David EdwardsThe Essential Origin One Wrap-Up
May 21st 2008 23:38
The bold selection of Peter Wallace at halfback paid off for NSW last night, as the blues trumped the Maroons 18-10. Secretly the NSW selectors would be rejoicing that this gamble came off, meaning that Wallace is primed for an Origin two birth in 3 weeks time.
If we look at the Wallace selection (and indeed the Origin series) in the form of an extended metaphor, we can see that the selection of Wallace was indeed a crucial one. The "hush" factor was immense, in fact no one really predicted Wallace would get the call up, but selectors were busy consumating their desire to start a new half-back dynasty. The eventual selection of Wallace revealed this consumation in its embryonic stage, and the lead up to origin one would be the difficult first trimester.
Last night NSW selectors got through that first trimester, thus negating the potential for miscarriage. I really could go on with this metaphor as it is limitless (e.g Wallace has a bad game = a devastating miscarriage, selectors are forced to look for alternative measures, e.g. a new halfback - perhaps through IVF?), but it is safe to say that barring any complications, this origin series will (by the end of the 3rd game/trimester) give birth to a halfback who could be around for many series to come. Lets hope he is raised properly and doesn't hang around the wrong crowd.
Now that i have satisfied my own selfish desires, we can return to the actual reporting of the game. Despite the lack of an all-in brawl, SportingMind was sufficiently satified with the amount of head injuries sustained by the players, and the level of blood protruding from various faces was enough to make a young Hannibal Lecter a little toey.
Anthony Quinn managed to cross for two tries before anyone realised that they didn't actually know who this man was. Mark Gasnier was actually quite impressive, leading many Fairfax journalists to make the easy comparison's to uncle Reg this morning. His partner in crime Matt Cooper was equally as impressive, making some good defensive decisions whilst at the same time maintaining his disgusting rat-tail that reminds us all that rugby league players have a distorted concept of reality.
The QLD team by comparison looked very ordinary in both attack and defence, only scoring in the 39th minute with a lucky touch down by Brent Tate. Tate irks me in that you would think a man with a neck brace would either stop playing contact sport and resign themselves to just "being thankful" they aren't paralysed - in fact Tate is a slap in the face to the paraplegic community. This isn't my only gripe with Tate; his horse-like features also are more suited to Spring Carnival than an Origin extravaganza, but he did do the job on the wing last night. The Karmichael Hunt experiment was a definite flop, and should never have been entertained as an option. Just like the show Yasmin's Getting Married , it was just a bad concept that should have stayed in the boardroom.
Johnathan Thurston looked tired and creatively spent. QLD definitely need to make at least one change for Origin Two, that being the omission of Hunt and the inclusion of Prince/or Lockyer, regarding fitness. Otherwise the NSW juggernaut could potentially close this series out in 3 weeks up in Brisbane.
SportingMind's pick?
- QLD will bounce back. It's too early to predicted a "Bluewash", and QLD should win comfortably in the 2nd game if they stick to their game plan.
-SportingMind
If we look at the Wallace selection (and indeed the Origin series) in the form of an extended metaphor, we can see that the selection of Wallace was indeed a crucial one. The "hush" factor was immense, in fact no one really predicted Wallace would get the call up, but selectors were busy consumating their desire to start a new half-back dynasty. The eventual selection of Wallace revealed this consumation in its embryonic stage, and the lead up to origin one would be the difficult first trimester.
Last night NSW selectors got through that first trimester, thus negating the potential for miscarriage. I really could go on with this metaphor as it is limitless (e.g Wallace has a bad game = a devastating miscarriage, selectors are forced to look for alternative measures, e.g. a new halfback - perhaps through IVF?), but it is safe to say that barring any complications, this origin series will (by the end of the 3rd game/trimester) give birth to a halfback who could be around for many series to come. Lets hope he is raised properly and doesn't hang around the wrong crowd.
Now that i have satisfied my own selfish desires, we can return to the actual reporting of the game. Despite the lack of an all-in brawl, SportingMind was sufficiently satified with the amount of head injuries sustained by the players, and the level of blood protruding from various faces was enough to make a young Hannibal Lecter a little toey.
Anthony Quinn managed to cross for two tries before anyone realised that they didn't actually know who this man was. Mark Gasnier was actually quite impressive, leading many Fairfax journalists to make the easy comparison's to uncle Reg this morning. His partner in crime Matt Cooper was equally as impressive, making some good defensive decisions whilst at the same time maintaining his disgusting rat-tail that reminds us all that rugby league players have a distorted concept of reality.
The QLD team by comparison looked very ordinary in both attack and defence, only scoring in the 39th minute with a lucky touch down by Brent Tate. Tate irks me in that you would think a man with a neck brace would either stop playing contact sport and resign themselves to just "being thankful" they aren't paralysed - in fact Tate is a slap in the face to the paraplegic community. This isn't my only gripe with Tate; his horse-like features also are more suited to Spring Carnival than an Origin extravaganza, but he did do the job on the wing last night. The Karmichael Hunt experiment was a definite flop, and should never have been entertained as an option. Just like the show Yasmin's Getting Married , it was just a bad concept that should have stayed in the boardroom.
Johnathan Thurston looked tired and creatively spent. QLD definitely need to make at least one change for Origin Two, that being the omission of Hunt and the inclusion of Prince/or Lockyer, regarding fitness. Otherwise the NSW juggernaut could potentially close this series out in 3 weeks up in Brisbane.
SportingMind's pick?
- QLD will bounce back. It's too early to predicted a "Bluewash", and QLD should win comfortably in the 2nd game if they stick to their game plan.
-SportingMind
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Comment by Anonymous
What will NSW do for O2 if Kurt Gidley is fit? Straight swap for Hornby on the bench, or something unpredicatable like Gidley at 5/8 and Bird back to lock (this won't happen tho).