No great surprises of course except that is was so close until the 38 th minute. That try before half time was a killer in more ways than one. It showed how brittle the middle was much like the first try. As said in other media commitments once the Blues got on a roll they could score 40 pts – they are a confidence team. They now have enough players not scarred by the last 10 yrs. Getting rid of Gallen and Farrah has finally allowed them to move on
Now its not curtains yet for QLD but is time to be brutal and of course they wont be. Myles has to go for certain. He is old, slow and a dirty player. The new players looked ok until injured but it was the old heads that didnt really stand up in JTs absence. Ratings
Boyd 6 – solid but predictable
Gagai 8.5 – ran with purpose , looked dangerous
Chambers 7 – never got clean air behind a pack going nowhere
O’Neill 3 – carried his NRL form into SOO. What a shock Kevvie
Oates 7 – did nothing wrong and scored a good try but has no zip really
Milford 6 – much like Broncos form. Looked dangerous but never really did anything
Cronk 7 – solid but blunted without JT and usually kicking from deep within own territory
Napa 7 – promising until injured
Smith 7 – like Cronk, didnt have a bad game but never took control
McQuire 7 – tried hard but lacks penetration
Gillett 6 – quiet game by his standards
Myles 3 – old and slow. Gone
Papali 6 – looks overweight and out of nick. Bought his Canberra form yada yada yada
Bench – who cares all over by then
Fifita was the standout of course and is Beetson reincarnate. Tedesco always dangerous like Maloney. Morris very solid and Hayne showed touches of class as expected
Billy has to come back and hopefully JT as well. Hard to dump Oates I guess but I still would along with ONeill, Myles, Guerra, Lillyman. Bring in Billy and Holmes and move Gagai to centres and Boyd to wing. Bring in Hess and Wallace. Like with NSW time to blood these guys – like they did with Bird etc – now even though this year is gone.
Qld wont do it of course and this series will be a 3 nil wash. Next year wont be any better because you will bring in new guys then with no experience and JT will be gone. It wont be any 10 yr dynasty but I see NSW dominating for next 2-3 yrs and the NSW biased media will be unsufferable while the players themselves, and coach, will be fine and good luck to them. Lets hope you are good winners like QLD have been the last decade
flashman181 