NSW desperately needed steady halves, since they have had great forwards and some great backs (winger always an issue) for quite a few years, but look lost when it matters.
Hodkinson and Reynolds surprised me by doing exactly what NSW needed, and what they were picked for. They played a sensible, steady game with good options, the chance of repeat sets, and no bad defensive lapses.
This helped the NSW forwards feel confident to offload, and then Hayne could handle the spark. NSW normal dependibles like Gallen, Lewis, Watmough and Farah did what they needed with good structure and spark provided from the halves and Hayne. They should have more of that "reliable" play with Bird and Fifita back game II, but pressure will be on their halves if Reynolds is suspended (unlikely to miss 3 weeks though, you'd think).
But the best thing NSW did that they never do, was defend, really well, set after set, even with things going against them. They can all be congratulated for that, even some of the players who were more quiet in attack.
QLD played well, their forwards really started dominating the second half (but I think they really missed Thaiday), DCE, Smith, Thurston and Inglis had dangerous moments, but unlike QLD normally, they didn't quite have enough when needed. Their backs are starting to look a little slow, but all very reliable still, so QLD will have to stick with them and hope Thurston/Smith/DCE can create something special in game II.
