GAME I New South Wales Blues Vs Queensland Spirit

What a joke, Parker came on with 7 runs for 58m, 9 tackles, 0 misses, 3 tackle breaks and an offload according to the stats I'm seeing all from 20 minutes, exactly what you need from him AFAIC.

 

My take on game I:

Surprised to see us that close, the stats were against us and I thought a few calls went Queenslands way, the Dugan tackled in mid air, Pearce forward pass from kick off, the Thurston strip with 3 in the tackle on Uate.

The thing that gets me the most is that with all that, we still manage to find a way to get up 12-10 with ten to go which is a monumental effort only to put in the worst defensive set in the entire match. Queensland went 60-70m in one set straight after the NSW 2nd try. If being up 12-10 against a side that has had 5 years of dominance if front of their home crowd after being down 10-0 at halftime can't motivate a side to band together and put their bodies on the line in defense then I'm afraid there really isn't much hope for NSW.

I can handle watching NSW lose, but not like that. The tries scored by QLD were classic NSW fuck ups, everyone is waiting for someone else to do the little things, no pressure on Smith's grubber, Thurston given time to have two cracks at the grounding, no communication between Dugan and Morris, no one prepared to get off the line after scoring the second try, the gaps left on our goal line were attrocious, I think Lockyer could've gone inside, outside or even possibly dummied (I'll have to re watch) and find a way to the try line. Heartbreaking.

 

As for the NSW players I thought:
*King showed what a shunt he is, should never have been there
*Scott did better than I expected, could've easily given away a penalty or two though, same for Gallen refs seemed very lenient
*I just don't see what Ennis brings that Farah wouldn't, other than poor decisions, shakey ruck defence and careless errors.
*Gasnier was completely shut out
*Good to see that Stuart had a plan with Jennings, the stats show that he was probably our best player, still a massive worry in defence though, hate the way he stands up out of the line, we were lucky Nielsen was attacking his side there would've been a try there for Inglis all night.
*Soward and Pearce just aren't threatening as a halves pairing
*Uate looks the goods
*Too many missed tackles from everyone, players just don't look up to it in defence, really need Hindy or dare I say Fensom to get in there and tidy things up
*Gallen had a good game on paper, that offload in goal was diabolical and that swinging arm he hung out against Nielsen would've been deadly. Hasn't turned anything around imo, was just lucky.

 

QLD players:
*Scott and Petero's go forward is ridiculous
*Boyd played a near perfect game with his limited involvement
*Cronk coming on had an impact on the game imo a few really nice touches, the way Mal is bringing him into origin is pretty brilliant really, he defended well will do a good job when Locky's gone
*Smith was on song in defence and attack, deserved motm.
*I thought Slater was quiet but looking at the stats he had a very good game, must just be used to him coming up with a few game breakers.




QLD definitely missed some fire power outwide, I think they put another 1-2 tries on with Hodges and Inglis given the amount of ball they had. The backline's are still good to watch though, so smooth. NSW tried hard getting it left with a few Queensland-esque plays but every pass just seemed to take an extra step to throw and that split second helped the defence.

 

I wouldn't be making wholesale changes, I would be putting Tolman in for King (fitness pending) if not Lahrs to bench and start Mannah. Farah is a definite for Ennis and I'd bring Gidley onto the bench for Young.

If Ennis is retained I think Lewis becomes a must for a bit more variation in attack due to a lack of creativity elsewhere, I think he is a more complete player than Scott and although hasn't shown to be the best defender at origin level would put up stats better if not at least equal to that of Scott in defence whilst having a better attack. I still want Hindy there but it's not happening, Scott did enough to be retained I'd say.

 

Not to me, it's something that should never happen save perhaps the final minute of a game when you down by 6 or less.


Even than I think you're better off taking the tackle and going to a short drop out or find the line.