POST GAME Game III Discussion

[Big Pete]

I don’t get it with Munster. Like he didn’t **** up but I’m seeing people give him 10’s everywhere and he had one try assist? It’s bizarre.

It wasn't a 10/10 performance but it was a MotM performance in the second biggest game of the year and he was just assertive all night. I wouldn't just call it a try assist either, the skill to set that entire passage in motion was first class. Then later on coming up with strip plays and making half-breaks to earn penalties it was fantastic.

How many TAs did Cleary end up with in Game II? I thought he was wonderful that night, but I think he only got the 1 TA himself.

Considering how much Queensland relied on Munster to step up and the players around him, I thought it was one of his best performances. Right up there with his debut.

 

[Alec]

I think you can hear cam smith in the commentary box say kick it when Munster got it.

Just watched the replay, someone definitely says "kick it" hahaha. I'm not sure if it's Smith, but who else could it be? The ref?

 

[I bleed Maroon]

How stupid must Cam be feeling right about now? He had a chance to lift both the premiership and the shield within months of each other in potentially his final year if he hadn't been such a self serving dickhead.

 

[Alec]

1. Ponga
6. Munster
7. DCE
9. Grant

How good does this spine look if everyone is playing at their best? Well, not as good as when we had Thurston, Smith, Lockyer and co, but that's a way better recovery than I was thinking we were going to get. DCE probably only has 2, 3 at most years in him, but by that stage hopefully someone like Dearden or Walker stands up.

The forward pack is looking great has plenty of years in them too. I don't even know how Carrigan breaks into the side, sorry @Wolfie. Things are looking good for QLD again, just need some backs to come through as well.

 

[broncsgoat]

How stupid must Cam be feeling right about now? He had a chance to lift both the premiership and the shield within months of each other in potentially his final year if he hadn't been such a self serving dickhead.

Good chance we win 18 and/or 19 as well if he played

 

[Alec]

How stupid must Cam be feeling right about now? He had a chance to lift both the premiership and the shield within months of each other in potentially his final year if he hadn't been such a self serving dickhead.

He seemed pretty excited

 

[Fernando]

1. Ponga
6. Munster
7. DCE
9. Grant.

Looks great. And Ponga isn't even guaranteed the jersey if Brimson keeps playing well.

And Papalii, Welch (who was a huge inclusion tonight) , Collins and Arrow is a fantastic middle

 

[Midean]

I just woke up, and the first thing that popped into my head when i opened my eyes was "That was a hell of a game of footy".

So after sleeping on it, and reflecting over my morning coffee, that will go down as one of my favorite games ive watched since i first started watching footy.
After a shitty year with covid, and lockdowns and a terrible year for the club, there was something extra special about that game last night.
It has been a long time since i have been perched on the edge of my seat for the better part of an entire game, sweating on every pass, every kick and every play the ball.
Brilliant stuff.

 

[Old Mate]

Threw him to the loins.

 

[mstreet]

Either way, he copped a fat one and blew up in his face.

 

[winslow_wong]

Look at all these Qld team lists and all I can think is why can’t the broncos have any of these rep stars.

Sad face [emoji3525]

 

[Dexter]

1. Ponga
6. Munster
7. DCE
9. Grant

How good does this spine look if everyone is playing at their best? Well, not as good as when we had Thurston, Smith, Lockyer and co, but that's a way better recovery than I was thinking we were going to get. DCE probably only has 2, 3 at most years in him, but by that stage hopefully someone like Dearden or Walker stands up.

The forward pack is looking great has plenty of years in them too. I don't even know how Carrigan breaks into the side, sorry @Wolfie. Things are looking good for QLD again, just need some backs to come through as well.

The greatest thing Qld get from this is the self belief these fringe players will have and competition we now have for positions.
In 1 series we go from desperate for players to players jostling for a spot.

 

[Kooly87]

All that for one try assist.

Also kicked it dead from a kickoff.

Those numbers were almost better in a single game than Milford's numbers for the entire 2020 season.

Honestly to just dismiss it as 'one try assist' suggests you didn't actually watch the game or you're simply looking to be contrarian, because Munster in the tackle prior to that busted them open and kicked and regathered twice to get us the whole way down the field. He literally created the whole thing out of nothing. He was epic tonight, and whilst it may not have been 10/10, he was all over NSW all night and without him Queensland simply don't win. If you genuinely can't see that then frankly you just don't get Rugby League.

 

[WASSHHH]

I don’t get it.

Fixed.

 

[Kooly87]

Well that win can go into the Origin folklore book, right up there with 1980, 1995, 2001 and 2006.

Queensland always, ALWAYS do their best work when their backs are furthest up against the wall and tonight and this series in general were no exception. Make no mistake, this probably WAS the worst team Queensland have ever sent out, but something magic happens to players when they put on that Maroon jersey.

I know this would be incredibly hard to swallow for NSW fans, but the truth is that once you remove the parochialism and rivalry, there is no way to not see this as simply brilliant for Origin and Rugby League in general. Factually speaking, NSW have simply got an embarrassment of riches in playing talent, and they almost always do by sheer weight of playing depth. Even when Queensland won 8 in a row and had a handful of all time greats playing at the same time, NSW still started plenty of those series as favourites, sometimes by wide margins, because across a whole 17 or an entire squad for a series, they just have such a wide pool of talent to select from.

This year, that talent gap was as wide as I can honestly ever recall. Queensland have had skinny depth before, but this was on an unprecedented level at a time when for Queensland even at full strength, NSW already had a vastly superior team on paper. Queensland all series have relied on guys who were lucky to be selected in their NRL 17's, let alone Origin squads, but what makes Origin special is what Queenslanders do when they put that magic jumper on.

Being bluntly honest, if NSW win all the series that they start as favourites for or are supposed to win on paper, they'd have won just about every series since 1980. But something magic happens when players pull on that Queensland jumper and for more than 40 years now they've been turning up and managing to produce much, much more than the sum of their parts.

I know this might be a painful truth for NSW, but people should never forget that this bit of magic from Queensland is what makes Origin the amazing spectacle it is. It's David vs Goliath and Queensland so often make use of that magic Maroon slingshot to produce stunning upsets that keep Origin alive and competitive all these years when on paper it so often has had no right to be.

 

[Culhwch]

I will remember this game for a long time.

'I'll take 'Things Teddy and Walker will never say' for a hundred, thanks, Alex.'

Honestly to just dismiss it as 'one try assist' suggests you didn't actually watch the game or you're simply looking to be contrarian, because Munster in the tackle prior to that busted them open and kicked and regathered twice to get us the whole way down the field.

I think you might be on to something there.

 

[holdzy]

Well that win can go into the Origin folklore book, right up there with 1980, 1995, 2001 and 2006.

2015 as well. Too fucking old, blues are about to start their own dynasty. Cue the biggest ass whooping in Origin history.

 

[Dexter]

The aftermath of the arrow tackle looked ordinary at best but in his defence I don't think he knew Teddy had been knocked out until he pushed him into the ground.
I think he just thought he'd knocked the ball loose and was letting him know then realised he was injured and stuck his hand up.

I'll give Arrow the benefit of the doubt for now.

The send off was fair and similar to Hughes in the GF but how the **** does Frizell not get at least a penalty for doing the same thing against Munster. It was in a scoring position but just a bit earlier in the chase so not as blatant but very deliberate .
The NRL need to get some clarity on this .