Expert
Opinion
Origin II is done and dusted. And so are NSW for another year.
Everything that could go wrong, did go wrong on Wednesday night for the Blues at Suncorp Stadium.
Tom Trbojevic went off after just three minutes with a pec strain and it all kept going downhill for the rest of the match with the Maroons running out 32-6 winners.
Here is how the NSW Origin players rated.
1. James Tedesco: So long a vital part of the NSW side, the sun is surely setting on Teddy’s time in sky blue. While there is no doubting his effort, his impact is clearly not what it once was. Leading a side that needed an attacking edge he was once again unable to provide it. 6/10
2. Brian To’o: To’o tried his guts out. He was not found wanting when it came to taking dirty runs. However, he was unable to provide NSW with any real venom in attack. 5.5/10
3. Stephen Crichton: Crichton had a decent game in attack without doing anything that great. However, his defensive misses again proved costly. 4.5/10
4. Tom Trbojevic: Turbo conceded a penalty in the second minute and then immediately injured his pec and
left the game. 0/10
5. Josh Addo-Carr: I love the Foxx, and he did some really tough runs, but he was continually in poor position in attack on the wing when the Blues may have really threatened. He failed to diffuse the DCE kick in the ninth minute that allowed the first Holmes try, as well as the kick that led to the Nanai try. 4/10
6. Jarome Luai: He is a great five-eighth for the Panthers but he has never really showed anything special at all at Origin level. This game was no different. 5/10
7. Mitchell Moses: If NSW had any chance it came from Moses. He brought ambitious attack and great kicking at every opportunity. Those opportunities were very few, especially in the second half. However, Moses can hold his head up. 7.5/10
8. Junior Paulo: The first 20 minutes from the big unit were really top class stuff. His second stint wasn’t as good though, and by then the game was gone. 6/10
17. Reece Robson: Started at hooker and played all 80 minutes there. His service from dummy half was really sharp at times ad his defence was strong but he took a few poor options. 6/10
10. Payne Haas: Payne worked his arse off. He had 20-plus runs for over 150 metres, while making over 40 tackles. Along with Moses, he can hold his head high. 7.5/10
11. Tyson Frizell: He did nothing wrong but the 31-year-old really provided little threat in attack. You have to wonder whether starting him over the likes of Cam Murray was a great idea. 5.5/10
12. Hudson Young: His second outing for NSW was a big improvement on his first. He made seven tackle breaks, 80 metres with the ball in hand and laid the ground work for the only NSW try. 5.5/10
13. Isaah Yeo: 120 metres with the ball and 48 tackles without a miss are pretty good stats. He tried his guts out but wasn’t able to force the advantage in attack. 6.5/10
14. Stefano Utoikamanu: Only got 14 minutes in the match. Had no real impact. 3/10
15. Cameron Murray: Didn’t get on the field until the game was pretty much gone. Why he isn’t starting is beyond me. In his 30 minutes he made 18 tackles without miss, 2 tackle breaks and almost 100 metres with ball in hand. 6/10
16. Liam Martin: Coming on in the 20th minute, Martin was immediately tough as hell, in attack and defence. However, he missed five tackles for the match, a few of them quite costly. 5/10
9. Damian Cook: He came on early to replace Trbojevic at centre. He had a rough night playing in a very unfamiliar position. He fluffed a few attacking options and a fair few Queensland tries went through his side. His try in the 57th minute was little consolation for his tough night at the office. 4/10