The players
For the record, the winners of the game ball for players' player for the three matches were:
Game I - Craig Fitzgibbon
Game II - Nathan Hindmarsh
Game III - Mark O'Meley
It is always special to receive an award voted by your peers, let alone in an Origin game when the people doing the voting are among the best around.
I was especially happy for Hindmarsh and O'Meley. They have proved themselves to be real Origin players and I am sure they will be a part of the NSW team for many years.
I said earlier that football was not a game of perfection but rather a game of confidence.
After a video session in which we had reviewed the second game of the series, Nathan Hindmarsh stood up and said he wanted to talk to all the forwards on his own.
Without a word the rest of us departed, leaving Nathan with the big men to himself. I don't know what he had to say in there and I didn't ask.
Nathan came into Origin a couple of years ago and has always been the quiet type. This series was the coming of age of Nathan Hindmarsh so far as being a representative player.
