Game II Discussion

[Spoon]

 

[Kimlo]

Lol good stuff

 

[Organix]

After watching again I reckon 11, 12 and 13 for QLD were just awesome. Gagai and Chambers did really well as well. Billy Slater and that jerky run he has is something else as well.

 

[Unbreakable]

Just got back from the Gold Coast, what a win! Such a gutsy performance by all involved, especially JT. Champion player.

Unreal performance again from Gagai. McGuire, Cooper & Gillett were huge as well. Thought Wallace deserved another stint, he defended well and made some good metres on the runs he did take in the first half.

 

[Organix]

Just got back from the Gold Coast, what a win! Such a gutsy performance by all involved, especially JT. Champion player.

Unreal performance again from Gagai. McGuire, Cooper & Gillett were huge as well. Thought Wallace deserved another stint, he defended well and made some good metres on the runs he did take in the first half.

You're well on the Wallace Love Train now mate!

 

[Super Freak]

Just got back from the Gold Coast, what a win! Such a gutsy performance by all involved, especially JT. Champion player.

Unreal performance again from Gagai. McGuire, Cooper & Gillett were huge as well. Thought Wallace deserved another stint, he defended well and made some good metres on the runs he did take in the first half.

Wallace made 2 runs for 22 metres in 22 minutes of footy.

Interesting you're not getting stuck into him about that...

 

[Super Freak]

Rumours suggest that Thurston is fucked. He won't be playing in Game 3, and likely won't be playing for the Cowboys for some time.

 

[Unbreakable]

Wallace made 2 runs for 22 metres in 22 minutes of footy.

Interesting you're not getting stuck into him about that...

Calls it hows I sees it.

Everyone I watched the game with said they were happy with him his time on the field. Probably didn't take as many runs as you'd like, but as I said, did a lot of work in defence in his short stint, ran hard.

Certainly wasn't the worst debut I've seen.

 

[Super Freak]

Interesting...

 

[Porthoz]

WTF... seriously, what did Cooper do wrong this game? 12 runs for 95 mtrs and 47 tackles in 80 mins, while taking his job of protecting Thurston very seriously. They threw Cordner and Frizzell at that edge and Cooper just kept taking them out.

Glasby's start was disastrous, but he recovered and didn't end up doing too bad, if you forget those 2 bad misses. He probably won't be there next year with Matt Scott's return.
I also don't think J. Wallace did too much wrong, albeit the lack of runs and punch may cost him. Hopefully he just takes it in his stride for a major improvement next game.
I did like the few things Hess was able to show in his limited time. He will eventually become a mainstay, possibly once we move Gillett into lock...
Papalii was the forward who impressed me the least. Either he isn't cut to play in the middle, or he was carrying an injury.
Napa was our best prop by far, Gillett and Cooper really good on the edges, while McGuire's contribution cannot be underestimated, especially his line break leading to Gagai's first try, giving him the best Qld forward trophy this game.

Slater, Cronk, Smith and Thurston improved in the second stanza after an ordinary first half, especially Billy, although none of them were close to their best. I furiously hope Thurston beats the odds, and can end his Origin career with a victory on Suncorp's hallowed grass.

I was worried about Boyd in the centres, but he didn't falter, went looking for the ball and that immaculate pass to Holmes try was trademark. Hopefully his knock is nothing serious.
Holmes obviously felt the weight of the jersey and quickly found out Origin is just another level. He was lucky with his try, as there is valid doubt whether he stepped on the line (haven't seen an image proving either way, so the videoref decision was correct), and he was on shaky ground for a while there, but will be better for it. Should he have been there ahead of Oates? Probably not, but he won't be dropped I reckon.
Chambers was below his Origin average, really rocks and diamonds stuff. His try saver on Jayne was great, as was his pass to "donate" Gagai his first try of the night, but he was nowhere to be seen on the roaches first try, and being bundled into touch twice in a game is just not good enough for a player of his pedigree.

I've always liked Gagai and was very sad (despite agreeing with Hook's measure) when he left us, but I never thought he could deliver on the Origin arena as he constantly has... what a magnificent Maroon he has turned out to be! My MOTM for sure!

 

[Rhys van Beurden]

I live in confusion every time Josh Jackson plays. Absolute boring plodder of the highest order. Tackles well I guess. Don't do much else of note. His stats confirm this. Fensom was better at being average.

 

[Big Pete]

It really was a throwback win for Queensland, they were on the back foot through out the entire game but when they needed to come up with the winning play they weren't afraid to chance their arm. As lethal as he's been against the Brisbane Broncos, I've always been a Michael Morgan fan. However I was beginning to question his spot in the Queensland side and wondered whether he had really nailed down his spot. I was beginning to think he had played himself out of an Origin jersey and really wanted him to prove me wrong because I do think he has a big role to play in Queensland's future. Then when the game was on the line, Morgan does what he does best and comes up with the big play. I was so proud of him, that one pass, that one run that had been missing and he finally delivered here at the most vital juncture of the match.

A sweet try and the kick from Johnathan Thurston is right up there with Michael O'Connor's famous kick from Game 2 1991. What a moment from the greatest ever Origin halfback.

I'll need to check a replay before I go too in-depth, but once Cronk, Smith and JT figured out that they should play through the Blues instead of around them, the Maroons looked far more dangerous. Their insistance to run sideways seemed to make the night more difficult than it had to be.

 

[Porthoz]

 

[Fozz]

 

[Super Freak]

Papalii was the forward who impressed me the least. Either he isn't cut to play in the middle, or he was carrying an injury.

He was carrying a knee injury that he picked up against the Panthers. It affected his preparation.. Not that I think it would have mattered if he didn't. I've never been a fan of Papalii in the middle, he has always been less effective there.

 

[2ndPhase]

It's interesting that we won in spite of what I see as mistakes in some selections, mistakes in the use of the bench, mistakes in on field decision making by Smith and Cronk a lot of the time especially the kicking game. Yet we won. Kind of feel like it's reinforcing some bad decisions and hopefully that doesn't bite us in the ass in game 3. Kevvie hasn't convinced me.

 

[Foordy]

Rumours suggest that Thurston is fucked. He won't be playing in Game 3, and likely won't be playing for the Cowboys for some time.

prepare for the Green whinging

 

[Danoz Direct]

Morgan is seriously a centre.