Final thoughts
After the first scoreless second half in an Origin since game 2, 1999, we now look to game 2, 2016 at Queensland’s Lang Park where the men in maroon seem to grow another leg. And another head in Nate Myles’ case. NSW have much work to do. It must be getting very very hard to keep believing.
Anyway, thanks for your company, and I’ll be back in a few weeks with Origin II. Cheerio.
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Can’t say that was a classic Origin. Rather, it was a game that threatened to sing but ended up just clearing its throat over and over again. Both sides should have made more of their attacking sets which lacked spit and polish. NSW, in particular, had enough possession to win but just couldn’t find the key to crack Queensland. If you ask me, they relied a little too heavily on kicks. While Blues fans will bemoan yet another loss there was little in it. So says one of the Blues’ best, James Maloney:
"There wasn't a whole lot in it," @jim_jim86.#Origin #uptheblues https://t.co/zP5QlQVEeH
— NRL (@NRL) June 1, 2016
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"Tonight was all about effort," @camsmith9.#Origin #QLDER https://t.co/ouFJuIUjIm
— NRL (@NRL) June 1, 2016
Advantage Queensland! #QLDER #Origin pic.twitter.com/Aq4TS6nN1w
— Queensland Maroons (@QLDmaroons) June 1, 2016
Full-time: NSW 4-6 Queensland
And there’s the hooter. Queensland win meaning NSW will need to win at Lang Park in a few weeks to keep the series alive. Good luck with that!
80 min: And that’s it, surely! Thurston, as clever as a den of foxes who’ve all graduated from university with honours, spins out of a tackle and dinks the ball into the NSW in-goal. Ferguson’s attempt to get back into the field of play fails. NSW drop out. They nearly get it back. But nearly doesn’t cut it as Gagai catches it over the sideline and flings it back inside to O’Neill.
79 min: Cameron Smth would have gotten away with that, not Dylan Walker in the fresh jersey. Getting up to play it Walker deliberately plays in on to Smith’s arm hoping to win a penalty. He simply hands the ball back to Qld. Things look grim for the Blues now. Qld with the ball in the halfway line with just under two mins remaining.
76 min: Another bomb from Reynolds, this one from midfield, a result of some good Qld defence. Boyd catches it safely. Cronk then finds touch 20m out. NSW have to pull a rabbit from a hat. But do they have a hat, much less a rabbit?
74 min: NSW need to find a way through here as Qld appear to be playing the field position game, kicking early, kicking deep.
Now NSW kick, this one caught by Oates a few metres out from his line.
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73 min: Morris kicks ahead for himself 10m out but Boyd cleans up and is met by the knee of Ferguson as he does so. Boyd stays down which allows many men in maroon and blue to drop to their haunches and suck in the big ones.
72 min: An outside-inside ball puts Inglis clear but backing up is Papalii who is not exactly a sylph. He’s rounded up sharply.
NSW are back on the attack. Two tired-looking teams here.
70 min: Ten minutes to go. Who’s going to give?
69 min: But a Thaiday kick (yes, Thaiday!) ends up in Mansour’s arms and he carves himself some handy yards before NSW are awarded another penalty. Qld will need to defend their line again.
And they do, helped by an average kick on the last by Reynolds.
66 min: Reynolds kicks it and O’Neill can’t claim it under duress. But it’s a knock on against Qld. Hold everything, the Bunker overturns that decision! Qld run it out instead.
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66 min: The Bunker overturns the decision. NSW have one tackle up their sleeve...
Possible try to Morris on the right!
The Canterbury centre hits the line hard but Inglis, Guerra and Thurston envelop him. It’s called a try on field but replays suggest he is short and that there’s a hand under the ball.
63 min: A cross-field bomb hits Gagai on the shoulder (as he’s hit by Jennings in the air) and NSW win back possession. From a midfield scrum NSW shift left and just as Moylan appears to have put Mansour over in the corner Gagai gets a hand to the pass. A knock on, but it may have saved a try.
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60 min: Great defence by NSW to hold out Qld on consecutive sets. Then, in their own in-goal, Ferguson flings the ball wide to Morris who fumbles it, but he recovers it before he becomes a meme that Queenslanders would laugh at tomorrow morning.
More good news for NSW as Thaiday drops the ball on the NSW 20m.
58 min: A Fifita offload in traffic is spilled by Maloney on the halfway line. Next set Thurston, 10m out from NSW line, kicks back inside off the outside of the right boot for Cronk and Moylan just beats Cronk to the ball, batting it dead. NSW dropout.
56 min: So close! Maloney, on the last, dribbles one behind the line with Cordner and Jennings charging for it. Gagai fumbles but Qld just manage to clean it up.
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54 min: Offloads from Mansour and Fifita put Qld back on their heels and now Farah wins another set as his grubber is batted dead. NSW on the attack!
52 min: Morris charges upfield on the 50m and it takes all of Inglis’ strength to pull him to ground. Had Inglis missed Morris had Ferguson outside him.
Greg Bird is on meaning the ‘Bruise Brothers’ are back in action.
50 min: As Cooper Cronk find touch a few metres out from NSW’s line, James Anderson reports in from Amsterdam: “I think the tide is turning in terms of player quality. NSW debutants like Matt Moylan, Mansour, Reynolds looking good. Queensland cupboard looking a bit bare, especially centres.”
Yes, Qld’s winter is coming, James. But when will it arrive?
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48 min: A huge downfield kick from Reynolds picks up 60m and Qld are taking an age to get onside.
Four tackles later Inglis, on the left, is in space and looks to his winger as Ferguson comes across in cover. Had Oates been outside him he would have had 50m of open space in front of him. But Oates had just taken a hit up and was not in position.
47 min: NSW make a mess of it in the end, with Ferguson getting tackled on the last.
45 min: Reynolds kicks in behind the line on the last forcing Boyd to bat the ball touch in-goal. Smith’s dropout struggles to reach the 40m and Fifita, fresh, hits it up with interest!
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44 min: A penalty to NSW now and they’ll take the opportunity to get out of their half.
43 min: Boyd runs into a cul-de-sac on the first but on the third he recovers to take a Cronk pass to send Gagai lineward bound down the right touchline. But a brilliant cover tackle by Maloney and Cordner saves a try! And they win bonus points for dragging Gagai into touch.
Peeeeep!
Josh McGuire catches the kick-off and Qld have some momentum to their first set. Those oranges were fresh, baby!
And on the last Cronk roosts one to the stars and Moylan drops it! Scrum to Qld 15m out. Could be a big moment.
The players are getting their final instructions. Smith is holding court in the Qld sheds, while in the NSW shed Gallen is pacing like a pitbull behind a chainlink fence.
What’s the bet the instructions from both are variations of ‘Don’t let your mate down, don’t let your state down”?
Here they come...
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Roger Damar in PNG wants a score update. Just scroll, Roger, scroll! It’s 6-4 Qld at halftime.
And we’re back! Well, I am. And I’m finally getting to some tweets, like this one. Glad to be of service, Natasha.
Thank god for live #Origin updates from @PFConnolly - bring it #NSWBlues ! I'm ignoring my Corey Parker crush to cheer you on, so win! #NRL
— Natasha Edwards (@NatashaLucille) June 1, 2016
Meantime...
T-shirt cannon going around the field...don't they know this is how Maude Flanders died? #Origin
— Maria Tsialis (@mtsialis) June 1, 2016
Where’s Mike Baird to stamp this sort of thing out?!
Half-time: NSW 4-6 Queensland
And that’s oranges. A solid if unspectacular half. Both sides may feel they should have more points as they both enjoyed periods of dominance. But they don’t and that’s that. It’s still anyone’s game.
Time for a quick tea break. Talk amongst yourselves. Or watch this vid simply because my 6-year-old is going through a Freddie Mercury appreciation phase. She went to school on Friday with a moustache drawn in place, in his honour:
39 min: From the right touchline Thurston misses the conversion.
One last chance for NSW this half as Ferguson claims a Cronk bomb on his own 20m. But there will be no late drama. Ferguson has the ball in the Qld half and considers kicking it forward as the siren sounds but decides to hang on to it. Not the time for chancing one’s arm.
Try! NSW 4-6 Qld (Gagai 37)
Just like that Qld are in front! On the last, and centre field, Qld decide to run it. Smith to Cronk to Thurston who hold it back to find Boyd looping behind. He passes to O’Neill who hands off to Gagai for a 10m rails run to the line. Lovely!
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36 min: Another nice catch from Ferguson at the end of a Qld set, although you could argue it was another Qld kick which could have been better placed.
34 min: Smith kicks deep to Moylan who hits it up with venom. Just three tackles later NSW are on the Qld 20m. But Jennings spills it as he takes a short ball from Maloney and looks to cut back on the inside. Maloney should have passed behind Jennings. There were two unmarked Blues.
32 min: Sterlo says Qld look tired, bunched as they are in attack. It’s only 4-2 obviously, by NSW are on top at the moment. And as I write, Mansour hit the line with vigour, sending O’Neill rocking backwards. He looks all shook up. Uh-huh.
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31 min: Ferguson swoops to pick up a cross kick and he snaffles it beautifully. That could have ended badly.
29 min: Klemmer is on and is hit so hard his hair flies about wildly. He has a shaved head, too, which tells you something.
28 min: Reynolds misses a getable kick but NSW will be delighted to be in front, especially after weathering all that early pressure.
Try! NSW 4-2 Qld (Cordner 26 min)
Didn’t I tell you NSW were looking dangerous down that left side? Actually, I didn’t, but I insinuated it.
Anyway, Cordner crashes over 15m in from touch! All that pressure pays off. Woods had played the ball in centre field, Farah passed left to Maloney who held the ball up before putting Cordner through a hole caused by Cronk being uncharacteristically standoffish.
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25 min: Another drop out after Farah grubbers in behind the line in front of the posts and Boyd grounds in-goal.
23 min: Again NSW go left and only a smothering tackle by O’Neill prevents Jennings from crashing over. Mansour then executes a pass so far behind Reynolds the wee fella has to take a cab to catch it. He’s forced to kick for Ferguson but it works out. NSW win another set of six after Inglis, claiming the scraps, is tackled over the sideline.
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21 min: A nice set, as the bishop said to the actress. NSW looked sharp down the left flank before bringing the ball back inside. Reynolds found Moylan on the last and he dribbled the ball into the Qld in-goal, winning a repeat set.
19 min: A relieving penalty to NSW has them inside the Qld 40m for what feels like the first time.
16 min: NSW to drop out from their own line after a very close call. Queensland kicked from midfield and it took a wicked bounce, drawing Moylan into his own in-goal to claim it. As he was tackled he spilled the ball but just managed to ground it before a Maroon hand touched down for a try.
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Penalty goal! NSW 0-2 Queensland (Thurston 15 min)
From 10m to the right of the uprights he steers it over.
13 min: A fairly innocuous tackle by Gallen is penalised for being high. He’s done much worse. Probably in his own sheds before the game.Even Paul Vautin thought it was harsh.
In any case, Qld have the penalty and begin another set deep in NSW territory. They have had all the field position so far. And here’s another penalty as Gillet is pulled down just short of the line. They opt for the penalty goal attempt, a show of respect for NSW’s defence.
11 min: Qld, in attack, don’t look as slick as we’ve seen them. Bunched, as if unsure of what play to put on next. NSW have been defending well, however. Another grubber is easily claimed by NSW.
Another email, this one from Baj Mitai: “Good”. Anyone?
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9 min: Cronk kicks on the third as Qld look to catch NSW off guard. Late in the set Michael Jennings and then Boyd Cordner almost slip through their respective tacklers. But almost isn’t enough. Another kick by NSW and a penalty to Qld piggy backs them up the field.
7 min: NSW survive Morris’ boo-boo before getting the ball back and again kicking deep to Boyd.
5 min: Qld’s set ends with a fizz as Thurston grubbers straight to Blake Ferguson. Then, after NSW win a penalty, Josh Morris takes the tap on the halfway line and drops it cold in the act of passing! Oh dear. It has been raining in Sydney but still...
Meantime, Tim Griffiths from Swindon writes in: “With Fifita, Klemmer and Bird has there ever been an angrier bench?”
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4 min: Two hit ups by Gallen in that set before Reynolds lofts the ball very, very high. Boyd gets under it, however, and takes it well.
And here’s the first penalty, Myles flipped in a three-man tackle. Got him in a dangerous position though it didn’t appear deliberate. Qld to start a new set 30m out.
2 min: After Inglis threatens to enter open field, Cronk spills the ball but it’s ruled a knock back. Qld bomb on the next set and though he climbs highest Corey Oates drops the ball. NSW’s ball.
Peeeep!
We’re off, and Aaron Woods, channeling Moses, takes the first hit up, but the Maroon sea doesn’t part for him. So much for that idea.
Reynolds’ first kick goes down Boyd’s throat on the Qld 30m line.
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All rise for the national anthem. Or not. I don’t mind either way.
Players take their positions. Cameron Smith to kick off for Qld. NSW to receive.
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Kate’s had enough. C’mon, Kate, stay with us. You didn’t really expect the game to kick off on time, did you?
Btw its absolutely ridiculous #Origin starts at 8:18pm. I've given up. Too late. Gone to bed. I'll listen on the radio.
— Kate (@KatieinSyd) June 1, 2016
The Blues are still in the sheds, actually. In a circle of love. They look grim. Like they’ve just discovered they’re getting audited. Ah, here’s Gallen, leading them out!
As the players finally run on to the field, here’s a recap of Gus Gould laying on the atmosphere with a trowel:
"No fear, no hesitation. You were born to be here. Go make it happen." - Gould. KICK off is NEXT! #Origin #9WWOS https://t.co/FYX9BhZLnj
— Wide World of Sports (@wwos) June 1, 2016
Not too long until kickoff but I hope you’re not holding your breath. In the meantime, drop me an email: paul.connolly.casual@guardian.co.uk. Or tweet me @PFConnolly
Billy Slater, so cleanly shaven he must have used a razor with about 17 curved blades, is whispering to us from the Queensland sheds: “Cameron Smith spoke to the team last night and said [pause] ‘Don’t let your mate down, don’t let your state down.”
Did you shiver? I did. But I’m in Melbourne and it’s freezing here.
In case you were wondering where Andrew Johns is right now...
"Andrew Johns is at the Bundaberg Rum touchscreen". Oh course he is, bless him.
— Russell Jackson (@rustyjacko) June 1, 2016
Looks like the cleaner has bumped the light switch. Get it fixed, you lot, otherwise we’ll never kick off at 8.10pm as planned. I know, I know.
If you are at home... Well, you're missing out.#Origin pic.twitter.com/pzt06Xc2E1
— NRL (@NRL) June 1, 2016
Odds
“Time to check in with [insert gambling company here],” says Yvonne Sampson. Not on my watch!
Is no-one in sports administration at all concerned about hitching their wagon to gambling? Like mixing fire and polyester pyjamas.
Oh, “gamble responsibly”, we’re told, as we’re escorted through the odds time and time again. Jog on.
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Need a cheat sheet? You’re welcome:
State v State
— NRL (@NRL) May 31, 2016
This is #Origin pic.twitter.com/yquziyUqXQ
Interesting pic, that one. Could ‘he’ be the new Two Face in the next Batman movie? But the half of whose face represents the hideously deformed ‘bad’ side of Two Face’s er, face? Smith’s or Gallen’s?
Random thoughts. I like Matt Moylan being in the NSW team. He’s a silk suit in a world of overalls. I can see him being a long-term Blue, moving to five-eighth, a transition that so well with Darren Lockyer with whom he shares many qualities. I’m also pleased to see Adam Reynolds given a chance. No guarantee that he’ll be the one to turn the Blues around, but to have returned to Mitchell Pearce would have been a retrograde step —and partly because Pearce has played so little football this year.
Reynolds, of course, is on the small side and Queensland will direct a lot of traffic his way. But without Beau ‘Kevin Costner’ Scott, who will be the bodyguard to Adam Reynolds’ Whitney Houston? Still, he’s a creative little fella and his kicking game (and goalkicking) will be more than useful in this arena.
For Queensland, Cameron Smith plays his 37th Origin game tonight. That means he overtakes Darren Lockyer to become the most capped Origin player in Australia. The World, even!
In all, there are five debutants on show tonight. For NSW: Matt ‘Boilin’’ Moylan, Adam ‘N’eve’ Reynolds and Josh ‘Sweet’ Mansour. For Queensland: Corey ‘Sow Yer’ Oates and Justin ‘Not To Be Confused With Julian’ O’Neill. Oh, yes, Dylan ‘Johnny’ Walker is on the NSW bench. Like many I thought NSW was joking (considering their hilarious turns over the past 10 years) when they selected him but seems not.
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The teams:
The final teams have been named!#Origin pic.twitter.com/ac1DQjVMK8
— NRL (@NRL) June 1, 2016
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There’s been much talk this week about Cooper Cronk’s availability for the game due to an ankle injury. Was he really in danger of sitting out, or was it all an attempt to lull NSW into a false sense of security? Surely not. I can’t imagine anything could lull NSW into a false sense of security, such is the punishment have they taken over the past decade. Even if Queensland announced their Origin team would consist of a bunch of Oompa-Lumpas too small to get regular work at the Wonka chocolate factory NSW could still not have presumed victory was theirs for the taking.
In any case, the Cronk ‘will-he-won’t-he’ story was killed this morning. Cronk will play tonight:
NSW #Blues react to the surprise news that #CooperCronk WILL play in #Origin tonight. #TenNews pic.twitter.com/BS0FcXfwOC
— Hugh Riminton (@hughriminton) June 1, 2016
Bits and bobs:
The team that wins the opener usually goes on to win the series. In NSW’s 13 series wins they’ve won the opener 11 times. In Qld’s 19 series wins they’ve won the first game 14 times.
In games played in NSW the Blues have won 24, Qld 18, drawn 1. Of the 23 games played at the Olympic Stadium in Sydney NSW have won 15, Qld 7, drawn 1. In game one at the same venue NSW have won six of eight.
Queensland coach Kevin Walters has never overseen a Maroons victory in a single game, let alone a series. A mitigating factor is that tonight is his Origin debut as coach. Still, will the absence of Big Mal Meninga in the Queensland sheds create a vacuum, a kind of portal into which the hopes and dreams of Queensland will be sucked and spat out somewhere you’d never expect, like ancient Abyssinia? There’s a movie in that. Well, probably not, but you’ve got to like spit-balling, right? It’s where the good ideas come from.
Meantime, up in the central commentary position ...
Great to see a woman anchoring the State of #Origin on @WWOS for the first time! @yvonnesampson @Channel9
— Brent Davidson (@Brentus88) June 1, 2016
And here’s the view the players will get as they run on to the arena. As you can see it’s a kind of reverse-birthing experience. What would Freud make of it, I wonder?
The Tunnel #Origin pic.twitter.com/OIPcisWF8i
— NRL (@NRL) June 1, 2016
For all the brilliance of that select group Origin is won in the forwards. To win tonight, to win the series, NSW will need to do more than hold their own. Given the gifts of Queensland’s attacking players, the Blues’ big men will need to dominate their counterparts. They are big enough, and in form for their clubs, but are they good enough? They’ve failed before, so why should tonight be any different?
Well, Maroons legend Gorden Tallis has openly questioned the form of Qld forward stalwarts like Sam Thaiday, Nate Myles and Aiden Guerra. But as long as they keep turning up and putting in a sterling shift in their maroon jersey Queensland will continue to ‘stick and pick’ ’em. It’s likely we won’t know if they’ve all played one series too many until after the fact.
Could this be that series? Yes! Maybe! I dunno, really! But what I do know is that if we keep predicting the demise of Queensland and the re-emergence of NSW we’ll be proven right sooner or later. And how clever we will look then?
What say you, dear reader? What are your thoughts, your predictions, your tips for getting blood stains out of sky blue football jerseys? I’ll be here all night so drop me a line, make my job that little bit easier why don’t you:
Paul.connolly.casual@guardian.co.uk or @PFConnolly
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Preamble
Popular sporting wisdom says ‘you’re only as good as your last game’. If that’s the case, there’s not much point watching tonight’s 2016 State of Origin opener from Sydney’s Olympic Stadium. The last time NSW and Queensland met, in the decider of the 2015 series, Queensland romped home 52-6. It couldn’t have been much more one-sided had the NSW team, en route to Lang Park, slid down in their seats and demanded their coach driver continue on to the airport: “Drive! Drive!”
What made that score-line remarkable was that it could have confirmed —had NSW won— the end of Queensland’s era of dominance, an end some thought may have been heralded by NSW’s 2014 series win. Instead, it seemed to suggest that NSW were as far away as ever. Which is to say a long, long way. How long? Keep walking until I tell you to stop.
Personally, I don’t buy that. I think we are getting closer to a return to the old days when Origin series wins were more equally split. That’s obvious, isn’t it? As time takes effect the Maroons will find it harder and harder to maintain their dominance. Already it seems there are potential Maroons stars waiting in the wings for their shot, but surely they won’t go on to prove themselves as dominant as Johnathan Thurston, Greg Inglis, Cameron Smith and Cooper Cronk.
Remember Billy Slater? He used to be among that group, too, but sadly we may have already seen his best at Origin level. If time (manifested in chronic shoulder injuries) can catch Slater, it can overhaul the others too.
Paul will be here shortly with kick-off scheduled for 8pm AEST, although 8:18pm is a more likely starting time. In the meantime, take a trip down memory lane with Matt Cleary’s fantastic account of Fatty Vautin’s ill-fated tenure of the Queensland team, post-1995 glory.
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