Queensland 2013

[Manifesto]

1. Slater
2. Boyd (or Yow Yeh if fit and in form, but I have doubts about both of these)
3. Inglis
4. Hodges
5. Tate
6. Thurston
7. Cronk
8. Shillington
9. Smith
10. Scott
11. Myles
12. Thaiday
13. Parker
14. Barba
15. McGuire
16. Hannant
17. Taylor/Teo/Gillett or another based on form (and in Taylor's case, attitude)

 

[Mister Wright]

1. Inglis
2. Tate
3. Nielsen
4. Hodges
5. Boyd
6. Thurston
7. Cronk
8. Scott
9. Smith
10. Shillington
11. Myles
12. Thaiday
13. Harrisson

14. Slater
15. Hannant
16. Parker
17. Gillett

 

[Old Mate]

8. Scott
9. Smith
10. Shillo
11. Harrison
12. Myles
13. Parker

14. Thaiday
15. Hannant
16. McGuire
17. Ballin/DCE/Taylor/Gillett/Te'o

Myles would still play up the middle.

That has to be our pack and bench, could maybe chuck Slater on the bench if we want to do the fb swap thing we used to do with GI starting.

 

[OXY-351]

I'd love to see Hodges pull the pin on Origin. It would be ideal for the Broncos given his battle with injuries.

I heard somewhere the otehr day that of the 9 origin series Hodges has been involved in, this is only the secodn one he's managed to play all 3 games. I guess some of teh early ones may have been due to form, but that still leaves a lot he's missed through injury.

 

[Big Pete]

Yep

These are the series he didn't complete due to injury...
2003
2006
2008
2009
2011 (Missed the first two games)

Could even consider 2010 but he didn't play a game all season.

 

[The Brizz]

1. Slater
2. Tate/Yow Yeh/O'Neill
3. Inglis
4. Hodges
5. Boyd
6. Thurston
7. Cronk
8. Scott
9. Smith
10. Hannant
11. Thaiday
12. Myles
13. Parker

14. Barba
15. Shillington
16. McGuire
17. Taylor/Gillett

 

[Force]

Easy selection for a QLD team as its pretty much the same bar Civo.

1.Slater
2.Boyd
3.Inglis
4.Hodges
5.Tate
6.Thurstan
7.Cronk
8.Scott
9.Smith(c)
10.Shillington
11.Myles
12.Thaiday
13.Parker

14.McGuire
15.Hannant
16.Harrisson
17.Taylor/Te'o/Lillyman

 

[The Brizz]

I see absolutely no point in having Harrison in the team as good as he has been for us. Parker is a far superior player at lock who not only does his share defensively but adds something with his workrate and second phase in attack. Add to that Thaiday and Myles are big minute players so is McGuire who should come in directly for Civo. Harrisons spot should go to Barba the guy is a deadset freak.

 

[Jeba]

Yeh, I think Harrison has played his last Origin. Full credit to him for what he's done over the last 5 series but Parker is a much better option, and he really doesn't offer much off the bench.

 

[Force]

I see absolutely no point in having Harrison in the team as good as he has been for us. Parker is a far superior player at lock who not only does his share defensively but adds something with his workrate and second phase in attack. Add to that Thaiday and Myles are big minute players so is McGuire who should come in directly for Civo. Harrisons spot should go to Barba the guy is a deadset freak.

Yes Barba is a freak but where would you put him?...He wont get a run at fullback when Slater is fit which is his primary position.I reckon he'd be wasted on the bench and just end up another DCE '2012 ANZAC test' when he just kept the interchange seat warm all game.I dont think McGuire is an 80min Origin player just yet so I'd stick with Harrisson.

 

[The Brizz]

The stamina of our forward pack is good enough for us to not require a 4 forward bench (it took about 50 minutes for either Te'o or Gillett to get on in game 3). WIth Barba you have him there to cover the 1-7 and 9 injuries and the other use for him is late in halves as a floating player running at tired bigger guys. As I said we lose nothing playing a 3 forward bench with the amount of big minute forwards we have.

 

[jarro65]

The stamina of our forward pack is good enough for us to not require a 4 forward bench (it took about 50 minutes for either Te'o or Gillett to get on in game 3). WIth Barba you have him there to cover the 1-7 and 9 injuries and the other use for him is late in halves as a floating player running at tired bigger guys. As I said we lose nothing playing a 3 forward bench with the amount of big minute forwards we have.

Unless we get an injury to one of those forwards

 

[The Brizz]

Unless we get an injury to one of those forwards

And what if a bomb falls on the stadium?

Seriously if you pick a side on what-if's you are not selecting the right team.

 

[dukey]

And what if a bomb falls on the stadium?

Depends on which stadium. If it's in Sydney, there are no casualties because nobody's at the game. If it's in Queensland, the coroner will struggle to identify the victims using dental records, as there are less teeth than there are bodies. If it's in Melbourne, it gets half a paragraph in the Herald Sun amongst twenty-eight pages of stories about AFL teams' mid week training.

 

[Force]

The stamina of our forward pack is good enough for us to not require a 4 forward bench (it took about 50 minutes for either Te'o or Gillett to get on in game 3). WIth Barba you have him there to cover the 1-7 and 9 injuries and the other use for him is late in halves as a floating player running at tired bigger guys. As I said we lose nothing playing a 3 forward bench with the amount of big minute forwards we have.

The 1-7 and 9 are 80min players so theres definitely no need for cover unless injury which I guess is why Gillett gets the nod where he can cover the centers and forwards.Te'o and Gillett didnt get on early but the forwards were still being rotated ,a lot of coaches do this to players lacking experience.I just see a potential Barba selection would mirror that of DCE and the ANZAC test where his spot was wasted.

 

[m1c]

Hodges has to play. He is the best defensive centre in the game. Cannot believe people overlook the work he does in D in these big games.

 

[Anonymous person]

Hodges has to play. He is the best defensive centre in the game. Cannot believe people overlook the work he does in D in these big games.

9 missed tackles in game 3 says otherwise.

i dont think hodges has actually played enough "big games" to even have a basis for saying he does a lot of work in D in "big games". whats he played, 12 origins in as many years? he was all collar grabs in defense in game 3 especially.

 

[Coxy]

Yeah, Hodges is an enigma. There's no doubt he's an absolute class player and on his day he is definitely the best centre in the world. But what makes him so? He's not particularly fast (at least not off a standing start). He doesn't hit gaps. He doesn't defend decisively (not a big hitter really).

It's hard to pick what it is about him that makes him so good (sometimes). Obviously his upper body strength for one, his ability to push off defenders, and to get offloads away in traffic. And that strength probably gives the illusion of him being a great defender, because most players he can collar grab and throw them to ground.

Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't trade him for anyone at the Broncos, I just have never been able to work out what it is about him that makes him so good and so dominant sometimes. Maybe it all comes down to his attitude - when he's on and he wants to play a big game, he plays a big game.