By MICHAEL BYRNES
IT’S not so much that the Queenslanders didn’t fire a shot in Origin I — more that they didn’t bring any ammo. Kevin Walters and the selectors clearly intended to remedy that deficiency in picking a side for game two.
On paper, Origin I looked a fairly lopsided affair and that’s the way it ultimately played out. Minus Johnathan Thurston, Greg Inglis, Matt Scott and Billy Slater, the task was always going to difficult. In the days before the game, one Sydney writer openly mocked the threat (or lack thereof) posed by Nate Myles. And while Myles worked his backside off, he looked about half the size of his NSW counterparts.
Critics said the Queensland forwards didn’t put in. That’s not how it looked to me. They just got belted by bigger, faster, more skilful bodies. The injury to Dylan Napa at the end of his first stint was critical in fast-tracking Queensland’s demise. He and Josh Papalii had looked capable of throwing some counterpunches but his failure to return until late in the game was telling. Papalii couldn’t do it alone, Matt Gillett was uncharacteristically ineffectual, and the rest of the Queensland forwards (Myles, Aiden Guerra, Jacob Lillyman, Sam Thaiday, Josh McGuire) are tradesman-like performers and that is the type of effort they produced.
Walters hinted today that he might also have seen the outcome at Suncorp Stadium coming, saying that sweeping changes were always on the cards in the case of a heavy defeat in the opener. Whether or not that was bluster, Walters has certainly rung in the changes, assembling a far more formidable and multi-faceted array of weaponry. The Blues will know they are in for a sterner examination.
In the backs, Walters has rectified what always looked like selection blunders in game one. The centre pairing should always have been Dane Gagai and Will Chambers, both of whom were outstanding running the ball out of trouble in the opener, which was lucky in a way, because for a good 60 minutes of the game that’s pretty much all Queensland did. No offence intended but Justin O’Neill shouldn’t have been picked. And as good a fullback as Darius Boyd is, Billy Slater, even at 33, adds once-in-a-lifetime levels of energy and instinct. His absence in the custodian role in Origin I was inexcusable, even more so given the unavailability of Thurston. Having both Boyd and Slater in the backline gives Thurston and Cooper Cronk myriad options in attack, something Queensland sorely lacked in Brisbane.
Corey Oates can think himself unlucky. He ran hard early but seemed to get a knock around the 20 minute mark which restricted his trademark power running. But he has proven he can play at this level and his size would seem to be even more of an asset on the slippery ANZ Stadium surface. Having said that, Valentine Holmes is a genuine star and more than capable of proving me wrong — but I would have kept Oates.
Finally, the return of the ultimate competitor Jonathan Thurston has the potential to change almost everything that went wrong for the Maroons in game one. His presence alone means almost as much as his unfathomable individual abilities, inspiring everyone around him, taking the pressure off Cronk, giving the kicking game a complete overhaul, and bringing Queenslanders’ running forwards into the game. He expands the Maroons’ attacking options exponentially. Yet perhaps most importantly, for the Blues, seeing Thurston lining up opposite them must be like walking out onto a clay court with Raphael Nadal at the other end. You’re half beaten before you even begin.
If the backline tweaks give Queensland options they sorely missed in the opener, the forwards are still where they have some questions to answer. That’s to be expected. There were never going to be any easy solutions to what happened in Game I. Thaiday, Myles and Lillyman have been outstanding servants for many years but the series opener demonstrated that Origin level is now beyond them. Dropping Guerra is difficult to figure out. He didn’t get on until the game was out of reach. What did Walters expect him to do? He might have had an X on his forehead heading into Origin I.
So who do the Maroons have waiting in the wings?
Coen Hess is an out-and- out superstar, but has he been picked a year too early? Gavin Cooper played game three last year, is a tireless defender and quality hole-runner but he’s remained on the fringes of Origin selection for some years. Jarrod Wallace should have been picked in Origin I but had to be exonerated by the judiciary in order to take the field. And Melbourne Storm prop Tim Glasby has come from the clouds to be named. He’s as honest and hard-working as they come, but the monster NSW pack won’t exactly be quaking in their boots at his selection.
While the Maroons were conducting meatball surgery on their lineup for game two, the Blues took their team sheet from Game I and ran it through the office copier — then got back to business. Yet it’s deja vu all over again. It’s 2015, the Blues are up 1-0, and the media has crowned a new era! How do they handle that? The Maroons’ nucleus of future Immortals was apparently tapering off in 2014, yet they somehow extracted three more years of elite performances from their ageing bodies. Can they go to the well one more time, or are the Blues finally ready to assert their dominance?
Prediction:
While the Maroons present a significantly upgraded threat to what they offered in Origin I, the Blues know what they need to do. They didn’t drop their heads when Corey Oates scored to narrow the gap to 6-4 in Game I, nuetralising all of the Blues first-half dominance. They took their game to another level. They also know Queensland will be gunning for them in game two. The greasy ANZ Stadium surface is conducive to knife-edge results. This one will be no different. One or two points either way.
NSW 19, QLD 18
