Brad Fittler stood on the patio of the NSW Blues’ Coogee hotel before Game 1 and described his team selection as a gamble.
Stood in the same spot ahead of Game 2, he insisted that he was not a gambler, but admitted that his decision to pick three players who cannot train – Latrell Mitchell, Cameron Murray and Liam Martin – was a risk.
“They’re risks,” said the Blues coach. “They have to be nursed. We’ve been communicating with the Souths medical department and, to get these blokes to next Wednesday, they can’t do much on-field stuff.
“We think they’re that valuable that they’re worth the risk.
“I don’t think that we were far off. The way they won it was pretty impressive, I have to say, but everything else we did in the game said that we’re not far off.
“I didn’t think that we needed mass changes. Obviously we lost a couple to injury, a halfback and a hooker, so changes there and that’s going to change the way that we play, but we want to keep it as fluent as possible.
“I’m a non-gambler, and the fact that we made limited changes points towards not gambling. Stefano is a good risk – I’ve coached him for a long time and I think he’s got what it takes to go to the next level.
“The only other change was bringing in a second hooker over a versatility player. If anything, coming off a loss, there are limited risks.”
One change he did double down on was the selection of Mitchell Moses as the replacement for Nathan Cleary, revealing that it was always his choice to have the Eels’ halfback as next man up.
“The last time Nathan went down, Mitchell played, so the banter around who was going to play I couldn’t work out,” said Fittler.
“It makes you a lot more comfortable when you watch yesterday (Parramatta’s win over the Bulldogs) and he goes an controls the game and plays a big part in why they won.
“I find it interesting sometimes the chat around different positions and players and choices. It’s becoming a circus. I’ve always had confidence in Mitchell.
“You still have to watch every game and with the amount of players getting injured these days, it was important that we waited until yesterday afternoon. I went to watch the game and it gave us confidence the way that he played.
“It’s a circus around selections. It’s hilarious.
(Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
“He got to the Grand Final. They’re winning big games. It’s not just Mitchell and a lot of things go towards that, but we’re all aware of the pressure that a number 7 wears these days and what they have to do in their team.
“Parramatta had a great year last year. Big games are big games and they got used to winning them.
“He’s not that different – when you watch Nathan at Penrith, he’s the dominant voice and when you watch Mitchell at Parramatta, he’s also the dominant voice.
“Obviously, Jarome and Mitchell are going to have to find a combination and expedite the way they work together. But if everyone does their job, they’ll be the dominant voice and if we’re in a position to score tries, hopefully they come up with the points.”
Despite the inability of key players to train, Fittler insisted that what happened on the training field wasn’t that important in terms of building connections, and that contact in particular wasn’t needed at this stage in the year.
“We start today,” he said.
“We got them in today, we watched every game to make sure that we got the team that we wanted. We’ll have a lot of players not train during the week so a lot of it will have to be mental and how we go about it. I don’t think it’s been done before, so it’s quite the challenge.
“You need a little reminder and most teams do it every week even if it’s just for a few minutes, but they’re battered. It’s a tough game in every position. They’re all carrying injuries.
“The smart coaches time that perfect. Most players do their injuries at training these days so you need the timing of it to make a great team.
“There has to be other ways of doing it off the field because we can’t do much on the field. If we want all of our players to be playing, it’s going to have to be done in other places. We’ve got until next Wednesday, and I reckon by then we’ll be fresh and ready.
“Someone told me that we’re underdogs – I’m not sure if that works in our favour, who really cares? It’s always good to fight out of a corner.”
The Barry
Roar Guru
I thought Hynes was a decent selection as well. But Fittler said after the game that he didn’t know how to get Hynes 80th the game and he finished the game with unused interchanges So, this isn’t about bagging any NSW in history for vague reasons as you’re suggesting Fittler picked an attack based player on the bench in a game where we were heavily on attack from minute 10 to minute 70 but struggled to score points and Fittler - Bu his own admission - didn’t know how to get Hynes into the game So, if he didn’t have a plan to get Hynes into the game, why pick him…? No one was questioning Hynes’ form prior to the first Origin game - most of the “punters” were calling for him to be in the team - so the he lost form quickly argument is absolute hindsight You seem to get confused that whenever anyone offers a criticism that they’re saying “I could do better”. That’s not the case. I’ve often heard you criticise wingers for standing too flat. Do you think you could play wing better than the guys you criticise? Of course not. It’s a 100% valid observation that their performance isn’t as good as it should be In EXACTLY the same manner, the observations I’m making aren’t remotely a suggestion I could coach NSW better than Fittler, but that his performance isn’t as good as it should be…
Forty Twenty
Roar Rookie
I thought Hynes was a decent selection on the bench because he can cover several positions but it didn't work out so well. I suppose if he left him out he would have been bagged as well? Lets be honest , the critics are ready to bag whatever the NSW coach does if they get a chance. I'm suspecting we could bag just about every NSW coach over the history of the concept including a few legendary figures but this seems to be assuming the critics would do better but I don't believe this to be the case. If Fittler listened to the critics and selected specialist centres in 19 , he might be out of a job by now. Sometimes players can lose form quickly as Mitchell did in 19 and Moses has impressed me greatly with his defence and speed this year and right now looks much more confident than Hynes.
The Barry
Roar Guru
Ok, I don’t think Moses is a horrible selection either. I don’t think Hynes is “plodding” though. He’s been the form 7 for 18 months, you don’t lose that in a fortnight. My problem is not so much with Moses’ selection as: - why pick Hynes in game 1? Fittler admitted afterwards he didn’t know how to get Hynes into the game, even though NSW was heavily on attack for most of the game and struggling to score points. It was the perfect scenario to introduce an extra attacking player - NSW has gone with two hookers for the past 2-3 years. For Game 1 Fittler picks a player who rarely plays 80, with no back up and no plan to rest him. He immediately changes back to two hookers - all this nonsense about combinations we’ve heard for years and the sole justification for several questionable selections in the past 2-3 years has been thrown out the window I genuinely hope Moses fires and NSW wins the series. But even if that happens, it doesn’t necessarily clear some of Fittler’s strange selection backflips. Or the number of times he’s got it wrong. Or the ongoing and terrible bench rotations. Or NSW being under prepared for game 1 in the past two years
Forty Twenty
Roar Rookie
Yes indeed , I made a mistake on the details, but it was the criticism I was highlighting and they were all wrong. It was the Turbo x Wighton pairing an the dropping of Mitchell which was savaged as if Fittler was completely clueless and the critics were all champions. Meninga was fooled into selecting Mitchell for Australia , shortly after and was punished but hardly a word from the peanut gallery. Hynes is plodding at this moment just like Mitchell was and it isn't clearly the wrong move to chose an in form player in their place as so many are claiming. I could see the logic in dropping Mitchell back then and I can see why Moses is selected now. It's not radical or dumb.
Renegade
Roar Guru
100% agree
Nick
Roar Rookie
I think the issue is that Hynes is actually not a versatile bench player at all. He's not a utility player. A utility player is actually a rare skill set. Even some of the absolute greats couldn't be a utility player. Someone like Jonathan Thurston couldn't play anything but halves. Slater couldn't play anything but outside back roles. Andrew Johns could do anything other than be a playmaker. The "jack of all trades, master of none" role is a specialism in its own right. Players like Kurt Gidley, Shaun Berrigan, Mitch Aubisson, Jamie Lyon Craig Wing...these guys are great examples of excellent utility players. Never the absolute standout first pick in a particular position, but if you need them to slot into any of three positions on a night due to injury etc, they all can. Wing could play halves, hookers, wing, fullback competently. Berrigan could play halves, hooker and centre competently. Jamie Lyon could play halves, centres and even hooker. Gidley could play the whole spine and wing. Aubisson (and someone like Luke Lewis) could transition from forwards to centres and even hooker/halves Then there is the freak that was Inglis who could excel in fullback, centres and was a damn good five eighth too. Nicho Hynes can really only play halves and fullback...and you don't need a utility for those as much in a game as you do the other positions. Hynes either starts or he doesn't play. Fittler has chosen the latter. I would have chosen the former.
The Barry
Roar Guru
I don’t have a problem with Queensland winning this year or last (other than Queensland winning)… I think the talent gap has pretty much closed. I absolutely resent us being unprepared and ambushed in game 1 in both series, leaving us having to win at Suncorp Those game 1s were absolutely critical and everything should have gone into getting them right. Instead we have daft tactics, a lack of planning, an over reliance / focus on “combinations” and wacky selections… 2018-21 should have been 4-0
Iron Fist
Roar Rookie
Selections for NSW Game 1: All players need to be fit to train. Selections for NSW Game 2: We'll carry 3 players who can't do any on-field work before Sunday.
Farmyard Friend
Roar Rookie
If Freddy’s “a gambler”, then Kenny Rodger’s classic song sums up the clueless NSW coach who is “on a train bound for nowhere”. I vividly recall after replacing Chris Anderson as Roosters coach & winning his first game “How easy is this coaching gig?” Obviously said tongue in cheek but that’s the persona he exudes: that of a joker & having a carefree attitude however when it comes to the serious task of team selection, his choices at times seem to be haphazard with no rhyme or reason. Wonder whether he took the time to explain to Hynes why he was dropped as 12 minutes of SOO & part of a poor Sharks effort on Sunday shouldn’t have been sufficient ammunition for non selection. Don’t think Queensland would treat that situation similarly as they would have faith in a player to rise to the occasion based on what they are able to produce at a higher level.
EastsFootyFan
Roar Guru
He’s fit now apparently
The Barry
Roar Guru
“Trouble is just about everyone thought it was a stupid idea. They wouldn’t have selected them at all in the first place. How clever is that?” Trouble is… that’s just not true. Latrell was still a full time centre when he was picked in the centres for NSW. Why would anyone have been giggling at him being picked on the centres? Turbo played two seasons as a wing and centre for Manly and had only one full season at fullback before being picked on the wing for NSW in 2018. He took over from Latrell at centre in 2019 and IMMEDIATELY proved himself in the position with a hat trick… Also - Latrell and Turbo weren’t picked as a centre combination together until the 2021 series - by which time both had proven themselves at centre in Origin I know you like to make this ‘after the fact’ stuff up but you can do better than this…
Emcie
Roar Guru
He could be the next Trent Hodkinson
Albo
Roar Rookie
Isn't Walker injured ? He couldn't play against the Dragons.
The Barry
Roar Guru
So was Turbo… Anyway, both states have been picking players “out of position” since Origin started, so I doubt any giggling started with Latrell and Turbo in the centres Wighton and Gutho on the other hand…
Emcie
Roar Guru
When did this happen? Latrell was a centre before he was even played Origin
Relaxed and Comfortable
Roar Rookie
Hoping Fittler and Alexander share an Uber out of town :stoked:
Nick
Roar Rookie
Nice
Forty Twenty
Roar Rookie
I remember when Fred selected Turbo and Mitchell in the centres for NSW for the 1st time. It was giggle time from both sides of the border. ''When are they going to learn that you can't win SOO by selecting players out of position'' was the war cry. Now if he can snare an unlikely win in the series on the back of these two , he can't take any credit because ''anyone could win with those two'' Trouble is just about everyone thought it was a stupid idea. They wouldn't have selected them at all in the first place. How clever is that?
Choppy Zezers
Roar Rookie
Look, he's just a sharing sorta coach. Every year Freddy likes to give an Origin jersey to one or two good blokes, who do their best, have a big motor, is well liked then never heard from in Origin again. And he also gives a jersey to a guy who has loads of talent/aggression and is expected to rise to the occasion (and doesn't). 2018 - Matt Prior/Tyrone Peachey 2019 - Nic Cotric/Cody Walker 2020 - Luke Keary/Gutho and Nathan Brown 2021 - Mitchell Moses/Tariq Sims 2022 - Regan Campbell-Gillard/Siosifa Talakai 2023 - Nicho Hynes/Reece Robson and TPJ When the Blues lose game 2, he will go back to the "we can't go into origin with players not 100% fit" and "Nicho has clearly been the standout half over the past two seasons" for origin 3.
Worlds Biggest
Roar Pro
Each to their own Robbo. I think Reynolds is in fantastic form, big game player and the Suncorp pressure cooker wouldn’t have fazed him one bit. Moses is playing well however with the series on the line, I’ll take Reynolds everyday of the week.