QLD Team 2017

[big hit!]

QLD have an issue with Hess on the bench and using him as a middle. He was impotent there last series and nothing changed last night. Walters will probably bring in Scott but the other middles Wallace and Arrow need to step up again. McGuire surprised me with the amount of mins he played after missing a month of footy. Papalii has moved to the middle for Canberra and he did well last night. Just can't play big mins.

If Gillett can return, he may find himself on the left as there is no way you dump Kaufusi from the right.

QLD can improve for mine. They had blocks where they were on top. Hunt never really took on the line as he has with Illawarra this season. Maybe the injury was on his mind.

And of course, Slater will be back and there will be a case for Ponga on the bench. It's could leave Morgan out of the squad. He was solid but nowhere near the form he had guiding the cows to the GF last season.

Game 2 will be great.

 

[betcats]

Kafusi impressed me with his defence.

 

[Valheru]

What odds on Smith playing game 2?

I expect both him and JT will play game 3 regardless of game 2 result. Just call it a testimonial.

 

[Broncoandy]

Kaufusi was a beast last night. Man of the match performance

 

[Pete Cash]

He missed a ridiculous amount of tackles

 

[BennyV]

Moving Hunt to 9 was a Laurie Daley-esque stroke of idiocy. He wasnt taking on the line as much but he was controlling the game well, kicking very well and directing the team around the park.

Agree about Hess coming on and playing as a middle. NSW did the same sorta thing moving Friz to the middle when Crichton came on, the former was monstering the QLD edges while the latter was fairly ineffective.

Series is far from over.

 

[isaiah]

QLD have an issue with Hess on the bench and using him as a middle. He was impotent there last series and nothing changed last night. Walters will probably bring in Scott but the other middles Wallace and Arrow need to step up again. McGuire surprised me with the amount of mins he played after missing a month of footy. Papalii has moved to the middle for Canberra and he did well last night. Just can't play big mins.

If Gillett can return, he may find himself on the left as there is no way you dump Kaufusi from the right.

QLD can improve for mine. They had blocks where they were on top. Hunt never really took on the line as he has with Illawarra this season. Maybe the injury was on his mind.

And of course, Slater will be back and there will be a case for Ponga on the bench. It's could leave Morgan out of the squad. He was solid but nowhere near the form he had guiding the cows to the GF last season.

Game 2 will be great.

Disagree on kaufusi, bad miss in a try and offered very little on the edge aside from the chambers drop ball

 

[big hit!]

Disagree on kaufusi, bad miss in a try and offered very little on the edge aside from the chambers drop ball

saw the highlights and yes Kafusi actually had several poor moments. He had some contributions too but the defensive lapses is something you definitely didn't see with Gillett there.

 

[Tommy Smith]

Ponga is QLDs best eligible player.

And he might not get picked again.

Great work QLD.

"Loyalty" works a treat when you have a few future Immortals papering over the cracks.

But without Smith & JT you'll need to wake up and smell the roses sooner rather than later.

And in their absence Qld were impotent in attack so Ponga is a must, surely.

 

[LineBall]

If Ponga is selected, then hopefully he comes on with more than 10 minutes left in the game. Milford had little time to do anything effective, considering QLD needed to get points quickly.

 

[Spot On]

QLD bench and starting props are balls.

 

[Pedge1971]

QLD bench and starting props are balls.

Sadly they were last year as well....

 

[big hit!]

QLD bench and starting props are balls.

McCulloch not being able to play 80' is an issue too......gets through a mountain of work in defence, but at this level your #9 has to be able to do it all. It's why I don't agree with Hunt there either because he may offer something in possession, but he's a f**king liability in the middle in defence.

Shame for QLD Granville has been playing shit this season because that merkin can be f**king damaging. has had some very good seasons but a big dip in form at the wrong time for his own rep aspirations.

 

[beave]

McCulloch not being able to play 80' is an issue too......gets through a mountain of work in defence, but at this level your #9 has to be able to do it all. It's why I don't agree with Hunt there either because he may offer something in possession, but he's a f**king liability in the middle in defence.

Shame for QLD Granville has been playing shit this season because that merkin can be f**king damaging. has had some very good seasons but a big dip in form at the wrong time for his own rep aspirations.

Granvilles service from DH has been deplorable this year. He should be getting pinged for more forward passes than he is, hardly ever runs it and can’t really kick. His defence is the only thing that makes him a positive contributor out there but even then he gets involved too much and gets gassed. Im actually surprised they’ve re-signed him for another 3 years, although he is one of Greens Wynumn pets so it was always going to happen.

None of the NQ boys deserved to be picked for origin this year. The only one that has been playing at a high level all season is Feldt but he would be behind Oates and the current wingers.

Good times for NQ.

 

[KeepingTheFaith]

QLD only went into the game with 2 genuine props. Papalli and Hess are part timers at best.

I'd be bringing in Scott and Glasby, pushing Papalli to second row instead of Cooper and dropping Arrow.

Only thing that keeps Hess over Arrow is that I think Kaufusi was exposed a bit once fatigue set in and that's also Hess' best spot so they can interchange.

Papalli hasn't been great this year, but if you're Nathan Cleary you're far more comfortable dealing with Cooper than Papalli.

8. Scott
9. McCullough
10. Glasby
11. Papalli
12. Kaufusi
13. McGuire

15. Napa
16. Wallace
17. Hess

 

[SBD82]

McCulloch not being able to play 80' is an issue too......gets through a mountain of work in defence, but at this level your #9 has to be able to do it all. It's why I don't agree with Hunt there either because he may offer something in possession, but he's a f**king liability in the middle in defence.

Shame for QLD Granville has been playing shit this season because that merkin can be f**king damaging. has had some very good seasons but a big dip in form at the wrong time for his own rep aspirations.

QLD has been blessed to have a hooker with such longevity who was so good for the whole game. Auto pick, senior playing group or captain, leader, great defender, great vision, great service, great clutch player.

It's easy to say that a SOO hooker needs all of those attributes, but I'd challenge you to name one other hooker in the history of SOO who has all of those attributes and delivered consistently.

If McCullough didn't have to follow Smith I think QLDers would be less critical of his game. Put him up against any of Smith's predecessors and he would be there or thereabouts.

 

[big hit!]

QLD has been blessed to have a hooker with such longevity who was so good for the whole game. Auto pick, senior playing group or captain, leader, great defender, great vision, great service, great clutch player.

It's easy to say that a SOO hooker needs all of those attributes, but I'd challenge you to name one other hooker in the history of SOO who has all of those attributes and delivered consistently.

If McCullough didn't have to follow Smith I think QLDers would be less critical of his game. Put him up against any of Smith's predecessors and he would be there or thereabouts.

yes, a tough gig, and I'm not expecting McCulloch to be all those things, but a #9 at rep level has to provide some form of threat around the ruck and Andrew doesn't.

 

[SBD82]

yes, a tough gig, and I'm not expecting McCulloch to be all those things, but a #9 at rep level has to provide some form of threat around the ruck and Andrew doesn't.

That's fair enough. Having watched NSW get so desperate that we picked peats last year I can kind of understand your pain.

I think you can have a 9 who isn't creative as long as the rest of the spine has the right balance. Slater might prove the difference because he will take the shots at the NSW middle that qld failed to aim at in game 1.

Might also need to think about the halves/hooker balance. With hunt and Munster both at their best when they are running, the lack of a scheming hooker is more apparent. With no other real option at 9, the 6 or 7 might become the casualty.

 

[big hit!]

That's fair enough. Having watched NSW get so desperate that we picked peats last year I can kind of understand your pain.

I think you can have a 9 who isn't creative as long as the rest of the spine has the right balance. Slater might prove the difference because he will take the shots at the NSW middle that qld failed to aim at in game 1.

Might also need to think about the halves/hooker balance. With hunt and Munster both at their best when they are running, the lack of a scheming hooker is more apparent. With no other real option at 9, the 6 or 7 might become the casualty.

If your #9 is no threat around the ruck, then your team is at a massive disadvantage as you know what is going to happen each and every time. The job of the halves is that much harder. It's a bit like american football with offences using the run to set up the pass or vice versa. Has to be a balance from the #9 and to know when to apply it and when not too. Smith was great at this, Farah did it too often. NSW first try came from Cook taking advantage of QLD disorganisation around the ruck. QLD can't do this with McCulloch which is why he's not a rep level #9.

I wouldn't at all be surprised if Granville is called in for Game 2. He's playing shit house for NQ but he offers more.

I've written in the well done NSW thread that the problem with the halves was disorganisation of the team. Hunt didn't train much during the week and the role of managing the team would've been/is his. Frankly, without Hunt training and none of the major organisers of the last decade in the team, QLD camp was a waste of time. Munster isn't an organiser and lets this job to Smith and Slater at Melbourne. Even having Slater at FB directing the forwards around with carries would've been helpful, but he wasn't there either. To be in the game for as long as QLD were when NSW had Maloney directing the team around the way he was is a credit to QLD, imo.

QLD need a settled team for Game 2 camp. If any player in the spine can't train from session #1, then Kevvie needs to make the call early and say not playing and bring in the next bloke who can. They're not playing with a 10-year old combination any more. It's only days young.

 

[isaiah]

Slater at fb for game 2, Morgan back to bench, we need 5 middles and 3 edge forwards. I would prefer both Hess and papalii on an edge and I believe Cooper is better than kaufusi at this time. Wallace, napa, Maguire, arrow, and Bateman are my 5 middles so no to glasby, Matt Scott , ofahengaue, and kaufusi.