NSW EATING THEIR OWN… AGAIN
Nothing reveals the ruthlessness of the Sydney media quite like New South Wales losing an Origin they’re expected to win.
The knives come out and you’d be forgiven for thinking Queensland produced one of the greatest performances in Origin history in Game 1.
It pisses me off. Just because NSW failed to seal the deal doesn’t mean Queensland was right with every selection and every move they made.
The reality is the Blues went within seven minutes of victory before Cameron Munster - who is fast becoming an Origin legend - turned the game on a dime.
Should we have won? Yes. Were we that far off? No.
Maroons coach Billy Slater even admitted after the game that his side played some dumb football at times.
The Blues staff would have watched that game and seen a lot of opportunities that they can exploit in Game 2.
Everyone wants to crucify Tevita Pangai Junior, but he was one of our most effective in defence and was a threat carrying the ball.
We don’t need wholesale changes, even just something as minor as the rotation of our bench and middles could make a big difference.
If we’re lucky enough to get through this weekend largely unscathed, I think we’ll win.
Nathan Cleary had a performance that wasn’t up to his own elite standards and NSW were still in the game at the death.
Cleary didn’t play badly and his performance is one that can be replicated by any of the contenders to replace Cleary in Game 2.
Nicho Hynes, Adam Reynolds and Mitchell Moses are in a three-way battle for the No. 7 jersey but I say stick with what you’ve got.
Hynes has already been in camp and then you pick Matt Burton at No. 14, they’ve both been in the arena before and you just need them to play their role - that’s all NSW needs from them.
NSW needs a team performance to win, the result won’t rest on the selection of the halfback.
THE SERIES HANGS ON LATRELL
Latrell Mitchell playing in the must-win game at Suncorp Stadium isn’t just one factor for NSW - it’s the biggest factor.
But we have to be smart with how we get him the ball because my biggest frustration as a Blues supporter is we attack like a club team.
Everything hinges off the No. 13 when we move the ball. Conversely, Tom Trbojevic went off and it took Queensland one set of six to exploit it.
When NSW attacks, the dummyhalf passes to Isaah Yeo then he makes a decision to either play out the back or go short, his options are quite limited.
If you show me a halfback that loves catching a ball out the back of a block shape I’ll show you a halfback that does not know how to play rugby league.
Every good half wants to catch the ball out in front of them after a nice and quick play-the-ball so that they’ve got options everywhere.
Catching out the back of block shape, if executed well, works at club level but it doesn’t in high-pressure situations against the best players in the world. It’s so easy for quality defenders to read the play.
If Latrell is going to break the game open he needs the ball when it’s four-on-four down the short side so he can get one-on-one with his man. To do that we need quick play-the-ball.
We played our shifts in Game 1 off Payne Haas while Queensland shifted off Patrick Carrigan. Haas is a great yardage man but he doesn’t have a fast play the ball because he’s slowly wrestled to the ground, whereas Carrigan is explosive and has a great ability to get in between players.
We have those types of players too, but we’re not using them in that way.
