Gus in his podcast tells how he spoke with Cordner prior to game 1, asking the captain how he and the other Roosters players were going to combine with Walker. The reply was they told Walker to play his natural game. They should have told him to get the ball to Mitchell, Teddy and himself without fail. So Walker was like a deer in the spotlights, when he should have had clear instructions in his first Origin game. This is not only poor team leadership but very poor coaching. If they wanted someone they didn't need to tell what to do, they could have picked Maloney in the first place.
3 roosters vs 1 ring-in, you'd think that's the way it should've worked. Use the strength of the club combo rather than having them trying to fit in with Walker after just one week of prep. In the end, 3 of them (ex Teddy) had poor games when they all could've played well. With Klemmer dominating metres, Mitchell could've got good ball early in the game, putting pressure on QLD OB's and having DCE & Gillett second guessing, opening up potential for Walker inside as the game went on. The reality was the ball barely went outside Walker, as he stopped propped, Cordner ran stuttered lines and they were all easily contained by the QLD right-side defence.
maloney should've been there. f**k his form up until then. the guy is the only bona fide half NSW have who is a match-winner. you can't rant about form and then pick cleary, just because you know his old man and don't want to hurt his feelings. Mitchell got ball last series. Addo-Carr got ball last series. Maloney will get it there.