Knightmare
Coach
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Having watched a replay of the tries scored, Merritt plays a big part in 3 of Qld's tries. Twice he runs in off his wing, giving Qld open space, and for the third he made a pathetic attempt to tackle Inglis that I can't help but think most other Origin wingers would have been able to execute and stop Inglis before getting to the line. Right there is 3 converted tries, 18 points which Qld might not have scored otherwise. Take 18 points from the Maroons' score tonight and you'd have a final score of 8-6, or 12-6 adjusted for the two penalty goals JT kicked.
Debating the merit of all penalties Qld received in the opening 20 is for another thread. Fact is, when a side like Qld get continual possession within 20 metres of their tryline for the opening quarter of a match, there is a good chance they will score twice. That laid the groundwork for their win tonight. NSW had a huge defensive load in that opening 20 which had them chasing their tails for the rest of the game, but I can't fault the way they hung in there during the match.
I still give NSW a very good chance at wrapping the series up in Sydney. I doubt they will be put on the back foot even half as much as they were tonight. People are quick to blame Pearce and Maloney, but nobody was writing them off after Game 1. It seems that suddenly they are expected to have lifted NSW out of the mire tonight, but you can't ignore that fact that Qld made the best with what they were given. I don't think tonights' game was a fair reflection on the ability of the Blues. Had Qld been put under the pump to the same extent, I don't think the story (especially in the opening half) would have been too much different.
I only hope that Daley and the selectors don't panic over the scoreboard and shoot themselves in the foot with knee-jerk reactions. If Qld have everything go as smoothly in Game 3 as it did in the opening 20 minutes of the game tonight, credit to them. But I don't see it happening again. Tonight was a bizarre night in quite a few regards. I don't see it repeating in the decider, and I think NSW have what it takes to wrap up the series.
Debating the merit of all penalties Qld received in the opening 20 is for another thread. Fact is, when a side like Qld get continual possession within 20 metres of their tryline for the opening quarter of a match, there is a good chance they will score twice. That laid the groundwork for their win tonight. NSW had a huge defensive load in that opening 20 which had them chasing their tails for the rest of the game, but I can't fault the way they hung in there during the match.
I still give NSW a very good chance at wrapping the series up in Sydney. I doubt they will be put on the back foot even half as much as they were tonight. People are quick to blame Pearce and Maloney, but nobody was writing them off after Game 1. It seems that suddenly they are expected to have lifted NSW out of the mire tonight, but you can't ignore that fact that Qld made the best with what they were given. I don't think tonights' game was a fair reflection on the ability of the Blues. Had Qld been put under the pump to the same extent, I don't think the story (especially in the opening half) would have been too much different.
I only hope that Daley and the selectors don't panic over the scoreboard and shoot themselves in the foot with knee-jerk reactions. If Qld have everything go as smoothly in Game 3 as it did in the opening 20 minutes of the game tonight, credit to them. But I don't see it happening again. Tonight was a bizarre night in quite a few regards. I don't see it repeating in the decider, and I think NSW have what it takes to wrap up the series.
