Moving the Mal discussion from the NSW thread over to here since RBM's PM has been disabled.
Take 2
RBM, you're wrong in saying that Mal 'dropped' or 'stuck' by certain players. In most cases the players were simply unavailable either through retirement (Sing & Bowman), injuries (Ty & Ross) or he actually selected them for a number of games (Webb, Bowen).
Players such as Parker & Harrison weren't initially retained and only became apart of the squad when either Queensland were desperate or their form was simply too irresistible.
Mal has been a great coach for a lot of reasons but the examples you're using are simply wrong and should be refined.
I apologise.I forgot that I had disabled my PM capability.Try now.I included you in my contact list.
Sing should have been dropped long before he retired.Big heart.Tough QLDer.A real talent in his prime.I just think that his prime had passed,by 2005.
Ross is a good player but not cut out for Origin.Gutsy,shocking injuries.Should have achieved more at club level.Can have moments where he is a passenger in any side.
Bowen is brilliant at club level and has exhibited flashes of that brilliance at Origin level,but he hasn't seemed to be able to translate what he does at club level onto the Origin field.
Webb has had his moments at Origin level,but was really not capable enough to shine at Origin level.Patchy at Origin level,patchy at club level.Has been out of contention due to poor form for too long now to be even considered a possibility.Back then I liked him,but Mal was smart and used him for a while until it was obvious that he offered too little to be considered.
Parker has never really played to his full potential at any level.Not even Origin.Read between the lines of what I just said about Parker.I really rate the guy.He can be a great player.He should have been a regular at the top level,but for whatever reason,reasons I don't know,he has never played to his full potential.
Harrison doesn't have the talent of Parker, he is not stellar in attack,but is also not a liability in defense.He can hold his head up as a contributing element to the victories that he has played in.
I like Tonga.He has some improvement to make in attack,where he has some irritating deficiencies that blunt what he can do there.His defense is solid.His attack just needs some slight tweeking,and he could be a better Origin try scorer.Gutsy,gutsy player.I have no idea how he played with one arm disabled in Game 1 last year.How did he manage to make his tackles with one arm?Unbelievable.
I still maintain that Mal's selections have been uncanny at Origin level.Who would have selected Adam Mogg for instance?Mal did and Mogg repaid in spades.
I think that Mal has the knack of getting the best out of players, at Origin level.They seem to play better for him than they play for most of their coaches.Bennett is more likely a better coach.There are probably a few better coaches than Mal,but at this rep level Mal gets results.
I'd love to see Tate return to top form,because he is good in attack and defense.The question is how good is his form.There is no question about his commitment if selected.
