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Maroons put Sharks offside with bench ploy
By Greg Prichard
June 28, 2005
Cronulla welcomed their veteran prop Danny Nutley's selection in the Queensland team yesterday and then accused the Maroons of going against the spirit of State of Origin by leaving a spot vacant on their bench for the series-deciding game.
The Sharks said it was unfair that while they would have to do without Nutley in their game against Brisbane at Suncorp Stadium on Sunday, Tonie Carroll could play for Brisbane and then in the Origin game if selected.
Maroons selectors are waiting to see how Carroll and North Queensland's Travis Norton fare in NRL matches before deciding who to put in the spot they left open on the interchange bench when they named their team for Origin III yesterday.
Carroll will make a comeback from a calf injury against Cronulla and is the favourite to get the spot if he proves his fitness. "They are bending the rules to suit themselves," Sharks chief executive Steve Rogers said last night. "It's not the first time and it won't be the last time, but if that's what it takes then that's what it takes."
Rogers said he would not be making a formal complaint to the ARL about the Queensland measure because he actually felt sympathy for the Maroons.
He understood Queensland had a much smaller player pool to pick from than NSW and that even though the Broncos were able to use Carroll, they still had to do without five players who were unavailable because of Origin selection.
But he still argued that what the Maroons did wasn't right. "I just feel it's not in the best interests of the game," he said.
Cronulla coach Stuart Raper supported Rogers and added that he felt the Origin selection regulations needed to be tightened.
On a day of Origin drama yesterday, the Maroons' decision to name only 16 players was just one of several hot topics as the countdown began to the game at Suncorp Stadium tomorrow week.
By Greg Prichard
June 28, 2005
Cronulla welcomed their veteran prop Danny Nutley's selection in the Queensland team yesterday and then accused the Maroons of going against the spirit of State of Origin by leaving a spot vacant on their bench for the series-deciding game.
The Sharks said it was unfair that while they would have to do without Nutley in their game against Brisbane at Suncorp Stadium on Sunday, Tonie Carroll could play for Brisbane and then in the Origin game if selected.
Maroons selectors are waiting to see how Carroll and North Queensland's Travis Norton fare in NRL matches before deciding who to put in the spot they left open on the interchange bench when they named their team for Origin III yesterday.
Carroll will make a comeback from a calf injury against Cronulla and is the favourite to get the spot if he proves his fitness. "They are bending the rules to suit themselves," Sharks chief executive Steve Rogers said last night. "It's not the first time and it won't be the last time, but if that's what it takes then that's what it takes."
Rogers said he would not be making a formal complaint to the ARL about the Queensland measure because he actually felt sympathy for the Maroons.
He understood Queensland had a much smaller player pool to pick from than NSW and that even though the Broncos were able to use Carroll, they still had to do without five players who were unavailable because of Origin selection.
But he still argued that what the Maroons did wasn't right. "I just feel it's not in the best interests of the game," he said.
Cronulla coach Stuart Raper supported Rogers and added that he felt the Origin selection regulations needed to be tightened.
On a day of Origin drama yesterday, the Maroons' decision to name only 16 players was just one of several hot topics as the countdown began to the game at Suncorp Stadium tomorrow week.
