NSW Origin

[panther.mike]

Cleary may not be an elite half but he is very very "solid" half who will get better. I believe if Wighton had been 5/8 we would have been better off. He seems to create something from nothing.

 

[mxlegend99]

Keary is a proven winner. Cleary is not yet at this point in time Keary is the best half in NSW

Not in Origin. He was a defensive liability that contributed nothing in Game 1.

Throw him behind a badly beaten forward pack and his side will get blown out the water because he's not close to being able to defend like Nathan can.

There's a f**king huge list of players who had shown plenty in club footy never to do so in Origin... Basically every half since Joey. The exception being Jimmy who had some great games mixed with some poor ones and Nathan has had a better halves performance than any halfback since Joey in the Blues #7 aswell. Took him 7 goes to put in a display like that. But after his 2 best games it would be foolish to drop him for a bloke who did nothing in Game 1 and grew up supporting the enemy and dreamed of playing for them.

In his last 3 club games the opposition scored 111 points to Roosters 54. This proven winner couldn't beat Walker in Round 20. Nathan in week 1 of finals. Or Wighton in week 2 of finals. He still got first crack though at the #6 but was dropped for his defensive issues and contributing nothing in attack.

Throwing a Queenslander into our #7 jersey is not going to win us a series. If a players heart is not in the team they will never be at their best. They will not put in those same 1%ers that can win games. The players need to love that jersey and want to play out of their skin for it.

 

[WestyLife]

The thing with a guy like Keary is NSW wouldn't have been in a position to win it. He doesn't have Cleary's try saving tackles, the long kicking game to help field position when being dominated by QLD. He also doesn't kick the 40/20 which makes the fatigue in defence even worse than it was.

 

[Fangs]

I think the best combination is still Keary/Cleary. Also fun for the commentators which is great for TV ratings.

Keary has so far played 1 origin game. Way too early to make a judgement on a player who has been the best half in the game since 2018. Cleary is proving he is a capable performer at Origin level after being given an extended run. The same courtesy should be extended to Keary.

 

[franklin2323]

Not in Origin. He was a defensive liability that contributed nothing in Game 1.

Throw him behind a badly beaten forward pack and his side will get blown out the water because he's not close to being able to defend like Nathan can.

There's a f**king huge list of players who had shown plenty in club footy never to do so in Origin... Basically every half since Joey. The exception being Jimmy who had some great games mixed with some poor ones and Nathan has had a better halves performance than any halfback since Joey in the Blues #7 aswell. Took him 7 goes to put in a display like that. But after his 2 best games it would be foolish to drop him for a bloke who did nothing in Game 1 and grew up supporting the enemy and dreamed of playing for them.

In his last 3 club games the opposition scored 111 points to Roosters 54. This proven winner couldn't beat Walker in Round 20. Nathan in week 1 of finals. Or Wighton in week 2 of finals. He still got first crack though at the #6 but was dropped for his defensive issues and contributing nothing in attack.

Throwing a Queenslander into our #7 jersey is not going to win us a series. If a players heart is not in the team they will never be at their best. They will not put in those same 1%ers that can win games. The players need to love that jersey and want to play out of their skin for it.

1 game is too small of a sample size.

Certainly too small to throw away his previous achievements. He was man of the match in a GF

 

[MugaB]

1 game is too small of a sample size.

Certainly too small to throw away his previous achievements. He was man of the match in a GF

In a team full of champions, might be that makes him look better, i dare say, if he was 5/8 at the dogs or titans, he'd not be that proven winner either, when he was at souths, they had a absolute gun side, Kearys a good player, i like him, but he is too small for origin, Maloney was small too, but he was super tough and at least gambled at 5/8th, also defensively maloney would be targeted, but he could slow them down long enough for the cavalry, Keary in game 1 was a turnstile, one on one, he is only rated because of the teams he has won with, like i said put him in a lower ladder team, he wont produce, or at least he'll do as much as he did in origin 1

 

[mxlegend99]

1 game is too small of a sample size.

Certainly too small to throw away his previous achievements. He was man of the match in a GF

Ok his entire 2020 season

18 regular season NRL games for 12 wins and 6 losses.
2x finals games for 2x losses
1x state of origin game for 1x loss

His form and the Roosters form was nowhere near what it has been in the past 2 years. He wasnt bad by any stretch of the imagination. But he wasn't close to the best half this year unlike his form when paired with Cronk.

But none of that matters as much as the fact he's a f**king Queenslander. He supported them growing up. He fought the ruling to play for NSW. His heart is not in the jersey and that's the wrong person to be playing Origin. You pick players who grew up dreaming about wearing our jersey. Players that get cut when they lose and who passionately hate the other team. You dont pick a bloke who is only playing because he wasn't allowed to play for the other team. That's not the bloke you need steering us around

NSW issue this year above all else was not having the same passion QLD had for the jersey. Followed closely by having so many guys out of position and by having a forward pack that were either horribly out of form all season or better suited to coming off a bench.

 

[Kilkenny]

NSW weren’t good enough that is probably the main thing that needs to be said.

But at the same time can’t help feeling when the pressure was on the coach failed not unlike our own head coach going with a stop gap in May for the two biggest games as opposed to Naden who for the most part was pretty good throughout the games he played..

 

[WestyLife]

NSW weren’t good enough that is probably the main thing that needs to be said.

But at the same time can’t help feeling when the pressure was on the coach failed not unlike our own head coach going with a stop gap in May for the two biggest games as opposed to Naden who for the most part was pretty good throughout the games he played..

Both Ivan and Fittler tried to be too clever and it backfired. Play your centres at centre, pick a good interchange with a utility. Profit.

 

[Kilkenny]

Both Ivan and Fittler tried to be too clever and it backfired. Play your centres at centre, pick a good interchange with a utility. Profit.

I’ve never understood the obsession with picking fullbacks on the wing or in the centres.

Poor old Laurie Daley was hamstrung by it and Freddie has paid the price in this series.

Our own Ivan Cleary at the most important moments in our season lost faith in what worked for his side the entire season and dropped Naden for a conservative option in May. It backfired. Not saying it costs us the GF we let ourselves down all over the park but it certainly didn’t help.

 

[CCJohnC]

Head knocks take a toll.

 

[John Hamblin]

I’ve never understood the obsession with picking fullbacks on the wing or in the centres.

Poor old Laurie Daley was hamstrung by it and Freddie has paid the price in this series.

Our own Ivan Cleary at the most important moments in our season lost faith in what worked for his side the entire season and dropped Naden for a conservative option in May. It backfired. Not saying it costs us the GF we let ourselves down all over the park but it certainly didn’t help.

Was Naden's off field issues any part of not being in the run on side

 

[Abacus]

That last 10 mins was were they game could of been won for NSW but no one stepped up. Attacking the line with 12 defenders

The same last 10 minutes without your FB, 5/8 & forwards in both centre positions?
Agree, Cleary totes should have won that game off his own back after being down 20-6 with 17 mins to go.
Oh, and QLD were down to 12 for the last 3 minutes only, after which the rest of the QLD team focused on slowing the ruck regardless of 6 agains.

 

[franklin2323]

The same last 10 minutes without your FB, 5/8 & forwards in both centre positions?
Agree, Cleary totes should have won that game off his own back after being down 20-6 with 17 mins to go.
Oh, and QLD were down to 12 for the last 3 minutes only, after which the rest of the QLD team focused on slowing the ruck regardless of 6 agains.

Wighton and Gutherson went into their normal positions. That QLD team was horrible hopefully heads roll as a result.

Regardless I can't see that spine being there next year

 

[Smug Panther]

Was Naden's off field issues any part of not being in the run on side

Surely not. If his issues were that bad and known he wouldn't have played at all

 

[Kilkenny]

Wighton and Gutherson went into their normal positions. That QLD team was horrible hopefully heads roll as a result.

Regardless I can't see that spine being there next year

The horrible Qld team you refer too were better than NSW.

 

[franklin2323]

The horrible Qld team you refer too were better than NSW.

That is more on NSW then QLD. That QLD backline was full of fringe FGers

 

[Kilkenny]

That is more on NSW then QLD. That QLD backline was full of fringe FGers

Maybe, I’m not so sure. They certainly played above themselves, as Qld has a history of doing. Good luck to them, glad its over so we can at least get our own roster sorted.

 

[Abacus]

Wighton and Gutherson went into their normal positions. That QLD team was horrible hopefully heads roll as a result.

Regardless I can't see that spine being there next year

Wighton & Gutho wouldn't have trained or played in the spine for a few weeks. And again, forwards in the centres ...

Agree though, next year I see Tedesco & Cleary as certs for the spine. The 6 & 9 should go to the form players in the comp. Pick some centres to play in the centres & some props that like the hard stuff and at least give NSW a chance.

 

[franklin2323]

Wighton & Gutho wouldn't have trained or played in the spine for a few weeks. And again, forwards in the centres ...

Agree though, next year I see Tedesco & Cleary as certs for the spine. The 6 & 9 should go to the form players in the comp. Pick some centres to play in the centres & some props that like the hard stuff and at least give NSW a chance.

I think Cook is gone. I'd have Keary not sure if he can play with Cleary though. So it will be open which is good