Top props endorse Nutley
By Paul Malone
June 1, 2005
TIRELESS Cronulla prop Danny Nutley says Queensland State of Origin call-up recommendations from Test front-rowers Shane Webcke and Paul Harragon have given him a "buzz", but he does not give much for his selection chances.
Webcke said Nutley, 31, would be the perfect "stopgap" choice when Queensland selectors announce a replacement for injured Steven Price on Monday for the June 15 re-match with NSW in Sydney.
Nutley said Harragon, NSW's most capped Origin prop with 20 games, had told him he expected him to have played his way into Queensland's team for the first match at Suncorp Stadium, won 24-20 by the Maroons.
Nutley, a Redcliffe junior who has added defensive steel and workrate to a Cronulla team running third in the NRL, is in contention for a call-up with North Queensland prop Shane Tronc and Bronco Corey Parker.
He is keen to excel against Tronc in a Sharks-Cowboys clash in Townsville on Saturday night.
Former Queensland captain and coach Paul Vautin also advocated Nutley's selection based on his form and hitting power.
"A lot of people keep saying to me: 'You've got to be in there, Price is out'. But I ignore it," Nutley said yesterday.
"If I was called up it would be great. If not, that's life and I'll keep trying to play my best for Cronulla. We have a big game this weekend and if I get in, I get in.
"Chief (Harragon) said to me a couple of weeks ago: 'Good luck because I think you should get in'. When you hear people of that stature say it, it gives you a buzz. Players like that were my idols, particularly Fatty (Vautin)."
Advertisement:
Nutley has never been selected in a Queensland emerging squad, as Tronc was earlier this year, and his main representative honours are limited to two games for Queensland's under-19s.
Sharks coach Stuart Raper said Nutley's fitness would allow him to handle the pace of Origin games as one of the oldest Maroons to make his debut. Arthur Beetson was the oldest at 35 in the inaugural 1980 game.
"His competitive nature suits State of Origin. He has so much passion and desire about his game, which is what Origin is all about," Raper said.
"I know they always talk about the intensity and speed of it, but Nuts would handle that lift because he'd be one of our fittest players. "The way he plays the game would suit how Queensland utilise their props."
