flashman181

Its not so much that we lost that gnaws but that we should have won. And no, not talking about the penalty try which was a reasonable call but rather we had our chances and blew it. NSW certainly had the rub of the green this year which is fine as Qld certainly has in some recent years. It comes and goes. The disappointing aspect from a Maroon perspective is we had the chance to scar the next generation and we missed it. There are certainly some chinks in the left side defense for example with the Blues but that will improve each game they win. With prodigious young talent all they really need is confidence and a bit of luck. They had the luck and will get better each game. The last 10 minutes is where we clearly missed Smith, JT and co which brings us to the elephant in the room

Ben Hunt is our Mitchell Pearce! Its not often you can lay the blame at the feet of one player but this is as close as it gets. He missed Addo-Carr badly for first try, he gave away the penalty try, he lost the ball in a crucial tackle etc. Most of all though he fucking kicked the ball dead on the 3rd tackle against 12 men! His lame excuse “was trying to keep the pressure on and get a repeat set” Hey assclown, not sure if u made it past Grade 3 but I was always taught 3+3 is still only 6 so why not use the those 6 first! The game was lost there, plain and simple. Like Pearce he will go back to club land and shine and will keep getting picked. Have not seem him play this year but he lacked game management at Broncos especially in combo with equally useless Milf. Its why Dragons wont win flag this year. If u are going to pick Hunt again you need to make Widdop a Qlder stat! So lets run the slide rule over the team

Slater – 8.5 Brilliant first 15-20 and then tired understandably. Always a threat and will be massive loss next year
Gagai – 8. Class finisher, had weaker defense against
Holmes – 7. Solid with limited chances and up against the stronger defensive side
Inglis – 7. Not the impact of the first game but great combo with Slater
Chalmers – 6. Always a mixed bag. some defensive lapses, a hopeless kick, and a costly stupid tackle late
Munster – 6. Gould thinks he puts them to sleep. I think he goes walkabout. He is a talent but needs a more solid half next to him to shine
Hunt – -4. I cant think of anything good he did and clearly 4 bad things. Hence the score. At least now he will be remembered for something else along with 2015 GF blunder
McGuire – 7. Usual game , always solid but hardly a threat
Cooper -5. Maybe he does a lot in defense but provides nothing in attack and much like his 2018 Cowboy form
Napa – 7 . Potential to impact at times but never quite came off. Better for the run, pick him in the Cup over a longer distance come November
Wallace – 4 Largely missing again
Kafusi – 5 see Cooper although he plays better for Storm and in first game as well
McCullough – 6. 80 min goer but really provides no spark in attack

Ponga – 7/9. First one is for actual game in an odd position. Second is for potential. He is all class and while no Slater will at least provide a similar attacking threat next year but not the organisation skills at this stage. Clearly the next big thing , ok already is. Barring injury a 30+ Origin career awaits
Hess – 4 See Cooper. Not the same impact player as last year. See Cowboys
Arrow -7 Limited chances but like Ponga is the future and it is bright ( once we find a halfback!)
Papali – 3 One of the more overrated players going around. See Milford

For NSW , Maloney is always the danger, Tedesco well controlled while Mitchell and Addo-Carr are the rocks/diamonds in the team. They will win you some and lose you some. Qld had the chance to really dent their confidence but blew it. They will be dangerous in years to come

You couldnt watch the game and not comment on Gould’s ridiculous “commentary” around the penalty try. I usually like his insights and one of the games better thinkers just behind Carlos Smearson 🙂 This was embarrassing though . Everyone expects JT, Joey, Wally etc to be a bit biased but they are only “expert commentators” giving opinions when asked and not commanding the microphone for 5 mins and screaming like a banshee about the penalty try.

Winners are grinners and the biased NSW controlled media will be nauseating for next few weeks now. Pick and Stick will likely be the go and is difficult and dangerous to castigate a couple of players but you have to think of future so would suggest you dump Hunt, Cooper, Hess, Wallace and Papali. Ash Taylor gets a run and Arrow starts along with Glasby and maybe Ofahengaue. It wont happen as would be seen as panic but is needed

There was also the inaugural Womens SOO this year with the most interesting aspect being how they determine the winner when scores are locked at full time. No Golden Point but rather a “kiss off” with the first player to break contact the loser. Doesnt seem fair given the Qld women are clearly more attractive and kissable . Never going to win that one

In either format “2018 Origin Winners NSW” is like “President Trump” – it just doesnt sound right let alone plausible. The victorious NSW dressing room was the second most haunting image saw this week. There was a clear winner that cannot be unseen…..