State of Origin 2023

I was under the impression Slater had them swap sides only after Latrell got ruled out. Holmes has played left side in previous years and I think that was the plan originally so they might revert to that if Mitchell is back.

"Queensland centres Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow and Val Holmes have swapped positions in the wake of Latrell Mitchell’s scratching.

Tabuai-Fidow was initially set to play on the right and mark up on Mitchell but will now switch to the left to cover Tom Trbojevic.

It means Holmes will be covering Mitchell’s replacement Stephen Crichton in the series opener on Wednesday night.

“A few positional changes, confirmation that Hamiso will start on the left edge for Queensland and that moves Valentine Holmes over the right side,” Pete Badel said on NRL 360.

They say it was to target Trbo but I have a sneaking suspicion Slater realises he cant have Holmes mark Mitchell. Will be interesting to see if they swap back.

 

Qld go 1-0 up in the women's too. $3.20 was begging a punt. Sportsbet has no idea about Origin this year.

 

You'd be a brave man to drop Martin. He was arguably their best player. Certainly the most impactful off the bench.

 

I've been Edwards's biggest fan on here and its nice to see social media and fans taking note of his good form again this year. But cunts need to get a bit of a grip. There's no way you drop Tedesco after one poor game. Or a mediocre third of a club season.

Guarantee if they pick Cook, he and Tedesco will cause trouble through the middle. Cook brings him into the game, not by having more touches. Simply by having better touches. Its almost as if there's nothing doing so Tedesco feels like he just needs to get involved more.

 

Aside from that dropping your captain is about the dumbest thing a coach could do. Its never happened in Origin. Closest wouldve been Daley putting Gidley on the bench.

The damage that would do to player morale and then you've gotta find a new leader. Last thing Cleary needs is even more pressure.

 

How? Why do you need 4 middle players on the bench? Especially when Haas should be playing big minutes given how good he is. Injecting fresh legs on an edge is not a waste imo. Worked a treat last night.

 

Recency bias is a weird term for 'proven Origin form.'

Where does this idea that you're going to run out of middles come from? Cook and Martin cover lock. You dont need 7 players to cover 3 positions. Its way overkill and reduces flexibility in the pack.

You'd need first half injuries to 2 of your starting 3 middles to even begin to justify having another 3 of them on the bench in addition to Cook.

Aside from all that, given your team has struggled to score points, going conservative over a more impactful player is also misplaced logic, imo. You want blokes who come on to make an impact and can punch through holes in the line. Cook does that. Martin does that. Crichton at prop does fuck all.

 

Also find it weird why you'd pick Crichton + Murray. Theyre both good middle thirders. And both mediocre on an edge. So why do you need two of them? Surely just one of them covers the role you think is necessary.

 

Think JakeT is out of the whole series. Torn calf.