Origin 2013 NSW side

[joseph1]

146 tries in 208 matches. A third of those for a team running near last. That's why Merritt comes into calculations. His finishing is top-notch. If they pick him for Origin I guarantee he will score a try. It depends what we want from a winger. If we want him to score tries then Merritt would be infinately more use to us than a McManus or a Taufua. Or even a Brett Morris in my opinion. Same type of player, but Merritt is silkier and reads the game better.

 

[Hutty1986]

146 tries in 208 matches. A third of those for a team running near last. That's why Merritt comes into calculations. His finishing is top-notch. If they pick him for Origin I guarantee he will score a try. It depends what we want from a winger. If we want him to score tries then Merritt would be infinately more use to us than a McManus or a Taufua. Or even a Brett Morris in my opinion. Same type of player, but Merritt is silkier and reads the game better.

I have no doubt Merritt would score

...in a 46-4 NSW loss

 

[Joker's Wild]

146 tries in 208 matches. A third of those for a team running near last. That's why Merritt comes into calculations. His finishing is top-notch. If they pick him for Origin I guarantee he will score a try. It depends what we want from a winger. If we want him to score tries then Merritt would be infinately more use to us than a McManus or a Taufua. Or even a Brett Morris in my opinion. Same type of player, but Merritt is silkier and reads the game better.

http://troll.me/images/full-genius/you-went-full-genius-never-go-full-genius.jpg

 

[big hit!]

146 tries in 208 matches. A third of those for a team running near last. That's why Merritt comes into calculations. His finishing is top-notch. If they pick him for Origin I guarantee he will score a try. It depends what we want from a winger. If we want him to score tries then Merritt would be infinately more use to us than a McManus or a Taufua. Or even a Brett Morris in my opinion. Same type of player, but Merritt is silkier and reads the game better.

I reckon Tafua has been exceptional in his short career so far and he is built like an Ox for a small bloke. It's a bit like Hoppa who? for Manly down the left wing since his departure.

Tafua's power will be more of an asset in Origin, IMO.

and I support Souths.

Then again, I would not be disappointed if he were selected. Has done just about everything right to earn a call up. Looking at my team a few posts above, it may seem a bit heavy and you'd think someone like Merrett alongside Jennings on the left would run riot with the ball. It just seems to be a big defensive weakness too, particularly against bigger guys like Hodges and Tate.

 

[Allstar Knights]

McManus > Merritt

 

[HowHigh]

146 tries in 208 matches. A third of those for a team running near last. That's why Merritt comes into calculations. His finishing is top-notch. If they pick him for Origin I guarantee he will score a try. It depends what we want from a winger. If we want him to score tries then Merritt would be infinately more use to us than a McManus or a Taufua. Or even a Brett Morris in my opinion. Same type of player, but Merritt is silkier and reads the game better.

You're kidding yourself if you think Merritt reads the game better than Morris.

Without trolling, Uate, Gordon and Taufua should get the nod before Merritt. (I could have named another 5 wingers but I put Merritt behind the 3 I mentioned)

 

[BennyV]

146 tries in 208 matches. A third of those for a team running near last. That's why Merritt comes into calculations. His finishing is top-notch. If they pick him for Origin I guarantee he will score a try. It depends what we want from a winger. If we want him to score tries then Merritt would be infinately more use to us than a McManus or a Taufua. Or even a Brett Morris in my opinion. Same type of player, but Merritt is silkier and reads the game better.

There is more to origin than just catching the ball and falling over the tryline, often wingers have to create their own tries, and while I would prefer Merritt over a lot of wingers, QLD simply wouldnt be too worried about him out on the wing. When it comes to being complete wingers for origin, Merritt comes in behind Taufua, Uate, Gordon and well behind Morris.

That being said, I admit he will be there given the media push for it. And if we lose, he wont be the reason. However, he doesnt contribute as much as those mentioned above.

And whoever suggested McManus needs to get their head checked.

 

[gronkathon]

I just had a horrible thought....Kidley NSW fullback.....Laurie.....

*cries a little*

f**k you. I was having a good day

 

[Different kind of Rabbit]

I really don't know which Nathan Merritt you guys are all talking about but it certainly isn't the one who plays for Souths...

"Can't create his own opportunities", "just falls over the line"... Give me a break. He is a very smart footballer and a dead set try sneak. Just look at the short side play e ran on the weekend after the Inglis break, using an offside defender as a shield to sneak between two markers and score.

You don't get to be one of the top 10 nrl tryscorers of all time by just falling over the line. Especially when most of your career, you play for a team who is last or there abouts on the ladder. I'd like to see how a McManus or a Uate would go running around outside Joe Williams or Ben Rogers ffs. For at least 8 - 10 years of Merritt's career, the halves and centres who were there to create for him were absolute shit.

You don't get any more x-factor than Merritt. The truth is, he has many more strings to his bow than most of you give him credit for. He would easily have kicked for himself and regathered to score more than any other winger in history, just for a start. He would also be up top of the list for all time intercepts as well. You don't get to see him running in broken play very often, but go back and watch those few games where he played fullback for us a few years back. He was absolutely dynamic from that position and even forced the opposition to rethink the way they kicked to him to the point where they would no longer present him with a broken line.

He very rarely makes a mistake and is one of the best I've seen at saving tries by taking an intercept on our line. Even in that famous clip of him dropping the ball while in the clear against the roosters to botch a try, it was after he took an intercept on Souths line to save a certain try at the other end.

At 28 years he certainly has the composure to play origin and he is one of the few wingers I know of who can even nail a field goal in desperate circumstances.

On top of all this, he is a reasonable quality goal kicker and while he won't be first choice for that job, NSW don't have a lot of depth there so he could certainly come in handy and wouldn't let the side down if required.

 

[Raider_69]

I just had a horrible thought....Kidley NSW fullback.....Laurie.....

*cries a little*

he wouldnt...



would he? :?

 

[BranVan3000]

I really don't know which Nathan Merritt you guys are all talking about but it certainly isn't the one who plays for Souths...

"Can't create his own opportunities", "just falls over the line"... Give me a break. He is a very smart footballer and a dead set try sneak. Just look at the short side play e ran on the weekend after the Inglis break, using an offside defender as a shield to sneak between two markers and score.

You don't get to be one of the top 10 nrl tryscorers of all time by just falling over the line. Especially when most of your career, you play for a team who is last or there abouts on the ladder. I'd like to see how a McManus or a Uate would go running around outside Joe Williams or Ben Rogers ffs. For at least 8 - 10 years of Merritt's career, the halves and centres who were there to create for him were absolute shit.

You don't get any more x-factor than Merritt. The truth is, he has many more strings to his bow than most of you give him credit for. He would easily have kicked for himself and regathered to score more than any other winger in history, just for a start. He would also be up top of the list for all time intercepts as well. You don't get to see him running in broken play very often, but go back and watch those few games where he played fullback for us a few years back. He was absolutely dynamic from that position and even forced the opposition to rethink the way they kicked to him to the point where they would no longer present him with a broken line.

He very rarely makes a mistake and is one of the best I've seen at saving tries by taking an intercept on our line. Even in that famous clip of him dropping the ball while in the clear against the roosters to botch a try, it was after he took an intercept on Souths line to save a certain try at the other end.

At 28 years he certainly has the composure to play origin and he is one of the few wingers I know of who can even nail a field goal in desperate circumstances.

On top of all this, he is a reasonable quality goal kicker and while he won't be first choice for that job, NSW don't have a lot of depth there so he could certainly come in handy and wouldn't let the side down if required.

Well said.

 

[joseph1]

Very well said. +BMoz has never done anything for NSW.

 

[Danish]

"Can't create his own opportunities", "just falls over the line"... Give me a break. He is a very smart footballer and a dead set try sneak. Just look at the short side play e ran on the weekend after the Inglis break, using an offside defender as a shield to sneak between two markers and score.

The one where he runs straight into an offisde marker, while the other one went the other way? the one where Hoffman if he was anything but an idiot would have simply tackled Merritt and conceded the penalty instead of literally putting his hands up and allowing merritt to walk over untouched?

Yep.... real tough to stroll over from 7m out without a man in front of you. Pure clasee :sarcasm:

He very rarely makes a mistake and is one of the best I've seen at saving tries by taking an intercept on our line. Even in that famous clip of him dropping the ball while in the clear against the roosters to botch a try, it was after he took an intercept on Souths line to save a certain try at the other end.

Might want to rewatch that clip mate.

He picked up a loose ball after the roosters play completely fell to shit through 2 knock ons, then stepped past a prop to make the break.

Not in any way, shape, or form an intercept.

You may be thinking of SKD's beautiful intercept taken a few minutes out from half time that DID save a try, and resulted in a roosters try.

His only claim to fame is scoring lots of tries. A great club man who would do in a pinch in origin covering for injuries but will never be considered a first choice option.

In short, he is the aboriginal El Masri

 

[BranVan3000]

NSW probably would have decided that Billy Slater is not big enough for fullback as well

 

[Danish]

I guess thats why Brett Hodgson never got a look in...

 

[Different kind of Rabbit]

The one where he runs straight into an offisde marker, while the other one went the other way? the one where Hoffman if he was anything but an idiot would have simply tackled Merritt and conceded the penalty instead of literally putting his hands up and allowing merritt to walk over untouched?

Yep.... real tough to stroll over from 7m out without a man in front of you. Pure clasee :sarcasm:

Completely fooled the two markers and Hoffman. Resulted in a try. Any other winger in the comp would have passed that ball. Sure we probably would have scored on the other side, but the dummy and skip down the blind was a heads up play. Something that requires a bit more intelligence than most give him credit for.

Might want to rewatch that clip mate.

He picked up a loose ball after the roosters play completely fell to shit through 2 knock ons, then stepped past a prop to make the break.

Not in any way, shape, or form an intercept.

You may be thinking of SKD's beautiful intercept taken a few minutes out from half time that DID save a try, and resulted in a roosters try.

His only claim to fame is scoring lots of tries. A great club man who would do in a pinch in origin covering for injuries but will never be considered a first choice option.

In short, he is the aboriginal El Masri

My apologies, I must be getting that mixed up with one of the other itercepts I've seen him take. My recollection of that game is getting a little dusty. Mainly because I've tried to put it out of my mind ever since it happened.

A lot of wingers have had longer careers than Merritt and in backlines that have been a hell of a lot better than what Merritt has featured in for most of his career. Most of them are nowhere near the top ten tryscorers of all time. He must be doing something right...

The other name for a winger is a finisher and the fact is, if he gets a look at the try line, he is very rarely stopped. He is a genuine finisher and one of the best at getting the ball down over the line that I have ever seen. He may not have the raw power of a Uate or he probably doesn't take a high ball as well as McManus but the fact is that if you get him the ball in space, he is gone.

Everyone seems to lose sight of the fact that the basic premise of Rugby League is to score more tries than the other team.

 

[joseph1]

NSW selectors just seem to want high ball takers, 'supposed' tough defenders, or big brutes on the wing. McManus, Monaghan, Uate etc. Finesse has been forgotten.

 

[Danish]

Hazem scored lots of tries too, and was the best goal kicker of all time. Luke Burt was another that could find the line and was also handy with the boot. Despite this there wasn't an abundance of calls for either of them to play origin (until the feel good PR media push to get Haz a spot in a dead rubber, obviously).

And those 2 actually COULD kick goals. Merritt, despite your claims earlier to the contrary, is a horrendous goal kicker (all time record of 58%)

 

[BranVan3000]

The one where he runs straight into an offisde marker, while the other one went the other way? the one where Hoffman if he was anything but an idiot would have simply tackled Merritt and conceded the penalty instead of literally putting his hands up and allowing merritt to walk over untouched?

Yep.... real tough to stroll over from 7m out without a man in front of you. Pure clasee :sarcasm:



Might want to rewatch that clip mate.

He picked up a loose ball after the roosters play completely fell to shit through 2 knock ons, then stepped past a prop to make the break.

Not in any way, shape, or form an intercept.

You may be thinking of SKD's beautiful intercept taken a few minutes out from half time that DID save a try, and resulted in a roosters try.

His only claim to fame is scoring lots of tries. A great club man who would do in a pinch in origin covering for injuries but will never be considered a first choice option.

In short, he is the aboriginal El Masri

Such nonsense, how the third try where he busts past a couple defenders and creates and offload for Goodwin to score against the Dogs. Or the first try against the Warriors where he took an intercept and beat three defenders, and turned the fullback in on himself to score in the corner. Then we have him outsmarting the Brisbane defence scoring down the short side. Just from this year alone those examples show he is able to beat defenders when needed, he can create for others and he has an exemplary read on the game that lets him score tries others wouldn't see.

Let's not forget he is not just standing at the end of a passing line, he is often involved in set plays that involve kicking to him, or him backing up on the inside of a break. It is one of his best attributes, that he is always there. There were half a dozen half breaks by the Blues last year that went nowhere because there was nobody backing up. Merritt would have been there.

 

[Rod]

Very well said. +BMoz has never done anything for NSW.

I was against him being picked last year due to his previous shockers for NSW but I must admit he had a good series last year and deserves to be picked if fit.