem that hung up about the future of his tenure. Whether that’s true or not, I’m not sure but that’s how it came across to me. 

(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

I reckon what Billy has worked out, which Freddie’s already worked out because he has had a stint in the NRL as coach that it’s a gig that suits their lifestyle. They’re both Channel 9 commentators and have other interests and when you’re an Origin coach you only have to worry about preparing a team three times a year, not 30 if you’re with a club in the NRL or Super League.

It’s a totally different beast and once you’re in, 48 weeks of the year, your lifestyle and family stuff all takes a backseat.

When I was Origin coach for Queensland I was still juggling my Knights commitments at NRL level and with the benefit of hindsight, I would have declined because it’s too hard to do both. 

Unfortunately the Maroons will have to make a couple of changes with Tom Gilbert dislocating his shoulder in the first half and Jai Arrow hurting his ankle for Souths on Saturday night. 

I’d look to bring back Kurt Capewell on the right edge for Gilbert although Jeremiah Nanai was strong for the Cowboys in their win over the Storm on Sunday and he could be a chance but his team has the bye next weekend. 

Felise Kaufusi and Christian Welch are strong options too for the bench to cover Arrow depending on whether Slater wants a middle or an edge forward for his interchange. 

(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

Ref got crucial late penalty call right

It was a weird game at Campbelltown on Friday night and there was plenty of talk about the penalty given to Canberra at the end of the match which they booted to win 20-19.

Isaiah Papali’i definitely made contact with Jamal Fogarty after his field goal attempt, taking away his legs, so to me it was a clear penalty based on how the match officials have been adjudicating on those incidents this year.

Fogarty also scored two tries from kicking it into the posts and I don’t think I’ve ever seen that before but he deserved it because it was a clear tactic.

These big pads they have on the goalposts these days are much better than what players had to put up with a few decades ago – they provided little to no protection. 

Broncos big boppers brilliant

It can be tough for middle forwards to back up from Origin but Payne Haas and Patrick Carrigan were brilliant in Brisbane’s win over Cronulla on Saturday night. 

Teams talk a lot these days about front-loading the game where the energy at the start is so important and they got out of the blocks really well to set the tone for the game.

The Sharks had the week off and they looked off their game a bit but Brisbane’s defence all round was superb. 

They applied a lot of pressure to Cronulla’s back five and guys like Kotoni Staggs, Adam Reynolds, Ezra Mam and Jordan Riki came up with some decisive plays.

Cronulla missed a heap of tackles which was very unlike the way they’ve been playing under Craig Fitzgibbon. 

Warriors strong, Dolphins in holding pattern

A couple of old Warriors in Shaun Johnson and Tohu Harris were outstanding in their win over the Dolphins in Auckland on Saturday.

But I think Andrew Webster has uncovered a promising young talent in Luke Metcalf at five-eighth. He’s done well for them the past couple of games next to Johnson. 

The Dolphins are in a bit of a holding pattern at the moment dealing with a few injuries – Tom Gilbert will be a big loss for them. 

Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow was rested after Origin but they’re going to need him at his best these next few weeks because it looks like Anthony Milford and Jarrod Wallace might be banned for three games. 

Semi Valemei scores. (Photo by Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images)

Cowboys riding high again after upsetting Storm

The Cowboys kept their finals hopes alive with Sunday’s 45-20 win over the Storm. Some of their execution in attack was outstanding and the long-range try scored by Murray Tualagi after brilliant lead-up work by Val Homes and Scott Drinkwater was great to watch.

The Storm kept themselves in the game by getting back to 14-all at half-time – but they started the second half poorly and their execution in attack was way off the mark.

Cam Munster and Harry Grant did not have the impact on the game they were expecting and will now be focused on getting back in the winner’s circle next week against Cronulla before getting ready for Origin II at Suncorp.