NRL’s great PAUL GALLEN will be appearing on Nine’s 100% FOOTY every Monday night of the NRL season, debating the hottest topics in the rugby league with Phil Gould and James Bracey. Tune in tonight at 22:45 (AEST) as they break down the two Origin teams!
Somehow, Queensland is in a dream position this year. Not even a staunch supporter of the Broncos or Cowboys would have expected their teams to finish third or fourth after 12 rounds of competition, but that’s where they are and that has allowed Billy Slater to pick fit players.
The Queensland side looks very good. It hadn’t seemed so dangerous on paper since the dynasty years.
Having players on teams where you have fun and have fun is a little different from having players coming to the field after the usual losses. If they are happy with club football, they will enter the field of origin very happy and safe, and that is a great benefit for Queensland and Billy Slater.
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I see why they have left David Fifita aside. He has not been at his best and has been injured for a few weeks. Whether or not he was right to return for the weekend, I don’t know, maybe he just wanted to play so he could get to the Queensland team.
David Fifita of the Maroons (Getty)
Obviously, Billy is choosing a side that is fit, not just for the guys who have been there before.
I had Jeremiah Nanai and Reuben Cotter by my side in Queensland when I picked him up for 100% Footy last week, so I have no problem with them being there. I think they are very good players.
Reuben Cotter is just a full-fledged player, he only plays every weekend. You can’t criticize him at all, he’s just an effort player. Billy has come out of the storm in Melbourne and I have played a lot of test football with Billy, he is very great in effort rather than in prioritizing skillful players. There is no better example of this than Reuben Cotter, he is excellent with all these areas of effort and will not disappoint anyone.
Jeremiah Nanai is attacked after he has scored a try. (Getty)
And the Nanai is one of the best rowers I’ve ever seen, especially the way he gets after kicks: high balls, drafts, he makes a good line. He is in great shape and there is no doubt that he deserves to be there.
This side of Queensland worries me a lot more than other recent Queensland sides. It looks like a very strong team throughout the park and is a more talented team than they have had in recent years.
Simply on paper, this is the closest series I’ve seen in many years. The Blues had years of dominance when guys like Joey and Freddy were at their peak and then you had the Queensland Dynasty years where they were clearly the most talented team. This has been back in the Blues for the past four years, but this year the talent seems very matched, so it’s a very difficult series to pick. I think it’s a 50/50 series, I really have it. I’m only leaning towards NSW because I’m blue.
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One of the reasons the two teams seem so evenly matched is the Blues ’injuries. You take two guys like Tommy Turbo and Latrell Mitchell from either side and it’s a loss, but I wouldn’t say his absence takes the aura out of NSW. They still have a lot of players on this side who have won competitions and Origin series, so from that point of view it’s still a really good side.
Turbo was NSW’s best player last year and is so special at the home level: he goes from a club-wide side to playing in the centers and appearing all over the park, so it’s a defeat, not there is no doubt, it is a loss. , but the guys who are replacing them in the centers are quality players in their own right. Hopefully a rookie like Kotoni Staggs can come and destroy Queensland and we’ll have another superstar there.
The center of Brisbane Kotoni Staggs. (Getty)
The Blues have chosen a good squad, I will not argue. There may be some omissions that people scratch their heads a bit, but when you look at the team as a whole I think it’s a very good team.
I know they’ve lost a few big guns in the last six weeks, but I think this is a good enough team to do the job.
I had Addo-Carr on my staff. But I think when you look at the selection of Daniel Tupou there is a good case, he has been there before and flies for the Roosters.
But when you look at the recent history of Origin, NSW has won three of the last four series and Addo-Carr has been a mainstay. So I think that’s why the question has been raised or people are shaking their heads, Addo-Carr has been the first pick chosen in previous years when NSW has been successful.
Brad Fittler speaks after naming his Blues team for the first game
That said, when you look at Tupou’s playing ability and what the NSW team will face, it could be an aerial assault with its very big ends, Tupou will obviously fight it.
On the other hand, you have To’o, who is not a tall man either, so if you have two ends that are not tall, it can be a problem. Selwyn Cobbo and Xavier Coates have big jumps and will be targets for kickers, so having Tupou on one side can help the Blues face that threat.
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Addo-Carr is also probably a victim of the circumstances. Play on a team that is at the bottom of the ladder. He’s still playing well. Addo-Carr is on the edge, he’s used to being on a team that is at the top of the ladder and scores a lot of attempts. He has not had the opportunities he has become accustomed to this year playing the Bulldogs. When you’re on the sidelines and you play on a team that isn’t creating opportunities, you can’t do much.
I think the Addo-Carr case is probably a warning to other players, particularly in the extremes, that if you leave a successful club to join one of the clubs at the bottom of the ladder, you’re putting your representative shirts in play. In the end, you can only do so many things.
Josh Addo-Carr of the Bulldogs (Getty)
Obviously, you can raise your hand to grab covers that come out of your own end, which is an important part of Origin, but at the end of the day it’s your job to score points. If you’re at the bottom of a bottom line that doesn’t give you the space and time to score these points, it can affect your chances of playing representative football. I think everyone knows that, I think it’s always been that way. It should definitely be something that players keep in mind when they leave to go to wrestling clubs. And the fact that you can lose the $ 60,000-100,000 a year you get from playing home football should be taken into account when signing the contract.
I would have had Jake Trbojevic on my team, he’s another one of those guys since the blues started to be successful. And he was probably the first striker chosen at the start. I think Jake Trbojevic, everyone knows what he’s going to achieve when he’s on the sidelines, he’s a full-fledged player who puts his body on the line every time he goes out on the field, so I don’t think there’s any doubt. marks on Jake’s skill.
The other thing is that the game has slowed down again this year, it’s not as fast as the last two years with the rule of six again changing the dynamics on the field. I think the big man has been involved again this year, so I’m not sure the style of play has worked at all against Jake Trbojevic, I just think some of the guys in front of him are playing really well.
Jake Trbojevic in action for NSW. (Getty)
Those who were chosen not to be by my side were the Knights players, Tyson Frizell and Jacob Saifiti. They’re probably the two who seem a little out of place when you look at the decision not to choose Trbojevic or Addo-Carr, because they’re in a similar position with their club team and haven’t really been knocking on the door. .
Another point of conversation on the NSW team is Joseph Suaalii, who is still only 18 years old. He has only played 12 first-class matches, but we have already seen how good he is in the air and what a great athlete. I hope he plays Origin in the next few years, so it’s a good idea for Freddy to make him bleed at camp this year so he can get an idea of this step. In past years you probably haven’t been able to do that, but these 22-player teams create an opportunity for potential young players before they join the team.
Origin is a different beast, it’s so full, so players can definitely be surprised if they haven’t been there and seen it from the inside, so I think Freddy is very smart to get used to it.
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