Nathan Merritt puts his hand up for selection to the NSW Origin squad

[muzby]

Has Uate ever been a leading try scorer in a team that came stone motherless last.Outside Merritt,no one has achieved this in the NRL.

being the only half capable player in a team of muppets doesn't make you an exceptional player...

you do realise there were two players within the storm who managed to come within a handful of tries of beating him to top tryscorer that year..


score:
looks like a uate hat trick (don't you hate those...)

 

[southsport]

Errors and being out of position/poor reads were his downfall.

:lol: Exactly.

 

[Big Sam]

Muz, are you seriously suggesting we select the same outside-back failures of the last seven series?

Or are you happy with new blood (e.g. Ferguson) so long as it's not Merritt?

 

[muzby]

Muz, are you seriously suggesting we select the same outside-back failures of the last seven series?

Or are you happy with new blood (e.g. Ferguson) so long as it's not Merritt?

i'm happy to see the best side picked, be it existing experienced players who may have been let down by their forwards and bad service by carney, or new blood who can give the team a boost..

but.. either way, i acknowledge that merritt can play, i just don't see him being in the top 2 wingers available to NSW at this point in time...

but if he is that keen to be in the side, perhaps nathan could just sneak in on the back of trent merrin & no-one would notice..

 

[muzby]

Errors and being out of position/poor reads were his downfall.

Of course merritt is error free..

 

[The Enforcer]

Of course merritt is error free..

That one was a forced error as the roosters player blew it out of his hands whilst putting in the big ones.

 

[SaraSassypants]

Of course merritt is error free..

Lol, how long ago was that? He has NAB on his jersey so it's more than 3 years ago. Merritt this year has had less errors than Uate, more tries and more line breaks.. So on current form (Since Madge has been here to help improve his game) Merritt > Uate. Uate had his chance and he f**ked NSW over. It's someone else's turn to grab that Wong spot.

 

[aussie7798]

Muz, are you seriously suggesting we select the same outside-back failures of the last seven series?

Or are you happy with new blood (e.g. Ferguson) so long as it's not Merritt?

Its not about the players from the previous series being bad i would say it has far more to do with the calibre of the qld side when you have a backline of
slater inglis lockyer thurston cronk and throw in smith you are going to lose a f**kton more than you win against them

and morris uate -------------------->merrit

 

[muzby]

It's someone else's turn to grab that Wong spot.

f**k man, I'm trying to have a serious conversation about footy here, and you're more concerned about getting Chinese food...

 

[SaraSassypants]

Lol whoops

 

[Skreepe]

There aren't many opportunities to just fall over the line in Origin.

That's pretty much Merritt's game.

 

[Newcastlerabbit]

There aren't many opportunities to just fall over the line in Origin.

That's pretty much Merritt's game.

So he's fallen over the line 140 odd times then? :lol::lol:

 

[Ziggy the God]

There aren't many opportunities to just fall over the line in Origin.

That's pretty much Merritt's game.

Great, he can keep falling over the line for us as we punish your rabble on the scoreboard.

 

[hardbaby]

It's someone else's turn to grab that Wong spot.

Merritt is the wong kind of wonger for Origin. We need a donger not a monger. Someone with size and power. Good club man. Great finisher. But would be hopelessly out of his depth at that level.

 

[Newcastlerabbit]

http://www.nrl.com/inglis-backs-merritt-for-origin/tabid/10959/contentid/544445/default.aspx

 

[Newcastlerabbit]

Blues hopeful Merritt refuses to count his chickens
Date
May 16, 2013

Michael Carayannis


Career-best form: Souths winger Nathan Merritt. Photo: Getty Images
State of Origin hopeful Nathan Merritt would do almost anything to push his case for a debut NSW jersey – just don't expect him to give coach Laurie Daley a call.

After years of being agonisingly close, Merritt can sense for the first time in his 12-year career that he is set to finally crack a wing spot. With NSW certainties Brett Stewart and Brett Morris likely to miss the series opener on June 5 through injury, Merritt has rocketed in contention along with Blake Ferguson, Akuila Uate and Jorge Taufua for two wing spots with Jarryd Hayne to play fullback.

"You get a bit over [talking about selection] after a few years but you feel it's getting a bit closer," Merritt said. "I might be in with a chance, we'll see what happens.

"I haven't spoken to Loz [Daley] or had any contact. I'm still in the dark. I won't be ringing anyone. If I get selected, I get selected.

"I'm definitely at ease with it. In the past I've probably been a bit frustrated but this time of my career, I can't let distractions like that get to me. All I've got to do is keep doing what I can at Souths and win football games for us."

As he inches towards a major representative jersey for the first time, barring injury Merritt will set a try-scoring landmark of his own. With 139 tries from 190 games for South Sydney, Merritt is five tries from joining winger Benny Wearing (144 tries from 172 games) as South Sydney's leading try-scorer of all time.

"The boys keep reminding me," Merritt said. "I want to keep scoring four-pointers. I love scoring them.

"It'll be a happy moment if I do it this year but I won't reflect on it until I am finished."

With eight tries during a two-year stint at Cronulla, Merritt has moved inside the top 10 of the most prolific try-scorers of all time. After making his NRL debut in 2002, Merritt had to wait until last year to play his first finals game. Now with the team sitting at the top of the premiership ladder, he is proud of how far the club has come after he won only five games in his first 47 matches with Souths. He is a chance to add to his try-scoring tally when he faces a depleted Wests Tigers side on Friday night.

"I never thought we would turn it around to how we are now," Merritt said. "Though we haven't achieved anything yet. There's still a lot of work to do to be in a team that's talked about.

"We're a hell of a lot more confident going into games and that confidence takes you a long way.

"We feel like we can compete with any team. It's great to see that with every game we've played in we have competed. The loss we had against Melbourne we weren't too far from winning the game. It's great to have that feeling."



Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...is-chickens-20130516-2jomr.html#ixzz2Td7Breit

 

[DC_fan]

Should make the team, but will miss out.

 

[Big Sam]

Laurie Daley selects debutants James Maloney, Blake Ferguson and Andrew Fifita for Origin I

PHIL ROTHFIELD THE DAILY TELEGRAPH MAY 25, 2013 12:00AM

SYDNEY Roosters star James Maloney is one of three Blues debutants in the State of Origin side to be announced tomorrow night, beating his arch rival Todd Carney for the NSW No. 6 jersey.

The entire squad from 1-17 has been finalised and leaked to The Daily Telegraph with Canberra winger Blake Ferguson and Cronulla prop Andrew Fifita joining Maloney as first starters for the Blues.

Maloney got the nod ahead of Carney on the strength of his outstanding form alongside Mitch Pearce at the Roosters this year, and the fact he's been the regular and highly successful goal kicker.

Coach Laurie Daley is an old NSW five-eighth who has been tossing and turning for weeks over who should wear his old jersey.

In the end Maloney got the nod - but only by a whisker.

There are seven players missing from last year's Origin campaign because of injuries and stars who are out of form - Carney, Beau Scott, Tony Williams, Glenn Stewart, Brett Stewart, Tim Grant and Ben Creagh.

Manly second-rower Glenn Stewart declared himself unavailable, telling Daley he needs more work on his fitness when they spoke on the phone yesterday. Stewart missed the opening eight rounds of the competition and feels he's still a couple of games short of reaching the level of strength required for Origin.

He will continue playing for the Sea Eagles and hopes to be ready for game two in Brisbane on June 26, three weeks after the series opener.

Daley has applauded Stewart's honesty in putting the team before his own aspirations. Stewart would more than likely have passed a fitness test but believes game time is more important at this stage.

With Paul Gallen to play at prop, Greg Bird, Luke Lewis and Ryan Hoffman will fill the back row.

The NSW side will be officially confirmed by Daley at NRL headquarters tomorrow evening.

Only injuries over the weekend round could force changes.

Dragons winger Brett Morris has missed several weeks but has been chosen on the wing and is confident of proving his fitness.

The selection of Kurt Gidley on the bench will create controversy. Given he can play fullback, five-eighth, half-back, lock and hooker convinced Daley his versatility was required on the bench.

The fact not one player from South Sydney was chosen will anger Rabbitohs fans.

Winger Nathan Merritt, five-eighth John Sutton and halfback Adam Reynolds have been banging on the door of selectors for 10 rounds.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...ita-for-origin-i/story-fni3fqyo-1226650215786

Not really, Slothfield. It just means we'll go through the Origin period with the core of the squad in tact.

Everybody knows Daley's never much liked us. He'll probably select some of our guys for game 3 once we're 0-2 down.

 

[southsport]

That's OK for me, let the other clubs players get injured.

 

[Newcastlerabbit]

WTF Rothfield - Merritt has been banging on the selectors doors since 2007 not for the last 10 rounds.