If one play best sums up the night it was when Maloney tried to repeat Cronk’s brilliant flat cross field kick. Straight into Alfie’s mitts who caught it one handed! It says so much about the dominance of Qld last night and the ineptitude of the Blues to follow any plan. Much was said about the lack of hate between the two and never more evident then with the speech by Cordner at the end and his interruption of Loz at presser. Like Coach Daley he is a class act. But that is not enough at this level. You can be all class off the field and all terrier on the field – just ask Smith. I suspect Daley will sadly go the way of the dinosaur and be gone. Like Lewis he deserves a better coaching record but sometimes it simply does not translate so you are left only with their brilliance on the field as their legacy. Not a bad thing. I did wonder with Qld dynasty of players slowly approaching the end and the prospect of a solid bunch of NSW players likely to stay together for next 5 years whether Gus would be tempted again. He is not stupid and was never coming in mid dynasty but would suggest he saw the crop of new emerging talent from Qld last night and may well think this nightmare may never end! While eyelash boy – Smith, C – was deserved MOM has there ever been a more assured debut than that of Herman’s second born Cameron? Sure Eddie gets all the press but only because of a slightly more ridiculous haircut. It was clear that the Melbourne spine would be useful and it was obviously the platform for everything. Smith the schemer, Cronk the Conductor, Munster the X Factor and Billy popping up everywhere like zits on a 16yr olds face. One negative – why is Glasby in the team? He is slow and ineffectual, dont care what his stats may say.
It is always interesting to watch the replay the next day when all emotion is removed but you get a much more balanced and analytical view. It is also good to listen to old pre game podcasts which I am always trying to catch up on with my hectic lifestyle. The recurring theme that was keeping the experts warm at night was that NSW was clearly the better team for 3 halves of the first two matches. They had a glitch in the last 20 mins but that would be fixed because they were returning to Kingscliff like in Game 1 and then onto Suncorp where they had been so successful before. They also factored in no JT but didnt seem to take into account that this was a different QLD team to Game 1 and that JT was largely an inspirational passenger in Game 2, amazing final kick not withstanding. Blind Freddy ( as opposed to annoying Freddy on the sideline) can see that when under the pump they have no leadership structure to fall back on despite some of these players having many SOO games under the belt. They hate it when accused of lacking the passion of QLD but what else can it be when they simply cant go that last mile when needed. You learn most about QLD when they lose. When you see players chasing down everything with 2 mins to go and no chance to win. They cant win that match but they sure as hell can lose with dignity and know it will help them next time they get to the 77 th minute , winning or losing. The Blues are the strongest case you will see to disprove Darwins Theory of evolution – they simply can not adapt to a changing environment .
Slater 8.5 – always reliable and threatening
Holmes 8 – classy finisher who can be susceptible to high kicks
Chambers 8 – solid as always and has good combo with Gagai
Morgan 7 – not his best position maybe but can be relied on to impact at some point and wont let you down
Gagai 8 – very involved as usual and does a lot of bringing ball back
Munster 9 – one of the best debuts you will ever see. He is no JT but it will delay any wrist slitting for next 10 yrs
Cronk 7 – brilliant kick to set up try and then does what is needed without ever really standing out
McQuire 8.5 – bit of a tool clearly but consistently best forward on ground
Wallace 7 – better for run no doubt and can only improve
Gillett 7 – bit quiet maybe but only because he never plays a bad game so bar is set very high
Papali 6 – still doesnt float my boat. Seems to have the intensity usually only found in the Blues pack
Cooper 7 – defensive workhorse
Smith 9 – deserved MOM. Improved in each game and as if that is not enough he can kick almost as well as JT and certainly more aesthetically pleasing!
Napa 7 – solid again but well contained
Glasby 4 – dont like him. Period
Hess 5 – big wraps coming in, still to show it at this level
Hunt 2 – could well have been MOM if been on field for another 76 mins. 1 point for each ball handle as he didnt drop it #GF2015
NSW are not worth rating individually but rather state that Tedesco, Dugan, Morris, Cordner and Frizell can hold their heads up. Woods is the most overrated forward in the game while Fifita has the smallest heart it appears. Fine when things go his way but goes missing when the going gets tough. Dont get the Klemmer love – he runs straight and hard but the last time he passed anything was after 2l of prune juice. Graham seems to struggle at this level. With such an insipid forward pack its hard to lay into Pearce and Maloney but lets anyway…… Nah Junior cops enough and we still want him picked next year for Redemption 2018 – The Pearce Series
In summary, the main thought that emerged from Game 3 is rather than the rise of the next Dynasty being all dressed in blue it seems more and more likely that the Maroon dynasty is far from over and could even be a rather seamless transition
Which leaves only one question really.
Does Mrs Hunt even have to wash little Benny’s jersey ?
flashman181 