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2018 State of Origin Game 3 - Wed 11th July

84 Baby

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True but one had 1 games back from 2 mths out and is 20yld while the other has been fit every week and is 27yld.
Well that covers his game 1 performance. What about the other 2 games?
And are you saying that'll be the level of his play for the next 7 years? It's Mythchell Piss all over again!
 

hindy111

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58,498
Well that covers his game 1 performance. What about the other 2 games?
And are you saying that'll be the level of his play for the next 7 years? It's Mythchell Piss all over again!


Unsure. Are most halfbacks at there peak at age 20? Do they improve.
Is Moses at peak or still learning. I reckon Moses has more potential but needs a lot more polish and may never iron out his bad plays to make him elite.
Cleary however doesnt have hardly any bad traits. Its about improving on what he has rather then fixing things.
I have no idea how much better Cleary will get. But I reckon he will be at his peak by age 23 while Moses at this age is still trying to fix fundamental flaws in his game.
Norman at 27 sdtill hasnt fixed them
 

84 Baby

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Unsure. Are most halfbacks at there peak at age 20? Do they improve.
Is Moses at peak or still learning. I reckon Moses has more potential but needs a lot more polish and may never iron out his bad plays to make him elite.
Cleary however doesnt have hardly any bad traits. Its about improving on what he has rather then fixing things.
I have no idea how much better Cleary will get. But I reckon he will be at his peak by age 23 while Moses at this age is still trying to fix fundamental flaws in his game.
Norman at 27 sdtill hasnt fixed them
Cleary clearly hasn't nailed down his spot going forward IMO. Also honestly I can't see him getting any better. Probably not any worse either though. I don't think he'll ever be a consistent game breaker.
Unless he completely models his play on Cronk, but even then he'll need some Smiths, Slaters, Munsters (preferably Herman) around him to do that
 

Gronk

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73,538
I seem to recall watching a video with Buderus around Origin 2 with him saying we just want Nathan to play a role for us and not overplay his hand. I think he did that well.

If he was getting knocked around in defence, making errors or kicking dead, yeah i wouldn’t be impressed.

I don’t recall many other young halves coming in and killing it in their first series.

I’m excited, he could really become a good NSW half for the next best part of a decade. God knows we need one after the struggles we have had in that department over the years.

Yes he did exactly what he was asked to do. My point is that perhaps Origin is not the place to develop a player and you should only pick players who are origin ready ?

This merges with the Bevan discussion in the Knights team thread. You can carry a player like these two for only so long (in a development capacity). There will come a time however where Cleary will need to run the side and not rely on Maloney. Also Bev will either need to up his game and double his stats or he will get cast aside IMHO.
 

Happy MEel

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9,377
Yes he did exactly what he was asked to do. My point is that perhaps Origin is not the place to develop a player and you should only pick players who are origin ready ?

This merges with the Bevan discussion in the Knights team thread. You can carry a player like these two for only so long (in a development capacity). There will come a time however where Cleary will need to run the side and not rely on Maloney. Also Bev will either need to up his game and double his stats or he will get cast aside IMHO.
Spot on Gronk. There’s only so much time you can give a player to develop and reach their potential before you need to cut your losses and move on. It’s getting close for me with French.
 

I bleed blue & gold

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8,832
Yes he did exactly what he was asked to do. My point is that perhaps Origin is not the place to develop a player and you should only pick players who are origin ready ?

I wouldn’t have been up in arms if they hadn’t chosen Cleary, but when it came to our half stocks he was as good a selection as any other IMO.

Latrell is abit in that category too, he played alright.

Sometimes you just have to go for it and throw these blokes in. QLD did it with blokes like Thurston, Slater, Folau etc.

Blood them for the future and mix it up at the same time. We picked the same old heads for years, wasn’t working so Freddy mixed it up, and it payed off.
 

Happy MEel

First Grade
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9,377
Marking better players. Inglis and Slater where better back then.
Hodges,Tate,Folau,tate,Boyd

Chambers has declined, Inglis is ok but not same. Same for Slater.
Gagai again good but not in the calibre of those guys in peak.
Inglis and Slater were extremely good this series, no worse than previous years.

Hodges was always good but Tate, tate the second and Boyd were made to look a lot better on the wing than they actually were. Gagai and Holmes are better Winger than both of them.

Not sure why you brought Folau up...he last played Origin in 2010 FFS.
 

Happy MEel

First Grade
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9,377
I wouldn’t have been up in arms if they hadn’t chosen Cleary, but when it came to our half stocks he was as good a selection as any other IMO.

Latrell is abit in that category too, he played alright.

Sometimes you just have to go for it and throw these blokes in. QLD did it with blokes like Thurston, Slater, Folau etc.

Blood them for the future and mix it up at the same time. We picked the same old heads for years, wasn’t working so Freddy mixed it up, and it payed off.
I agree it was a good decision, I just don’t think he has cemented his position and it will come down to early season form next year.
 

Gronk

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I wouldn’t have been up in arms if they hadn’t chosen Cleary, but when it came to our half stocks he was as good a selection as any other IMO.

Latrell is abit in that category too, he played alright.

Sometimes you just have to go for it and throw these blokes in. QLD did it with blokes like Thurston, Slater, Folau etc.

Blood them for the future and mix it up at the same time. We picked the same old heads for years, wasn’t working so Freddy mixed it up, and it payed off.

Agree. He was solid and most importantly not a turnstile in defence (unlike Moses, Brooks etc would have been).

A new problem arises if 33yo Maloney decides that he has enough. Keary I guess is the obvious choice, but who runs the team ?
 

I bleed blue & gold

First Grade
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8,832
Agree. He was solid and most importantly not a turnstile in defence (unlike Moses, Brooks etc would have been).

A new problem arises if 33yo Maloney decides that he has enough. Keary I guess is the obvious choice, but who runs the team ?

Yep spot on.

It is a worry, looks like they think Cleary. I guess time will tell.
 

eel01s

Bench
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3,246
I too think that Cleary was like a Mitchell Pearce MkII in games 2 and 3. Great in defence, but offered sweet FA in attack. Most of his clearing kicks were pretty ordinary as well. He gets some slack given his age and that it was his first series, but has to offer more next year IMO.
 
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