State Of Origin 2016

[Gad]

Wednesday June 1, Game 1

 9 more big sleeps.

 

Edit update

 

The Good Ones Queensland Maroons team:
1. Darius Boyd (Brisbane Broncos)
2. Corey Oates (Brisbane Broncos)
3. Greg Inglis (South Sydney Rabbitohs)
4. Justin O’Neill (North Queensland Cowboys)
5. Dane Gagai (Newcastle Knights)
6. Johnathan Thurston (North Queensland Cowboys)
7. Cooper Cronk (Melbourne Storm)
8. Matt Scott (North Queensland Cowboys)
9. Cameron Smith (c) (Melbourne Storm)
10. Nate Myles (Manly Warringah Sea Eagles)
11. Matt Gillett (Brisbane Broncos)
12. Sam Thaiday (Brisbane Broncos)
13. Corey Parker (Brisbane Broncos)
14. Michael Morgan (North Queensland Cowboys)
15. Josh McGuire (Brisbane Broncos)
16. Aidan Guerra (Sydney Roosters)
17. Josh Papalii (Canberra Raiders)

 

NEW SOUTH WAILERS: named

 

Greg Bird (Gold Coast Titans)
Boyd Cordner (Sydney Roosters)
Josh Dugan (St George Illawarra Dragons)
Robbie Farah (Wests Tigers)
Blake Ferguson (Sydney Roosters)
Andrew Fifita (Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks)
Tyson Frizell (St George Illawarra Dragons)
Paul Gallen (c, Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks)
Josh Jackson (Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs)
Michael Jennings (Parramatta Eels)
David Klemmer (Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs)
James Maloney (Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks)
Josh Mansour (Penrith Panthers)
Josh Morris (Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs)
Matt Moylan (Penrith Panthers)
Adam Reynolds (South Sydney Rabbitohs)
James Tamou (North Queensland Cowboys)
Dylan Walker (Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles)
Aaron Woods (Wests Tigers)

Development player: Bryce Cartwright (Penrith Panthers)

[Gad]

WTF is a Bloo`s development player… is he a bit like a designated driver, he is there for the development that sometimes occurs for the Bloos.

That is, he is the designated one, if a Bloo  plays up in a Kings Cross nightclub then the development player is the one that gets turfed from the Bloos` squad, thereby saving the playing 17.

[Old Scaley]

Looks like a good team (if you are a Queensland supporter).  A couple of old heads, a couple of hotheads and a heap of d#ckheads.  Good luck to them, though, in their quest for a record equaling "one in a row".

Since this is Gal's last series I think it would be only fitting to change the punching rule (or as it is properly known - the save Gallen amendment) back to what it was before he landed his powder puffs on Nate Miles.  That way he could get the send off he truly deserves.  

[ellicat]

Cartwright is now out with a  sore thumb.

[Gad]

So now, who will be the designated bunny , I mean development bunny, I mean player, Reynolds?.. he`ll fit 

[Gad]

Taken from NRL site tonight..

Conjecture over players' availability is the reason why New South Wales coach Laurie Daley has named a 19-man squad for Origin I.

 With Michael Jennings yet to play this round and Josh Dugan (elbow), James Tamou (undisclosed) and Robbie Farah (concussion) still under selection spotlights; Daley is approaching the Blues' camp in CoffsHarbour with an open mind following last year's 52-6 flogging in the series decider. 

"There a couple of guys carrying a few injuries and we'll see how it pans out during the week. We're keeping our options open until we have to name the team," Daley said.

[kmcrosby78]

Listened to a bit of the post-match coverage on Triple M tonight on my way home from touch footy and they were going through the anticipated Qld team - 4 players on the bench that just played in the test match for Oz - going to take some beating!!! Interesting that Tedesco didn't get in - although admittedly I haven't seen him play for quite a few weeks so perhaps he hasn't maintained his glowing start to the year?  @ellicat?
 

[ellicat]

He broke his shoulder a few weeks back. Should be available from Rd 13 but his Origin opportunity may have passed for this year.

[kmcrosby78]

And that's why I'm winning the tipping comp - my in depth coverage/knowledge of the game .........

[Gad]

Updated original post with Qld team selections

 

Justin O`Neill is a good choice for Hodges centre spot, hopefully Nate Myles finds his form during the camp, if not, rep retirement may occur prior to game 2 for him.

 

IMO best selection decision was Cherry-Evans non selection.

 

Corey Oates selection was the worst kept secret of the selections, NSW has their usual couple of grubs to welcome him to SOO, hopefully the conceded penalties will all be in point scoring postions 

[ellicat]

Josh Morris and Tyson Frizell have been dropped out of the NSW 19.

[Gad]

Morris getting the flick is an interesting decision. I`m of the opinion that over the last few SOO games Morris had been fairly successful in restricting the amount of damage Inglis could cause.

[Gad]

The advantage for the Bloo`s is there`s no pressure on Malone and Reynold`s  , so they should slot nicely in to the mix, after all, their only the Bloo`s tenth halves combination in seven years.

[ellicat]

Excitement is starting to build.

[kmcrosby78]

8 hours ago, Gad said:

The advantage for the Bloo`s is there`s no pressure on Malone and Reynold`s, so they should slot nicely in to the mix, after all, their only the Bloo`s tenth halves combination in seven years.

Oh there's pressure alright, and they will certainly feel it!!

[Gad]

toyota dog.... taken from NRL site today

Josh Morris is to replace an injured Josh Dugan in the NSW centres for the State of Origin rugby league series opener on Wednesday.

Morris has been released by Canterbury after earlier being named to play in the Bulldogs' NRL clash with Canberra on Sunday afternoon.

NSW coach Laurie Daley confirmed Morris would return to take over at right centre shortly after the Blues announced the withdrawal of Dugan, who experienced further problems with the elbow he hyper-extended in St George Illawarra's loss to South Sydney in round 10.

"It's one of the hardest decisions I've had to make," said Dugan.

"I aggravated it at training yesterday. It's very disappointing but I had to do what was best for the team."

The NSW right centre role will be nothing new for Morris who has been a regular part of the Blues since 2012 and he resumes one of the hardest jobs in Origin over the last few years - stopping Greg Inglis.

 

[Dinodadog]

Its going to be interesting to see how the head high new rule is going to play out as they have thrown out head highs in normal games lately unless the bunker gets involved. They should watch a few english super league games, no head highs means no head highs, they have just about stomped it out completely.

 

Dino

[Gad]

I think you may be being a bit harsh Dino, if they took head highs out of the game some fading players would not have a game plan

[Gad]

double Toyota dog... Cherry-Evans has been called into the Maroons camp to go onto the bench IF Cooper Cronk`s ankle does not come good for Wednesday. That would mean Morgan takes the No.6 jersey with Thurston taking No.7 and steering the ship.

Apparently the weather for ANZ Stadium area some rain during the day, cold (maybe wet) and greasy conditions in the evening.... with that forecast one hopes Cherry-Evans will be experiencing the night from the grandstand

[ellicat]

[benno573]

[benno573]

Cronk cleared to play!

[Gad]

Tonights the NIGHT!!   here`s hoping the Maroons will score well too   

[kmcrosby78]

QUEENSLANDERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Giddee up - get to see a series win at home in 3 weeks time. You little beauty!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Doyley]

 <---- enough said!

[Dinodadog]

Daley is already asked for a change of refs

[The Mad Hughesy]

don't you love how the blues are blaming everything on the refs....talk about a broken record!

how about you sack the bloke who missed the conversion which would have equalised it....on second thoughts, please keep him for game two, makes it easier for QLD to win again

[Gad]

Once again the NSW daily rag tried their best to instil hope into the Bloo`s with the The Daily Telegraph`s  back page on Tuesday reverting back to the prior tried and failed Qld ‘Dad`s Army’ type of hype….. meet Queensland’s band of battlers struggling to make any impact in the NRL, let alone State of Origin.  OUT of form, inexperienced or just clumsy —

The drivel ‘revealed’ the imperfections of Maroon players like Nate Myles, Aidan Guerra and Sam Thaiday. From Guerra’s errors through to Thaiday’s poor metres and Myles’ lack of tackle busts, there is proof the all-conquering Queenslander’s are far from perfect…..

  Moral of the story… no one needs to be anywhere near perfect to beat the Bloo`s

[Gad]

I thought NSW played to their potential, Qld did not get into overdrive due to the heavy track and being dragged down to NSW`s dour game plan. This being so, Qld should wrap the series up in Game 2 at The Cauldron on June 22.

Ref`s calls... I think both sides were dudded twice each on calls. One each of those calls definitely changed the building momentum of  the side in attack. Morris`s no try was a no try.

Some one please give Laurie Daley a box of tissues.

Sammy Thaiday, being interviewed by Freddy ‘Richard Head’ Fittler, is now hot favourite for ‘Quote of the Series' with.. "It was a bit like losing your virginity, it wasn’t very nice but we got the job done."
 

‘RH’ Fittler may be in with an outside chance with his startled reply, ‘I`m not sure I`ve got a second question” 

[timtam_]

IMO Maroons nearly lost it for themselves. Defense was brilliant albeit one brainfade from Cronk. The worst thing was Morris's selection - Josh Dugan defending Inglis = No competition. Hopefully Dugan plays centre game 2.

The boys also need to improve fitness. It was no guessing who the faster, fitter team was.

Boyd deserved man of the match.

[Gad]

I disagree with your summary of Qld fitness. Faster does not necessarily equate to fitter. If NSW was the 'fitter' team, they played worse than I thought. 

If you take away the NSW try scored from the forward pass from Maloney to Cordner, your fitter NSW speedsters look even worse. 

anyway game 1 stats thanks to foxsports  http://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/state-of-origin/match-centre/match-recap?matchid=SOO20160101

[Old Scaley]

I'm glad that I am not the only one to think that pass to Cordner was forward. The commentators didn't even hint at it, but you can be sure Pus Gould would have exploded if it was a qld try with the same pass.

Laurie is doing his best to influence the decisions in the next game as a good coach should. Walters is doing his best to manage the maroon's complacency going into game 2. Seemed to me that the Blues were at their best and the big guns for qld have got plenty of improvement for the rest of the season.  Bring it on!

[Gad]

SOO Game 2- Wednesday 22 June at ‘The Cauldron’

Nate Myles out, knee injury, Jacob Lillyman back in

Maroons team:

Darius Boyd (Brisbane Broncos)
Corey Oates (Brisbane Broncos)
Greg Inglis (South Sydney Rabbitohs)
Justin O’Neill (North Queensland Cowboys)
Dane Gagai (Newcastle Knights)
Johnathan Thurston (North Queensland Cowboys)
Cooper Cronk (Melbourne Storm)
Matt Scott (North Queensland Cowboys)
Cameron Smith (c) (Melbourne Storm)
Matt Gillett (Brisbane Broncos)
Sam Thaiday (Brisbane Broncos)
Corey Parker (Brisbane Broncos)
Michael Morgan (North Queensland Cowboys)
Josh McGuire (Brisbane Broncos)
Aidan Guerra (Sydney Roosters)
Josh Papalii (Canberra Raiders)
Jacob Lillyman (Warriors)

Go the Maroons

EDIT: added NSWailers

Cordner out due to injury

1 Matt Moylan (Penrith Panthers)
2 Blake Ferguson (Sydney Roosters)
3 Michael Jennings (Parramatta Eels)
4 Josh Morris (Canterbury Bulldogs)
5 Josh Mansour (Penrith Panthers)
6 James Maloney (Cronulla Sharks)
7 Adam Reynolds (South Sydney Rabbitohs)
8 Aaron Woods (Wests Tigers)
9 Robbie Farah (Wests Tigers)
10 James Tamou (North Queensland Cowboys)
11 Wade Graham (Cronulla Sharks)
12 Josh Jackson (Canterbury Bulldogs)
13 Paul Gallen (c) (Cronulla Sharks)
14 Dylan Walker (Manly Sea Eagles)
15 Greg Bird (Gold Coast Titans)
16 David Klemmer (Canterbury Bulldogs)
17 Andrew Fifita (Cronulla Sharks)
Bryce Cartwright (Penrith Panthers)
Jack Bird (Cronulla Sharks)

[Gad]

the Bloo`s  have already started to play dirty.

 

Wade Graham's State of Origin debut for New South Wales is in doubt after he was charged with a grade one careless high tackle by the NRL match review committee.

Graham was charged over a 64th-minute high shot on Johnathan Thurston during Cronulla's Round 14 NRL Telstra Premiership win over the Cowboys on Monday night.

http://www.nrl.com/wade-graham-faces-one-match-ban/tabid/10874/newsid/98048/default.aspx

[kmcrosby78]

The good news is they have one excuse all ready to go when they lose the game (and series) ......

[Old Scaley]

They now have a second one Kelvin, with the same refs named for game 2.  Personally I think Wade Graham would be unlucky to miss out as JT obviously slipped into the tackle, but I guess it is pretty hard to rule on intent so if the arm comes in contact with the head it is a reportable offence. 

[Gad]

Sutton and Cummins have a great record in recent series refereeing SOO games played at Suncorp.

 

In the past 2 Origin games they have been in charge of, at Suncorp, Qld has won by a combined scoreline of 84-14 and obviously the  Bloo`s have been very ill disciplined with total penalty count of 23-10 against them.  

 

http://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/state-of-origin/state-of-origin-2016-referees-gerard-sutton-and-ben-cummins-appointed-for-game-two/news-story/1da9fb92314b1d11ea1e86251ae9ea08

 

We can only hope that Sutton and Cummins call only what they see (there could be a specsavers ad there somewhere  ) and are only influenced by the home crowd baying for Bloo`s blood  

[Gad]

Wade Graham found guilty as charged, of head high contact on Thurston, and got hit with a 1 match suspension which wipes him out of Game 2

 

Dragons forward Tyson Frizell will now make his State of Origin debut for NSW

[Old Scaley]

 

Hmmmn, blues seem to be losing their grip on the judiciary and the referee's boss.  Might have to bring Puss Gould back as coach 

[ellicat]

I reckon they ended up with the better player, but will still lose.