Why does everyone immediately turn to bashing him re: origin? Theres plenty of misdirected anger
he didn't lose the series all by himself, he also didn't select himself.
Because at Origin level he is hopeless.
No one blames him solely for NSW woes (he wasn't in the team when the rot started), and no one blames him for being selected- we blame Daley for that at the moment.
And he really does seem to try his best. At club level, his best means he is competent in a dominating team, and can pull out some great matches- much like plenty of average first grade halves in the history of first grade rugby league (which is nothing to scoff at- being a competent, average first grade half back makes you a very tough and gifted athlete on the scale of all humans).
At Origin level he has been spectacularly useless, not contributing at all to direction, attack, or a controlled kicking game. And his defense is not solid enough at Origin, his kicking not reliable enough, nor his 5/8 partners spectacular enough, for him to be a "dependable" foil (like a Hornby type selection). He has rarely had to work behind a soundly beaten Origin pack, and his team is often in the games right up to the end, but he doesn't do anything threatening to get them over the line (often the reverse- he turns over cheap possession after a great set from the forwards, and a tiring Queensland side laps up the free break and goes on to win). We don't expect he will be as good as Thurston, but we do expect at Origin level, to justify his selection, he will be better than useless, and that is all he has shown after many, many chances.
He is not the only one. We haven't often seen good form from anyone in the NSW spine over the years (with some exceptions), but he gets bashed for his Origin form because his Origin form is terrible. Everyone hopes every year he either improves or gets dropped, and since neither has happened, he continues to cop it. So yeah, I hope he is showing improved form and goes well this year OR gets dropped, but if he shows what he has shown for years, I will continue to bash his Origin selection.
