NRL great PAUL GALLEN will appear on Nine’s 100% FOOTY every Monday night of the NRL season, debating rugby league’s hottest topics alongside Phil Gould and James Bracey. Tune in tonight at 10:45pm (AEST) as they break down both Origin squads!
In some ways Queensland is in a dream position this year. Not even a staunch Broncos or Cowboys supporter would have expected their teams to be coming third or fourth after 12 rounds of the competition but that’s where they are and that has allowed Billy Slater to pick players who are in form.
The Queensland side looks very good. It hasn’t looked this dangerous on paper since the dynasty years.
Having players in teams where you’re enjoying yourself and having fun is a bit different to having players coming into camp off the back of regular losses. If they’re happy at club footy they’re going to walk into Origin camp really happy and confident and that’s a huge benefit for Queensland and Billy Slater.
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I can see why they’ve left out David Fifita. He hasn’t been at his devastating best and he’s been injured for a few weeks. Whether or not he was right to come back on the weekend I don’t know, he might have just wanted to play so he could make the Queensland side.
Billy’s obviously picking a side that’s in form, not just going for guys who have been there before.
I had Jeremiah Nanai and Reuben Cotter in my Queensland side when I picked it for 100% Footy last week, so I’ve got no problem that they’re there. I think they’re really really good players.
Reuben Cotter’s just a whole-hearted player, he just plays his guts out every weekend. You can’t fault him at all, he’s just an effort player. Billy’s come out of the Melbourne Storm and I played a lot of Test footy with Billy, he’s big on effort more than prioritising players with skill. There’s no better example of that than Reuben Cotter, he’s outstanding with all those effort areas and he won’t let anyone down.
And Nanai’s one of the best try-scoring back-rowers I’ve ever seen, especially the way he gets after kicks – high balls, grubbers, he runs a good line. He’s in hot form and there’s no doubt he deserves to be there.
This Queensland side worries me far more than other recent Queensland sides have. It looks a really strong team all the way across the park and it’s a more talented team than they’ve had in recent years.
Purely on paper, this is the closest series I’ve seen in many many years. The Blues had years of dominance when guys like Joey and Freddy were at their peak and then you had Queensland’s dynasty years where they were clearly the more talented team. That’s swung back to the Blues over the last four years or so but this year the talent looks really even, so it’s a very tough series to pick. I think it’s a 50/50 series, I really do. I’m only leaning towards NSW because I’m a Blue.
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Part of the reason the two sides look so even is the injuries to the Blues. You take two guys like Tommy Turbo and Latrell Mitchell out of any side and it’s a loss but I wouldn’t say that their absence takes away NSW’s aura. They’ve still got a lot of players in that side who have won competitions and Origin series, so from that point of view it’s still a very good side.
Turbo was NSW’s best player last year and he’s so special at Origin level – he goes from a fullback at club level to playing in the centres and popping up all over the park, so he’s a loss, there’s no doubt about that, he’s a loss, but the guys who are replacing them in the centres are quality players in their own right. Hopefully a rookie like Kotoni Staggs can come on and destroy Queensland and we’ll have another superstar there.
The Blues have picked a good squad, I’m not going to argue with it. There might be a few omissions that people might scratch their head about a little bit but when you look at the squad as a whole I think it’s a very good squad.
I know they’ve lost a few big guns over the last six weeks but I think that’s a good enough squad to do the job.
I had Addo-Carr in my squad. But I think when you look at the selection of Daniel Tupou there’s a good case for it, he’s been there before and he’s flying for the Roosters.
But when you look at recent Origin history, NSW have won three of the last four series and Addo-Carr’s been a mainstay. So I think that’s why the question’s been raised or people are shaking their head about it, Addo-Carr’s been the first winger picked in those previous years when NSW have had success.
That being said, when you look at the playing ability of Tupou and what the NSW team is going to come up against, it could be an aerial assault with their really big wingers, Tupou’s obviously going to combat that.
On the other side you’ve got To’o who’s not a tall man either, so if you’ve got two wingers who are not tall that might be an issue. Selwyn Cobbo and Xavier Coates both have big leaps and they’ll be targets for the kickers, so having Tupou on one side it can help the Blues deal with that threat.
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Addo-Carr is probably a victim of circumstance as well. He’s playing in a team that’s down the bottom of the ladder. He’s still playing well. Addo-Carr’s on the wing, he’s used to being in a team that’s up the top of the ladder and scoring plenty of tries. He hasn’t had the opportunities he’s used to this year playing for the Bulldogs. When you’re out on the wing and you’re playing in a team that’s not creating opportunities there’s not much you can do.
I think the Addo-Carr case is probably a warning to other players, particular wingers, that if you leave a successful club to join one of the clubs towards the bottom of the ladder you’re putting your rep jerseys on the line. As a winger there’s only so much you can do.
Obviously you can put your hand up to take carries coming 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 on the end of a backline that’s not giving you the space and time to score those points it can affect your chances of playing rep footy. I think everyone knows that, I think it’s always been the case. It’s definitely got to be something players consider when they leave to go to battling clubs. And the fact that you might miss out on the $60,000-$100,000 a year that you get for playing rep footy should be factored in when the contract is being signed.
I would have had Jake Trbojevic in my team, he’s another one of those guys who’s been around since the Blues started having success. And he was probably the first forward picked early on. I think Jake Trbojevic, everyone knows what they’re going to get when he’s in the side, he’s a whole-hearted player who puts his body on the line every time he steps onto the field, so I don’t think there’s any question marks over Jake’s ability.
The other thing is the game has slowed right down again this year, it’s nowhere near as fast as it was the last two years with the six-again rule changing the dynamic on the field. I think the big man has come back into it this year, so I’m not sure the game style has worked against Jake Trbojevic at all, I just think some of the guys in front of him are playing really good footy.
The ones who got picked who I didn’t have in my side were the Knights players, Tyson Frizell and Jacob Saifiti. They’re probably the two that look a bit out of place when you look at the decision not to pick Trbojevic or Addo-Carr, because they’re in a similar position with their club team and haven’t really been banging the door down.
Another talking point in the NSW team is Joseph Suaalii, who’s still just 18. He’s only played 12 first grade games but already we’ve seen how good he is in the air and what a fantastic athlete he is. I expect him to play Origin in the next few years so it’s a good idea for Freddy to blood him in camp this year so he gets a feel for that step up. In years gone by you probably haven’t been able to do that but these 22-man squads create an opportunity to blood young players with potential before they come into the side.
Origin’s a different beast, it’s so full on, so players can definitely get overawed if they haven’t been there and seen it from the inside, so I think it’s really smart from Freddy to get him used to it.
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