Match Review thread

[Big Pete]

Round 1 Roosters v Rabbitohs

South Sydney 28 (Merritt 3, McQueen, G. Burgess tries; A. Reynolds 4/5 goals)
Sydney Roosters 10 (Maloney, SBW tries; Maloney 1/2 goals)

SBW's big comeback game which was famously crashed by the Rabbitohs thanks to a scintillating performance from GI. Inglis was classy all game, playing a hand in 4 of the Rabbits 5 tries and was a constant handful with the ball. In the end, the Chooks kept inviting Souths down their end and every so often, Inglis would come up with just the right pass to take advantage - it was a masterclass.

Sammy Burgess also had a strong game both on and off the ball. He ran for a ton of hard metres and dished out some big hits, in particular on Pearce who was hammered twice by the Englishmen. Young brother George also had a break-out performance.

Souths were a fairly simple team with a couple of good set plays that they were consistent with - either they would swing left and trust GI to come up with the right play, try a well worked switch play where they'd go one out one way before passing back in and catching the defence on the wrong foot or basically the high percentage kick. It worked well in Round 1 and it only started falling apart when Reynolds got busted open from a stray Guerra elbow which affected his kicking game.

Meanwhile, the Roosters were all over the place. Their best play seemed to be the face ball along the fringes which opened the Rabbitohs up a few times but they just couldn't capitilise on it for one reason or another. In the end, I think they played into Souths hands by trying to beat them up the middle and it caught up on them when Souths were able to call up G. Burgess & Lima while the Roosters brought in Kennedy who was a total plodder & Arona. In hindsight, they just needed to be a little more expansive and targeted Souths more down the left - it will be interesting to check out the Round 26 contest to detect what changes were made.

3. Greg Inglis
2. Sam Burgess
1. George Burgess

As a game, this one was over just over at half-time and most of what rang true back then still holds up. GI master-class and Burgess Bros dominating. Pretty skippable.

Next up: Round 4 Manly v Tigers

 

[Big Pete]

Round 4 Manly v West Tigers

Manly 26 (Williams 2, Symonds, DCE, Matai tries; Lyon 3/5 goals)
West Tigers 0

For the life of me, I was having the most difficult time remembering this match - then I saw one of the strangest passages of play and remembered actually sitting down and seeing that live.

No description can do it justice, just watch...

[video=youtube_share;kvoZJVOdWfA]http://youtu.be/kvoZJVOdWfA[/video]

Otherwise, this was a terrible game. Manly put in one of the worst performances of the season, completing only 6/17 inside their own first half including a number of unforced errors inside their own half - yet the Tigers had no teeth. Eventually, the Sea Eagles exposed the make-shift selection of Tedesco on the wing and got on the board and never looked back.

Apparently, the reason Middleton chose this game was to illustrate the change in the obstruction interpretation - apparently this was the straw that broke the camel's back following tries going against Tedesco (he wasn't going to score anyways) & DCE (who did score). Before then, it was that annoying black and white ruling which was supposed to correct the Hodges try from Origin (again, a token overreaction from the NRL when a call goes against NSW).

Tough game to pick a 3,2,1, may just go...

3. Daly Cherry-Evans
2. David Williams
1. Brett Stewart

Other notes...

Marshall grubbered on the first Tigers play of the game and it was easily covered for the lolBenji2013 moment of the game.

Farah was benched for Iosefa in one of the silliest coaching moves of 2013.

B. Lawrence bombed a certain try when he made a huge break and took the tackle instead of passing to either man on the outside of him. Thankfully he'd redeem himself later when he'd shrug off an Anasta tackle and flick a pass over for an eventual try to the Wolfman.

Final Thoughts: Skip it, unless you want to see one of the worst games of the season.

Next up: Round 26 Rabbits v Roosters.

 

[Broncoman]

LOL that was probably the strangest try I've ever seen but the terrible handling from Wests showed what a mistake riddled game it was. That try and because I went and saw Legally Blonde (the musical) instead of watching footy live are the only reasons I remember that game.

 

[Big Pete]

The 1999 GF is one of those matches I've yet to see and I don't know if I want to see it. The story just sounds so good and it was such a cool back-drop to 2000, which was the season I really started becoming a fan.

So it remains one of those matches where I've only seen the highlights and it just seems like the story was that the Dragons botched it while the Storm were courageous enough to take it out. An incredible achievement for them, especially given how young the club was but truly well deserved - seriously, the way Ribot and co. put that team together deserves all the praise it gets. They were sort of lucky to an extent given so many clubs folded, so the chances to assemble a great squad were better than most, but still, you have to make a lot of correct picks and that's what they did.

 

[Broncoman]

I added the Wests Tigers edition to my essentials collection on my weekly trip to Queen Street last Wednesday and decided to pop it on tonight. I watched the 1st game on the set which was their first game as a merged club, Round 1 2000 V Brisbane Broncos.

The Tigers were outclassed on paper imo but they fronted up to the Broncos and achieved a 24-24 draw on debut in a roller coaster of a game. Wasn't a bad game either there was plenty of ball movement being played at a good pace and some strong defence which was good considering it was played on the Campbelltown sandpit, it makes the Lang Park surface in 2003 look like a beautiful green field in Ireland.

Luck goes both sides way in the first half as Broncos lock Kevin Campion scores of a questionable pass from Ben Walker and the Tigers score their first try as a joint venture as John Skandalis slams the ball down after a bomb by Craig Field is dropped by Kevie Walters but replays suggest that Skandalis lost the ball before grounding it. Joel Caine kicks them to the lead after a questionable penalty as Skandalis wasn't held in the tackle of Campion. Caine scores 5 minutes before the break and converts taking the Tigers to a 14-6 lead at halftime. The story of the first half is the Tigers dominating in possession and territory but poor handling and some desperate scrambling defence by Brisbane keeps them at bay.

The Tigers start the second half with a bang as Joel Caine scores a terrific individual try but misses the conversion. The Tigers continue to control the game but after a penalty for a strip the Broncos get some momentum going and in a 15 minute period score 3 answered tries to Ben Ikin, Brad Thorne and Luke Priddis to grab a 24-18 lead with 10 to go. From the restarting set a clearing kick by Lockyer is charged down by Darren Senter giving the Tigers a chance which they capitalise on as Field puts Caine over for his 3rd try, Caine converts and scores are level at 24-24. Poor last tackle and attacking options let the Tigers down as neither side can register a score in the last 9 minutes and the game ends in a 24-24 draw (this was before golden-point was introduced)

Notes

- The Tigers controlled most of the game as the Broncos made to many mistakes with the ball and didn't get enough possession and were quite lucky to escape with a draw in the end

- I heard that at the time Terry Hill's signing was a big one for the Tigers and there was a lot of hype, he justified it with a strong performance in the centres

- This was Ben Ikin's debut for the Broncos and Lockyer's 100th first grade game

- The 2000 season began a month early to accommodate the Olympic games and to escape Queensland's tropical weather Brisbane and NQL played their first 4 games away from home. There was also a 2 minute fluid break every 20 minutes

Wests Tigers 24: 3 tries by Joel Caine and a try by John Skandalis, 4 goals by Joel Caine
Brisbane Broncos 24: Tries by Kevin Campion, Ben Ikin, Brad Thorne and Luke Priddis, 2 goals by Michael De' Vere, 2 goals by Shane Walker

Wests Tigers

1: Joel Caine
2: John Carlaw
3: Owen Craigie
4: Terry Hill
5: John Hopoate
6: Kevin McGuiness
7: Craig Field
8: Jason Lowrie
9: Darren Senter
10: Shane Walker
11: Jarrod McCracken (Captain)
12: Mark Simston
13: Tyrone Smith

14: Adam Nable
15: Steve Georgallis
16: Mark O' Niell
17: John Skandalis
18: Ken McGuiness

Coach: Wayne Pearce

Brisbane Broncos

1: Darren Lockyer
2: Michael Hanc0ck
3: Ben Ikin
4: Michael De' Vere
5: Wendell Sailor
6: Kevin Walters
7: Ben Walker
8: Shane Webcke
9: Luke Priddis
10: Petero Civoniceva
11: Gorden Tallis
12: Brad Thorne
13: Kevin Campion

14: Phillip Lee
15: Shane Walker
16: Tonie Carroll
17: Harvey Howard
18: Lote Tuquri
19: Shaun Berrigan

Coach: Wayne Bennett

 

[Big Pete]

2012 is one of those years I've found myself thinking back on in recent times and so I decided to pull out the game that I think confirmed our worst fears that season: Round 20 vs. Gold Coast.

Line-Ups

Gold Coast Titans
1. Zillman 2. Gordon 3. Idris 4. Michaels 5. Mead
6. Sezer 7 Prince (c)
8. Bailey 9. Srama 10. Douglas 11. Myles 12. Minichiello 13. O'Dwyer

Bench: 14 White 15. James 17. Falloon 20. Peyroux

Brisbane Broncos
1. Hoffman 2. Beale 3. Glenn 4. Hodges 5. Maranta
6. Norman 7. Wallace
8. McGuire 9. McCullough 10. Civoniceiva 11. Gillett 12. Thaiday (c) 13. Parker

Bench: 14. Hunt 15. Te'o 16. Dodds 17. Hannant

Live thoughts. (Warning will be in-depth as I want to try and pin-point specific issues)

Hadley, Lewis and Vautin are our commentators for this one, joy...

3rd Minute - After the Titans make 70m in their second set - Brisbane are awarded a controversial penalty after Michaels is deemed to have stripped the ball from Hodges' grasp. It was a typical loose Hodgo carry but no doubt Michaels was playing at the ball - doesn't stop from Hadley and Fatty from carrying on.

4th Minute - Broncos cough it up on the 3rd after Glenn is unable to take an adventurous flick pass from Hoffman off the trademark second man play - Brisbane already feeling the effects of being Reed-less. Lewis actually tries to argue the ball went backwards - Wal at this point was becoming more and more partial to the Broncos.

6th Minute - After Hoffman marks a very easy Prince kick inside the in-goal, Brisbane make good ground down the left hand side after Gillett makes a nice surge where he picks out Prince. Wallace on the last puts in a chip kick for Beale but it's way too shallow and Beale ends up batting it forward for the easy turn over.

8th Minute - Beale is well positioned to cut off a 40/20 attempt from Sezer and the Broncos ruck it down to the Titans 40m so Norman can hoist the ball up which is knocked on by Mead after good pressure from Gillett & Maranta. Broncos ball on the 20m line.

10th Minute - Gordon is able to take a good cross-field kick from Wallace to defuse the situation. Brisbane had a good opportunity down the left but Prince came up with a good tackle on Hoffman which could be described as a try saver - Hoffman was standing too flat which made it easy for the future Bronco. The Broncos still had an opportunity down the left but Parker turned it back on the inside, and when Macca sent the ball back out that way, Norman decided to take the line on when the Broncos had space down the left.

11th Minute - Oh no! Brisbane restrict the Titans to 30m in a good defensive set, Gillett then comes up with a good charge down on a Prince kick only to make a meal of the ball when the Broncos would have been a sure thing to score a play later. Titans ball 20m out.

16th Minute - Both teams were just rucking it out - both are having success down their left hand sides. However, the Broncos are awarded back to back penalties - the first fair enough as Hoffman is taken off the ball while attempting to take a bomb - the other was controversial as Maxwell originally rules a knock on against Parker but the pocket referee calls strip and Maxwell goes with that call. Hadley is irate. It doesn't matter as Norman throws a silly forward pass to McGuire on third tackle for a cheap turn over.

18th Minute - Off a nice Hannant run, the Broncos make it well inside the Titans territory - Wallace is then sacked on the forth forcing Norman to kick. He puts a kick onto the short-side which is easily claimed by Zillman who bursts through a weak attempt at tackle from Hodges + Norman then Wallace before being claimed by Beale on the half-way. Titans have all the momentum but Sezer puts through a premature grubber which goes touch in goal.

25th Minute - Try to the Titans! Both sides were just grinding each other down with Broncos holding a marginal territorial victory. Norman on the last goes for a chip kick which Prince is able to read, he picks it up passes it to Zillman who then finds himself in space before linking up with Mead off a forward pass. Lewis reacts to it but Fatty plays it off like it isn't a big deal. 6-0 Titans.

27th Minute - Good post-try set from the Titans has the Broncos in all sorts of trouble but the referees gift them a soft relieving penalty which puts them back on attack. Nothing set but Wallace is able to earn a nice repeat off a well placed grubber which Michaels is forced to take dead. Goal-line drop out to the Broncos.

30th Minute - It comes to naught for the Broncos as Glenn spills a loose offload from Matt Gillett. Broncos looked dangerous that set, especially when they were able to link a few passes together but it just isn't happening for them. Titans are awarded a penalty after a lifting tackle on James and now the Titans are on attack.

32nd Minute - Titans bomb a dead cert try - the Titans once again expose the lax defence of Hodges who's having a shocker and Zillman runs right past him and tries to link up with Michaels who spills it. Pass looked forward once again but refs seemed to only call the knock on.

35th Minute - TRY Broncos. Wallace hoists it up down to David Mead and Matt Gillett is able to beat him to the ball and finds Norman back on the inside who goes over untouched. That has really rubbed the salt into the Titans wounds and Parker bangs it over to level the scores. 6 all.

37th Minute - Broncos earn another cheap penalty and have the ball down deep in the Titans end only for Parker to spill it on the third. Bit of a mixed game from Parker, he was the guy who missed the earlier tackle on Zillman and was lucky to receive a penalty earlier in the game. He's been busy but hasn't made the in-roads he's usually capable of.

40th Minute - Broncos with one last opportunity as Gillett once again troubles Prince with a confident run but a desperate tackle from Idris causes the ball to spill loose. Titans ruck it out before Prince kicks it to Maranta giving the Broncos one last right of reply where Te'o barrels Michaels over with a sick 'don't argue'. Brisbane try and roll the dice before half-time but a cut-out pass from Wallace misses the mark and Glenn takes the ball and accepts the hit up.

HALF TIME

Gold Coast 6 (Mead try, Prince 1/1 goals)
Brisbane 6 (Norman try, Parker 1/1 goals)

Thoughts: Brisbane have had their opportunities but failed to build any pressure either due to some low percentage plays or blatant poor options. Apart of the problem is that the three quaters aren't playing well - Glenn is clearly struggling out-wide and Hodgo doesn't appear to be 100% but everyone is looking a little lethargic after a physical game against the Warriors a week ago.

42nd Minute Broncos get the second half under-way with a relatively good set. Norman puts up another bomb down the left which at first looks too shallow but the Titans let it bounce which nearly causes them to kick a goal line drop out only for Maxwell to penalise Maranta for continuing on with the tackle. He admits it was an unlucky call but it was a black and white call.

44th Minute - Both teams turn over the ball - Peyroux throws a silly pass intended for Idris which is taken by Gillett but two tackles later, Te'o loses it after storming onto an inside pass from Wallace. Titans ball on their 30.

47th Minute - Arguably the Broncos best set of the game - the boys are starting to string some passes together and are creating a lot of gaps in the Titans defence. In the end, Hunt goes down the short side to Hodges who puts through a grubber kick that's just a little too deep.

49th Minute - Argh, what a stupid penalty from Wallace! Prince and O'Dwyer hit Hoffman with a heavy tackle which Wallace takes offence to and he drags his future halves partner off Hoffman and starts a commotion which results in the Titans receiving the ball inside the Broncos 20m zone. Dumb dumb dumb. Thaiday is also cautioned for third-manning. Thankfully Peyroux knocks on from an improvised play from Prince on the last. Peyroux has been the worst player on the park so far and he's only played 10 minutes. :laugh:

52nd Minute - What a weird passage of play. Hannant makes a nice strip on Myles only for Ben Hunt to throw a forward pass on the next play. Titans scrum on the Broncos 40 and they turn it over when Sezer tries a grubber on tackle one and Gillett is able to take it. In the end, the Broncos kick it dead after Wallace once again misses the mark on a cut-out pass forcing Beale to put together an improvised grubber which goes dead. BP Coaching, unless there's nobody in-front of you, just die with the ball in that situation and force them out of the corner.

57th Minute - Broncos force a goal line drop out after a really good kick from Wallace that finds space right in the in-goal and forces Prince to play at before he's eventually tackled right next to the up-rights.

59th Minute - McGuire spills it on the third - that's been the story of the night for the Broncos. Idris on the previous play laid Glenn out with a beauty of a shoulder charge. Then as the Titans are rucking it out, Te'o hits Bailey with an ugly high tackle which places him on report and gifts the Titans possession inside the Broncos half.

64th Minute - TRY TITANS. Well what a double whammy, Broncos looked soft as Douglas made a mini-break on tackle one and a few tackles later, Bailey is able to beat the tackle of McGuire and go over adjacent to the up-rights. However, Bailey is upset at something. Maxwell goes upstairs and it's revealed that Hoffman has clocked him with a fist that was intended for his arm. Oh nothing can go right for the Broncos...and it's now deemed an 8 point try and Hoffman is on report. Prince converts more opportunities and burns a lot of time on the clock. 14-6 Titans

68th Minute - Brisbane on the back of a penalty (their first of the second half) work it down the Titans end and have a very ordinary set which was lucky not to have ended on tackle 3 when Hodges spilled a Macca face pass, but it went backwards straight to Te'o. However, Hodges would later spoil it when he ignored the stacked left hand corner and decided to go right where the Titans always had the numbers. He's had a better second half Hodgo but it was a bad set from him right there.

72nd Minute - Not a whole lot doing for the Broncos who desperately need points. They're finding space on the fringes but they're having trouble building on those plays and spreading the ball - Wallace will looks for options and seemingly has little to work with. In this instance, the Broncos work an improvised play down the right which sees Beale make a half-break only to kick it straight to a Titans player standing just in-front of him. Game is just about gone at this point.

74th Minute - Bleh, another poor last tackle option - after doing well to spread the ball inside their own 20 and make a good 60m, Wallace attempts a trick play grubber kick which is gathered just about as easily as Beale's previous attempt.

76th Minute - Game well and truly over as Wallace throws a forward pass to Gillett inside the Broncos 30m zone. Hodges is off which means Ben Hunt is playing right centre and Civoniceiva who has been off since the 17th minute mark only just made his return.

77th Minute - NO-TRY TITANS. Prince puts through a probing kick into the Broncos in-goal and O'Dwyer is johnny on the spot but he's unable to ground it. Let off for the Broncos who admittedly defended their line well.

80th Minute - TRY BRONCOS Te'o finishes off a nice consolation try which saw Norman throw a nice cut-out pass to Beale who finds Hunt (!!) playing on the wing, Benny then sums up the situation with a good pass back in the middle for Te'o to score. Parker misses the conversion 14-10 Titans

Gold Coast 14 (Mead, Bailey tries; Prince 3/3 goals)
Brisbane 10 (Norman, Te'o tries; Parker 1/1, Wallace 0/1 goals)

Final thoughts: Frustrating night at the office for the Broncos - it was pretty clear that a bunch of key players weren't fit following the Warriors clash (eg. Parker, Hodges, McGuire) and some weren't comfortable with the makeshift positioning (Glenn) but they really didn't do themselves any favours. I just didn't think they played smart footy - their timing was off on simple plays and they continually took wrong options when they had great field territory. They just needed to follow a simple gameplan which would see them target the fringes of the Titans and try and isolate the defence so Gillett & Te'o could strike. Unfortunately, there just wasn't enough organisation out there tonight.

Titans didn't have that many shots at the Broncos line, but when they were given one in the second half, they made them pay the maximum penalty.

Also, if you want a golden example of Hook misusing his bench, this was your game. He had Civoniceiva sit on the bench from the 17th minute right up until the 76th while McGuire was stinking it up. Dodds didn't make it out onto the field until that time either - silly stuff.

 

[Broncoman]

Might as well start doing some Origin reviews, starting of with the controversial opener to the 2000 series.

I've heard about how furious the Queensland media and League community were about Harrigan's referring and they all have valid complaints but the Tallis send off was just one of the controversial moments in this game.

Queensland outplay the Blues in the first half completely but can only hold an 8-6 lead thanks to some luck from the video-ref where Girdler was disallowed imo a fair try in the 13th minute and poor execution from NSW. After an early goal from Girdler QLD score the first try thanks to great vision from Ikin who kicked on the first between the NSW 40 and halfway, Adam McDougall slipped and Mat Rogers won the race to the ball. The Blues respond soon after as Girdler sucks in the QLD defence and puts in a beautiful grubber for McDougall who dives on the ball to score. The Maroons take back the lead as Adrian Lam who recovered extremely well after being hit high by Bryan Fletcher ducks under some poor defence by the Blues and scores. Rogers misses the kick and the score remains unchanged to halftime.

Queensland start the second half with a bang as Lam again evades poor NSW defence and scores a terrific try in the corner and Rogers finally lands a goal and the lead is extended to 8. The Blues respond quickly, Lockyer runs the ball back after fielding a Kimmorley kick and is met by heavy defence jolting the ball free. Kimmorley picks the ball up and passes to Girdler who sprints for the corner, Girdler is tackled but flicks the ball back and McDougall gets his second. Fittler and Kimmorley start the running the ball and testing the defence and the Blues gain the momentuem but poor execution and excellent Maroon defence holds them out. Lockyer lands a goal from a penalty with 20 to go and Queensland start to get some go forward and are hot on the charge before the moment everyone remembers this game for. An inside ball from Lam is intercepted by Fletcher who passes to the right to Terry Hill, the ball floats forward and Hill appears to drop it forward as well. The mistakes are unnoticed by Harrigan who lets the play go on. NSW get up the other end after a Kimmorley break and after a good ball from Peachey, Girdler goes over to score in the corner evading Lockyer. Gorden Tallis gets fired up and abuses Harrigan and calls him a fuckin cheat and is sent off with 9 minutes to go. The score remains level as Girdler narrowly misses the conversion. A tight finish ensures but NSW steal victory as a Rodney Howe pass is almost intercepted by Sailor but the ball goes to Ainscough who sends Peachey over in the corner, Girdler misses the conversion but the Blues hang on to steal a 20-16 victory.

Notes

- The Tallis sending off was one of many controversies in the game, Kennedy was ruled to have lost the ball after a kick off when the ball clearly rebounded of his legs, the Girdler no-try, Thorne being ruled to have knocked-on when it was obvious Bryan Fletcher pushed the ball out when Thorne attempting to play it, Terry Hill being ruled to have knocked-on when it looks like the ball came of his legs. Both sides not just NSW got the benefit of some calls.

- NSW missed something like 40 tackles and Queensland only missed something like 5-15 tackles

- When Kimmorley and Fittler started running the ball and taking on the line NSW lifted considerably and looked a lot sharper in attack

- Gorden Tallis's sending off was only the 2nd time to that point a player had been sent off in Origin

- This was the only Origin game David Peachey (one of my fav's) played. He played a patchy game making some mistakes but came up with some big plays like the winning try, the ball to Girdler but his try saving tackle on a rampaging Tonie Carroll with 15 minutes to go saved the Blues and left them within a chance. Peachey was very unlucky with rep footy, he came through the same time Darren Lockyer did but he did achieve an Australian SL jersey along with a NSW SL and this Origin game.

- MOM debate (I'll do this in the Origin reviews). NSW winger Adam McDougall received MOM after scoring 2 tries and playing solidly but his 2 tries were tries any winger would've scored and I personally think that Ryan Girdler, Robbie Kearns or Brett Kimmorley would've been a lot more deserving. Girdler was terrific in the centres and it was a sign of things to come for Girdler in that series.

New South Wales 20: 2 Tries by Adam McDougall, tries by Ryan Girdler and David Peachey, 2 goals by Ryan Girdler
Queensland 16: 2 tries by Adrian Lam and a try by Matt Rogers, a goal by Matt Rogers and a goal by Darren Lockyer

New South Wales

1: David Peachey
2: Adam McDougall
3: Ryan Girdler
4: Shaun Timmins
5: Jamie Ainscough
6: Brad Fittler (Captain)
7: Brett Kimmorley
8: Robbie Kearns
9: Geoff Toovey
10: Rodney Howe
11: Bryan Fletcher
12: David Furner
13: Ben Kennedy

14: Scott Hill
15: Terry Hill
16: Michael Vella
17: Jason Stevens

Coach: Wayne Pearce

Queensland

1: Darren Lockyer
2: Matt Rogers
3: Paul Bowmen
4: Darren Smith
5: Wendell Sailor
6: Ben Ikin
7: Adrian Lam (Captain)
8: Shane Webcke
9: Jason Hetherington
10: Martin Lang
11: Gorden Tallis
12: Brad Thorne
13: Jason Smith

14: Paul Green
15: Tonie Carroll
16: Russel Bawden
17: Steve Price

Coach: Mark Murray

 

[Broncoman]

Origin 1 2004

NSW preparations were thrown into chaos when Mark Gasnier was sacked over the 'Fire up' phone message along with Anthony Minichiello after a big night out and 5 other players received fines over a big night out drinking. QLD had their own problems with injuries as Lockyer was absent for game 1 and his place was taken by Chris Flannery. NSW fielded 6 debutaunts while Queensland blooded 4.

A see-sawing and gritty low scoring game ensured as NSW controlled the first 20 minutes but were unable to register a score despite getting over the line twice. Buderus was held up in the 2nd minute and De'Vere had a try disallowed by the video-ref. The tide turned and QLD newcomer Scott Prince opened the scoring as he got a big decoy and dummied to the left misfooting the Blues defence, Prince plunged over to score. Smith's conversion hit the post leaving the score at 4-0. The Blues missed a golden opportunity to score when a bomb by Gower was batted back by Lewis and the ball went to Ryan who fumbled the ball with the line open. Queensland attacked for the rest of the half and forced 3 consecutive drop-outs 5 minutes from halftime but the Blues held firm keeping the score at 4-0.

Shaun Timmins got the Blues on the board 5 minutes after the break as he forced his way through a 3 man tackle and planted the ball on the line, Fitzgibbon nailed the conversion and NSW hit the front. Webcke is penalised for obstructing a chaser on the last tackle in the next set and Fitzgibbon put the score out to 8-4 with the goal. Prince who starred on debut broke through the Blues defence with 20 minutes to go and drew Lewis superbly to put Tate over in the corner levelling the score, Smith again missed the goal ensuring a tense finish. Both teams search desperately for a way through but are denied by officials, Gower misses 2 field goal attempts in the dying minutes and after a winning a drop-out inside the last minute Buderus charges down an attempt by Billy Slater ensuring the game goes to golden point. 2 minutes into extra-time Shaun Timmins lands a booming 37 meter kick to win the game and draw first blood in the series.

The story of the game basically is that in the first half NSW were denied 2 tries and bombed a 3rd while Queensland got the best of their chances down the other end scoring a try and enforcing drop-outs. After both sides traded tries in the second stanza both searched for a winner but couldn't come up with it and the game was won by the fitter team. Imo NSW looked a lot fitter and mobile in the last 20 minutes and looked most likely to score, Fitzgibbon missed a goal with 10 to go and Gidley (Matt) came centimetres from scoring in the 73rd minute.

Notes

- The game lacked genuine star quality personal. NSW were missing Andrew Johns through injury, and Gasnier and Minichiello for misbehaviour while the Maroons were missing general Darren Lockyer. The game would've had a lot more points if any of those players played.

- The NSW debutants were; Ben Hornby, Luke Rooney, Luke Lewis, Ryan O'Hara, Brent Kite and Trent Waterhouse. QLD's debutants were; Rhys Wesser, Billy Slater, Scott Prince and Ben Ross

- It was the first time since 1999 that a referee other than Bill Harrigan had controlled an Origin game. Sean Hampsted officiated

- Shane Webcke captained the Maroons for the first and only time

- Loved the battle between opposing wingers on debut who have become great players and champions for their state, club and country, Luke Lewis V Billy Slater. Had a great and evenly matched battle with both playing very solid games, can't quite tell who came out on top but I would give the nod to Lewis not because I'm NSW but because he looked more eager to get involved and made some strong chargers when the Blues forwards couldn't.

- Craig Gower's competitiveness was symbolised as he played the second half on 1 leg playing the whole game and making 27 tackles. The injury was a ligament one that forced him out of the rest of the series. Whenever he ran the ball on took on the line NSW looked a lot more sharper and dangerous in attack.

New South Wales 9: Try by Shaun Timmins, 2 goals by Craig Fitzgibbon and a field goal by Timmins
Queensland 8: Tries to Scott Prince and Brent Tate

New South Wales

1: Ben Hornby
2: Luke Rooney
3: Michael De'Vere
4: Matt Gidley
5: Luke Lewis
6: Shaun Timmins
7: Craig Gower
8: Ryan O' Hara
9: Danny Buderus (Captain)
10: Mark O'Meley
11: Nathan Hindmarsh
12: Andrew Ryan
13: Craig Fitzgibbon

14: Willie Mason
15: Brent Kite
16: Trent Waterhouse
17: Craig Wing

Coach: Phil Gould

Queensland

1: Rhys Wesser
2: Justin Hodges
3: Paul Bowman
4: Brent Tate
5: Billy Slater
6: Chris Flannery
7: Scott Prince
8: Shane Webcke (Captain)
9: Cameron Smith
10: Steve Price
11: Michael Crocker
12: Dane Carlaw
13: Tonie Carroll

14: Ben Ross
15: Petero Civoniceva
16: Travis Norton
17: Matt Bowen

Coach: Michael Hagan

 

[Big Pete]

Couple of good recaps Bman, obviously not a fan of the result of either games but you reminded me of a couple of things. For instance, I had no memory of Gower getting injured - I did remember him having an ordinary game and being a pretty ordinary rep player in general. To me, he was an over-achiever in the Brad Drew/Michael Monaghan mould who was probably better off in the dummy half position but talented enough to be a pretty damn effective half when in form.

My memory of 04 is fairly fuzzy - I just remember going into that game and thinking that Queensland didn't stand much of a chance minus Lockyer. All the Maroons hopes rested in the hands of Scott Prince, a guy who was basically a fringe first grader at that point and the rest of the side, outside of the prop forwards, seemed pretty thrown together.

Just running through the team...

Wesser - Was selected on 03 form, started 04 slow and never really recovered.
Hodges - Recovering from knee op and was in bad form for the Roosters. Was being played out of position as well.
Tate - Coming back after his serious neck injury and had a pretty ordinary 04 season.
Slater - Exciting young player being played out of position. Did the best he could.
Flannery - Jack of all trades, master of none.
Prince - Always had potential and was starting to show it at the Tigers but Origin was beyond him at this point. Still played well above expectations.
Webcke - Was struggling with a rib injury, played below himself but tried hard all evening.
Smith - I know he was blooded the year before, but it was a dead rubber in Brisbane. Completely different ball game and like Prince, probably selected before his time.
Carlaw - Was still coasting on his performances from 2002.
TC - Was still trying to find some consistensy, Bennett kept shifting him from centre, to lock, to fringe runner and as a result his form suffered.

Bowen - Pocket rocket X-factor type move designed to compensate for deficiencies.

 

[Alec]

03 to 05 was such a depressing period for both Broncos (in terms for finishing of seasons) and QLD.

 

[Broncoman]

Couple of good recaps Bman, obviously not a fan of the result of either games but you reminded me of a couple of things. For instance, I had no memory of Gower getting injured - I did remember him having an ordinary game and being a pretty ordinary rep player in general. To me, he was an over-achiever in the Brad Drew/Michael Monaghan mould who was probably better off in the dummy half position but talented enough to be a pretty damn effective half when in form.

My memory of 04 is fairly fuzzy - I just remember going into that game and thinking that Queensland didn't stand much of a chance minus Lockyer. All the Maroons hopes rested in the hands of Scott Prince, a guy who was basically a fringe first grader at that point and the rest of the side, outside of the prop forwards, seemed pretty thrown together.

Just running through the team...

Wesser - Was selected on 03 form, started 04 slow and never really recovered.
Hodges - Recovering from knee op and was in bad form for the Roosters. Was being played out of position as well.
Tate - Coming back after his serious neck injury and had a pretty ordinary 04 season.
Slater - Exciting young player being played out of position. Did the best he could.
Flannery - Jack of all trades, master of none.
Prince - Always had potential and was starting to show it at the Tigers but Origin was beyond him at this point. Still played well above expectations.
Webcke - Was struggling with a rib injury, played below himself but tried hard all evening.
Smith - I know he was blooded the year before, but it was a dead rubber in Brisbane. Completely different ball game and like Prince, probably selected before his time.
Carlaw - Was still coasting on his performances from 2002.
TC - Was still trying to find some consistensy, Bennett kept shifting him from centre, to lock, to fringe runner and as a result his form suffered.

Bowen - Pocket rocket X-factor type move designed to compensate for deficiencies.

Thanks I really enjoy doing them. I can actually remember this game quite well, It was the first Origin I experienced living here and I wore my Blues jersey for a couple of weeks before the game and giving it to everyone the next day. Really like your rundown on the Maroons team but I disagree with a couple of points and the Gower thing.

- Slater was firing as a fullback in 2004 but played on the wing in his debut year and went very well and was going to be the 2003 rookie of the year so he wasn't unfamiliar to the wing

- I'm pretty sure Prince already had some kind of profile at the time one of the commentators said something along the lines that he is a big player for the future and stars weekly for the Tigers. Disagree that he was a fringe first grader, he was stuck behind Langer, Berrigan and Seymour and broke his leg after the baby broncos game, he fought back and went to the Tigers and had a pernament spot from memory. He played pretty well on debut as well for reasons already mentioned.

- You can't actually see Gower getting injured I didn't know he played that game on 1 leg till last year

 

[Big Pete]

Billy made his first grade debut on the wing, but that's the only game he played there and I'm pretty sure he spent the majority of that game actually in the centres. Once Robbie Ross went down for Melbourne, he was shifted to fullback where he spent the rest of his career. By this point, fullback was well and truly his position.

As for Prince, he was a regular starter when he played for the Cowboys when they were an absolute rabble but when he came south he spent more time playing for Toowoomba than the Broncos, largely due to injuries but even then, he wasn't exactly a quality player for the Broncos at any point. He went to the Tigers where he was given a permanent starting position and showed potential but to say he was Origin standard would be a stretch. To put it into context, it'd be like having a halves pairing of Ash Harrison & Robert Lui playing for Queensland, minus the obvious stigma.

 

[Alec]

Scott Prince has always seemed like he really needed a deadly running 5/8th outside of him. So he only started being impressive in 05 with Benji, then 07-10ish with Campbell.

 

[Big Pete]

Hmmm...

I don't think that's something that really stands out about Prince's game - most halves tend to perform better when they have somebody outside of them & even then, Rogers wasn't really much of a half at the Titans, albeit his form in 2010 was stellar.

In saying that, his combination with Benji was something special. Tigers deserve all the credit in the world for taking a punt on that and finding success with it - was a wonderful advertisement of the game.

 

[Alec]

Hmmm...

I don't think that's something that really stands out about Prince's game - most halves tend to perform better when they have somebody outside of them & even then, Rogers wasn't really much of a half at the Titans, albeit his form in 2010 was stellar.

In saying that, his combination with Benji was something special. Tigers deserve all the credit in the world for taking a punt on that and finding success with it - was a wonderful advertisement of the game.

That's why I mention Campbell. Rogers seemed more like an inside centre, they were popular in the halves at that time.

 

[Big Pete]

Yeah I figured but I'd say halves/fullback combinations were even more common, even back then.

 

[Big Pete]

Round 12 2002
Broncos v West Tigers

Baby Broncos
17. Nick Parfitt
18. Scott Minto
13. Casey McGuire
4. Stuart Kelly
1. Steve Irwin
6. Brett Seymour
7. Scott Prince
8. Corey Parker
9. Shane Walker (c)
10. Robert Tanielu
22. Brad Meyers
14. Michael Coorey
11. Phillip Lee

5. Elia Tuqiri
19. Kris Kahler
16. Nathan Friend
20. Steve Lacaze

The famous upset win that has taken on a life of it's own. Brisbane were at long odds (3-1 according to Sterlo) to win this and you can hardly blame the bookies. All you have to do is take a look at the team and realise that we were without 15 top-line players who probably would have got a nod over the bunch that was selected. Anyways, of course Brisbane came through with a memorable 28-14 victory, writing a nice little footnote in the annals of Rugby League history in the process.

So if you removed that background and just judged the match on the action, would it be considered a worthwhile match to go and see?

Not really.

Don't get me wrong, to see the Broncos hold out wave after wave of Tigers offence was pretty damn special, especially when the likes of Minto or even La Caze would come up with the right option but the game was about as pedestrian as it can get. The Tigers weren't clicking and only seemed to turn up when a broo-ha-ha wasn't too far out of the equation while the Broncos were just there to give it their all. They weren't really capable of making too many inroads into the Tigers defence but had no problem chancing their arm and invariably they came up with the right option.

I believe the first try to Irwin really typified the effort from the Broncos. Tackle two, and Seymour puts forward this clever but danky looking cross-field kicks that looks all but covered up by Caine at the back, until it takes a wicked bounce and Irwin is johnny-on-the-spot and scores the vital four pointer that turned the Broncos idea of winning from a dream into a reality.

My man of the match would have gone to Scotty Prince who I thought lead the boys around the park really well and while his kicking game wasn't overly on-point, he did a fair job of getting to it and at times troubling the Tigers defence. S. Walker, Minto & Parker were all in the mix as well, but really, it was a nice team effort by all and definitely one of the club's better stories.

 

[Unbreakable]

Parker at prop >_<