2014 State of Origin

Yeah nice retort. King of the double standard calling me biased. You pride yourself on being wised-up and understanding the nuances of this game and yet you're about as naive as a fucking 5-year-old about Daley going to Archer. Actually you're not naive - you know just as everyone else does why he sought a meeting - to have a bitch about what happened in Game 1 and curry favour for Game 2, which he got. You're just a vulgar hypocrite and change positions when it's convenient.

 

Good to see that the sexual tension between MF and Magic is as strong as ever. Hurry up and bang already.

 

Nor I. We've certainly had enough for one series.

 

http://www.nrl.com/hodkinson-not-safe-in-his-no7/tabid/10874/newsid/79998/default.aspx

I'm sure Daley will not be changing halves next year but Hodkinson is right on the money here. Neither he or Josh Reynolds should feel like they've got their spots secured. Having finished watching the first two games, I think both players have done a passable job but apart from not being Mitchell Pearce, they haven't done a huge amount. The NSW team has managed to win due to some Jarryd Hayne brilliance, good luck and most importantly, some incredible defence across the two games.

Josh Reynolds was really lively in Game 1 and his probing runs and support play added an interesting dimension to the NSW attack but in Game 2 I thought he was dreadfully bad. In particular his passing was terrible. He obviously had 2-3 occasions where he played through the line and threw the ball back to no-one but in the second half, his general passing game went to shit as well. Especially close to the try line he threw short passes too far in front of people or too far behind and generally messed up any attacking move. He and Thurston spent most of the game doing a marvellous job of being squabbling schoolgirls rather than Origin players.

Overall, I think it was the performance you would expect from Josh Reynolds at this level. He is undeniably talented but he is also a player who is definitely a far superior footballer than he is a five-eight. He shines at club level where being a dynamic, talented player is worth a lot and individual brilliance is more valuable as a way to cover for a lack of depth and skill in the team. However, he is more erratic at a higher level where higher quality teammates means that you're also expected to perform a narrower range of tasks and fill a specific role within a team structure. Long-term for NSW, Reynolds seems like he'd be better off filling a role as an impact role off the bench or as a loose forward because he simply doesn't offer the ball-playing, direction or creativity that you consistently expect from your halves.

Trent Hodkinson surprised me with how well he played but once again, I don't think he did much to cement his spot. He was less dynamic than Reynolds overall but he provided a calm hand (something which Pearce generally failed to do) and his kicking game, particularly in Game 1, was impressive. The issue with Hodkinson's game is that he never asserted enough control or dominance. Most notably he let forwards like Paul Gallen and Greg Bird get their hands on the ball far too much when NSW was in the attacking 20. Obviously part of the issue lies with Gallen, Bird and the coaching staff but Hodkinson is also culpable because he let people consistently usurp his position at first receiver. Gallen and Bird were getting the ball far too much one pass off the ruck and even when they did receive it, they weren't hitting the ball with speed and running straight or back towards the ruck. They were often picking up the ball and then drifting away from the ruck towards the line, which is something that should only be done by the halfback. If Hodkinson wants to continue playing he needs to assert his authority more.

At this stage there isn't anything that Reynolds and Hodkinson offered that couldn't be provided equivalently well by Mullen, Sezer, Maloney etc

 

Not in the slightest. Maloney's play in the NRL has been a very high quality and even in Origin he wasn't hopeless. Much like Reynolds, Maloney's issue is that he is a limited player and as such, he isn't going to consistently provide what NSW requires of their five-eight.

I don't know why you have a particular hatred of Maloney but it is misplaced. There are plenty of lower quality, less deserving players who are talked about as prospective Origin players.

 

At these prices I'm not surprised it's mainly NSW fans who want to go and see a dead rubber after their first series win in 8 years.

 

I'd like to know where they got this 42% number from, not that it really changes the argument, which is a silly one IMO.

 

It really depends on what standard you hold Maloney to. On the whole I don't think he is a terrible ball player, he is just limited and isn't particularly creative. I think he lacks the vision and sense of timing to be able to force defenders to hold off or drift across the line and create uncertainty in the outside defenders. But on the flip side, I think he makes the most of his limited abilities because he recognises those deficiencies and isn't guilty of trying to force himself to be creative when he obviously isn't. I think (like Cronk but to a far greater degree) he possesses a range of pet passing plays that he cycles through and has the vision and nous to capitalise when the defensive line is vulnerable, such as identifying when to throw a face ball. To borrow terminology from other sports, his passing game is that of a finisher rather than a creator, which works very well when you combine it with his running and kicking games.

It makes him a very strong first grade half and leaves him exposed at higher levels. But he is no worse than Josh Reynolds who is equally weak and I find that Maloney has a much better kicking game and is more composed and organised than Reynolds. Likewise, Hodkinson isn't an overly creative player and I think Hodkinson also has issues with his ball-playing, such as frequently overlooking the short pass and moving the ball out the back instead.

Maloney's problem is that he never should have been chosen ahead of Todd Carney or Jarrod Mullen in 2013, not that he is a joke Origin player when considered in isolation. He would still be down the pecking order but if NSW stick with Farah and Hayne and pick another half who is a dominant playmaker (Mullen, Sezer, Carney, even Sutton) then I don't believe Maloney would be hopelessly out of place, particularly if he was on the left edge with Greg Bird.

 

Tries and try assists since 2006

Thurston - 23
Lockyer - 12
Smith - 8
Cronk - 6