If you squinted, it could have been Souths. Cam Murray to the line, Cody Walker even deeper, a pass out the back, a catch-pass and the winger racing clear. Accor Stadium has seen plenty of it in the last few years, and got it amped up to 11 not once, but twice.
Walker was the game’s best player, the player most likely to make something happen. Given this performance, it’s baffling that he wasn’t included previously.
When the great reckoning is done on this series, it will be one rated as a missed opportunity for New South Wales.
The Blues lost last year, but largely stayed loyal to the combinations that delivered that defeat, with Brad Fittler’s insistence on Panthers-lite tactics easily read by Billy Slater and his backroom staff.
Tonight, they found a solution to that in Walker. Annoyingly for Blues fans, it was a solution that was there for them all along, and, really, crying out to them.
This isn’t a knock on Jarome Luai, who is a perfectly fine, but in a series where you need the best of the best, he’s just that inch down on Cody Walker. The insistence on club form blinded Fittler to picking the best 17 available.
Fundamentally, Origin is different to a club game and requires a different skillset. Yes, the Panthers are the best club team and have been. But they do that as unit, a 17-man system of moving parts of which Luai is just one.
In Origin, you can’t build a system and, as Queensland have demonstrated time and again, you pick the best guys possible and trust them to be great.
Therre’ll be a lot of focus on the performance of Bradman Best, and while he was good, but it’s easy to be that good when you’re standing outside a guy in the form that Walker is in.
It’s oft-mentioned in reference to the Souths five eighth, but he’s a pure footballer: all guile, touch and experience. Age is nothing but a number when you’ve got all your skills between your ears.
Walker’s strength here was that he can fall into structure and then play totally outside of it. His work with Murray inside was a carbon copy of his day job at the Bunnies, but his sleight of hand to put Best over for his first try was classic Cody.
Walker was excellent, but as much as Best prospered outside of him, he prospered outside of Murray.
The Bunnies captain might not necessarily be better in the ball-playing lock role than the man he replaced, Isaah Yeo – it’s probably a question of taste – but he is undeniably faster than him, which makes a huge difference to the quality of ball that reaches the five eighth.
At Penrith, Yeo’s job is as much picking the plays as enacting them, whereas Murray’s is more simplified. He tends to leave the choice to someone else and simply perform his role within the system.
That extra half-second is the difference between a jam defence that works and one that creates indecision: twice, Best got the catch-pass in before the tackler arrived. If Yeo had been in the 13, the move would have ended there.
It’s hard to work out whether Fittler finally settled on the best team, or whether this win comes in spite of him. It was his call to swap Yeo and Murray and his call to play Keaon Koloamatangi, who didn’t look out of place at this level, so there’s kudos there.
But one wonders if Walker would have ever got a run had Nathan Cleary not gone down injured, and if Yeo would have played prop had his club halfback also been there.
Several of his selections didn’t work, but it didn’t matter. Clint Gutherson got three minutes, Jacob Saifiti got just 26 minutes and he relied on a lock as a prop.
If this is Fittler’s last game, it will stand as a testament to his confused coaching style. When he was good, it was because he trusted his best players to play the game in front of them.
Neither Tom Trbojevic or Latrell Mitchell were regular centres, but he had to get them on the field and when they were there, they played the game in front of them.
Had he done that from Game 1, and picked his most naturally gifted players, things might have been different.
For a decent whack of the first half, this felt a lot like the previous two games as NSW dominated field position and possession. The difference, this time, was that they actually took their chances.
It didn’t stop Queensland playing their game. The Maroons still shifted when they got it in anything like a decent area and, before the other team’s number six took over, Cam Munster was the game’s best player.
But this just wasn’t quite the same intensity as last time. AJ Brimson is fundamentally a different player to Reece Walsh and struggled to have the same zip along the edges as the Broncos man.
Instead, the best Maroons work came through the middle, with hard carries and offloads generating breaks, with only Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow’s try a result of catching the edge defence for speed.
It’s hard to criticise this Queensland team for much, given where they were going into this game. The Blues didn’t outplay them, but just had a little more in intensity and got points where, in the other games, they didn’t. That’s why sweeps are so rare.
It’s the nature of Origin, where almost every game is close and the teams are generally very well matched. There’s no shame here. Queensland will be annoyed to lose on the night, but they win either way.
Maxtruck
Roar Rookie
Munster, plays 80 minutes
The Spectator
Roar Guru
Need Latrell like Manly Needed Stewart. Gun players need to be fit and firing or it’s a miss. One player, it all hinges on one player.
steveng
Roar Rookie
It takes more than just one player to win a premiership, no matter how good he is. Souths will win one soon, don't know if they left it too late this year, as that is what has been their biggest hurdle.
criag
Roar Rookie
:silly:
Hondo
Roar Rookie
Why should Moses stay at half? NSW only lost the first game narrowly with Cleary at half and then were thrashed in the next game at Suncorp with Moses at half. They only won the third game through Cody Walker playing at five eight, who should have been the five eight for NSW since 2019. Nicho Hynes like Walker has been the best in his position now for that last two years so he must be the half next year for NSW with Walker at five eight.
The Spectator
Roar Guru
How many premierships has Cody won?
The Spectator
Roar Guru
When you drop half the team every time you lose and prey for rain like Fred’s coaching style sooner or later you will win a game, but to say perfect coaching Fred you all along is a little “how’s your father”, !
The Spectator
Roar Guru
Ah hindsight, what a genius it makes us!
Forty Twenty
Roar Rookie
Walker was great for NSW and it's a pity he was carrying an injury for game 2 because he would have been selected. Luai has become the latest scapegoat. NSW in particular enjoy having at least one. He's won a series and has won 43% of his games. Points for 162 against 114. Walker has won 40% of his games with points for 1oo against 76. Munster surprised me because he's running at 50% after playing in two winning series. I haven't done the sums but it would indicate his record was much poorer than Luai's but was given a chance to fight back. DCE didn't have a great record at SOO level but has fought back. Figures never tell the full story but Luai is a young player who has had massive success and can be proud of his achievements.
Forty Twenty
Roar Rookie
So if Hammer got injured in the first few minutes of any SOO game 2023, which centre were QLD going to replace him with? So I guess you also disagreed when Fittler put Turbo and Wighton in the centres and smashed QLD? Brett Kenny and Laurie Daley who were club 5/8's were liabilities when playing in the centres ? Turbo and Latrell Mitchell don't get selected when fit and healthy for NSW because they are fullbacks? The mind boggles at the criticism.
Big Mig
Roar Rookie
Cody Walker stole the show, and why didn't
Freddyer penrith pick him in SOO1? The "Blues" coaches box on Wednesday night hadFreddy(Penrith),Brandy(Penrith) andIvan(Penrith)...Dodgy Dragons
Roar Rookie
I’m glad Cody killed it last night too Bruce. He is the best eyes up footy player in the comp, and although he plays for South’s and losses the plot, he’d be my first player picked every week. Love watching him play, nearly always picks the right player to pass/kick to when he attacks that left side. Was it Cody or Fittler that had that left edge a bit deeper last night? My money is on Cody, otherwise it would have been fixed at half time in game 1.
Succhi
Roar Rookie
I’m now convinced that ‘club combinations’ are always the answer for halves. Predictable and easy to defend.
Worlds Biggest
Roar Pro
Except I would say Dearden is not a halfback. He is a running 5/8 and a good one. I don’t think he is a natural organiser nor has the kicking game for Origin. Not sure what they do post DCE as Hunt is a similar age. DCE has done a great job for the Maroons since taking over from Cronk and has outplayed Cleary many times. Very underrated Origin player.
Arama
Roar Rookie
Really happy for Cody, underrated player and deserving of higher honours more regularly.
steveng
Roar Rookie
WB, Cody was the form 5/8 for at least the last 6 years, that is why he got a crack at game 1 2019 (as Freddy woke up) but then he went back into his spell and foolishly dropped Cody after 1 game, because the Blues lost 18-14, but Cody never lost his form afterwards and what he did last night, he continued doing that at Souths pre and post 2019. Its Brad Fittler's bad luck that he didn't see the potential of Cody as it took him this long and like game 3 2023 to realise and even for game 3, it was questionable that he would pick Cody, which is scandalous when you see what a master class Cody taught the Qld boys and especially Freddy of how good he is! This aint NO SHOCK to us Bunnie fans, as it was helpful that he didn't get picked for SOO as at least Cody put his talents into the Bunnies during these SOO times pre 2023 to win games, as and at this point in time R20 2023 Souths are in 8th spot and in a pretty bad situation, when and in R11 they were equal 1st on the ladder and now and in R20 they are 8th and they had 2 byes and only won 2 games, as the next game against the Broncos ait going to be easy and we must win and then win every game afterwards, to have any chance to be in the top 4, as not being in the top 4 the Bunnies will have no chance of going all the way. All in all and in summation, we at the Bunnies knew how good Cody is as this is nothing new. If Trell and Graham were there instead of Best and Crichton the Bunnie boys would have run amuck and the score would have hit 50 :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: and the Hammer wouldn't have scored any, as that try outsprinting To'o was very ordinary defense and shouldn't have happened. :laughing: :thumbup: :thumbup:
The Barry
Roar Guru
I learned that you like to call other people with opinions and ideas ‘couch critics’ while apparently elevating yourself above that position for offering a whole lot of not much…
Big Mig
Roar Rookie
Cody made JAC, look like JAC again.
Big Mig
Roar Rookie
Cody was fantastic 9/10. Moses, JAC and Best must've been thinking how good it is to have Cody Walker on your left or right. Just imagine if Latrell had been playing, it would have been exhibition footy at its best.
mushi
Roar Guru
Munster might have an objection to that, but definitely the best NSW 6