Tackling all the games' issues
I attended Origin on Wednesday and while I enjoyed seeing my beloved Blues get over the line, the game seemed to be missing something.
I think it was missing the big hits and the attitude which has made Origin footy famous right from the start. In that respect the game felt a bit flat for mine.
Sometimes it happens but not very often. It just seemed like neither team had an aggressive streak to their defence, unless you were Karmichael Hunt and you saw Ryan Hoffman coming at you.
Origin is not the same as it used to be when it was first brought in to the calendar, but trust me when I say mateship goes out the window when you are in the battle in the middle.
I think NSW definitely deserved the win and I was very impressed with the game Peter Wallace had on his debut, as I was with Anthony Quinn. There aren’t too many guys who have better Origin debuts than those two did.
I didn’t think Greg Bird deserved Man of the Match. He played well but it was nothing special. I would have given the award to Quinn, Mark Gasnier (who was always dangerous), Wallace or even Fitzy, who was solid in his return to Origin footy.
On a Parramatta note I thought Haynesy was solid despite a couple of misses in defence late on, but he didn’t get much ball all night.
Everyone is talking about putting the broom through the Queensland team but that isn’t their style and I would be surprised if they do that for game two.
I would also be surprised if we see Darren Lockyer return and if he does come back I think he would have to be 100% fit. I just can’t see the Broncos risking their best player and playmaker for Origin, when they want to win the comp for Wayne Bennett in his last year at the club.
There was a bit of criticism out for some Queensland players, one of them being Billy Slater, but he was not allowed to play well by a Blues team who employed similar tactics against him to when he last played in 2005.
I was there for those games and we were told to chase hard and when he gets the ball hit him hard. Last night that certainly happened.
If the Maroons do make changes then I would suggest maybe Carl Webb start on the bench and come on after 15-20 minutes so he can make more of an impact and spend some time getting wound up. The big fella is a gun but I think in rep games he has a bigger impact off of the bench.
While the Queensland pack were soundly beaten I really have to give a nod to Nate Myles for hitting the ball up hard and being the only one who appeared capable of making the bust. Myles had a huge game!
Speaking of the Roosters, I really don’t know what happened to us last Friday night. We were traveling well and then it was as if they flicked the switch in the second half and we couldn’t go with them.
Braith Anasta certainly turned it on and kept the pressure right on Greg Bird for Origin.
As for me, I was sick leading into the game and continued to spend the weekend on the lounge vomiting. I actually lost 5 kilograms, but that is no excuse for missing a couple of tackles which led directly to tries.
This weekend we are looking forward to seeing Krisnan Inu go around for Wentworthville and if he goes well there I expect him to line up next weekend in first grade. His return will be good for us in many ways. The biggest is, although neither will admit it, him and Haynesy seem to try and one up each other to prove who is a better centre and it brings out the best in both of them.
For the record we played some games at Laser Zone after training this week and Inu killed it. I think he has had far too much spare time during rehab!
There has been a lot written about the possibility of clubs going broke over the last week and while I think Parramatta are safe, thanks to good management from Dennis Fitzgerald, the state government has done no club any favours with the huge poker machine taxes they have in place.
It doesn’t just effect the club but also the community who then don’t get the money from the clubs that they used to either.
Bonn and I just dropped Archie off in Robertson as we prepare for a weekend in the Hunter Valley. I’m more of a fan of the amber liquid but I’ll still try a good drop of wine.
As for footy, I want us to focus on improving. To have had two byes already is a bit unfortunate as we get no more weeks off, but that’s the draw and we just have to cop it.
As for me I will have 1 ½ eyes on Parramatta and ½ an eye on NSW and am putting my hand up if any forward from the team becomes unavailable.
Hindy
