State of Origin 2011 Game 1 Build up thread

[Black Philip]

Origin 1, May 25th 2011
Suncorp Stadium
Kick off: 8:00 pm

XXXX Queensland Maroons

1. Billy Slater
2. Darius Boyd
3. Dane Nielsen
4. Willie Tonga
5. Jharal Yow Yeh
6. Darren Lockyer (c)
7. Johnathan Thurston
8. Matthew Scott
9. Cameron Smith
10. Petero Civoniceva
11. Nate Myles
12. Sam Thaiday
13. Ashley Harrison

Interchange

14. Cooper Cronk
15. Corey Parker
16. Jacob Lillyman
17. Ben Hannant

18. David Taylor

VS

VB NSW Blues

1. Josh Dugan
2. Brett Morris
3. Mark Gasnier
4. Michael Jennings
5. Akuila Uate
6. Jamie Soward
7. Mitchell Pearce
8. Jason King
9. Michael Ennis
10. Kade Snowden
11. Beau Scott
12. Greg Bird
13. Paul Gallen (c)

14. Ben Creagh
15. Trent Merrin
16. Tim Mannah
17. Dean Young

18. Jamal Idris

 

[Black Philip]

Watch Out Queensland: The much-maligned Jamie Soward finally makes his Origin debut, and few people could argue that the Blues have picked the most in-form pivot available. Soward’s precision kicking and passing game have been a huge part of the Dragons’ success over the past two seasons, and it’s an area where New South Wales have struggled since the retirement of Andrew Johns.

Soward has kicked the most times in the NRL this year, with 134, and his 4981 kick metres are well clear of second-placed James Maloney (3898). His 12 try assists – many of those from kicks – are behind only Johnathan Thurston’s 14. His running game, often perceived as a weakness, has also come into its own this year, as witnessed by his dismantling of the Parramatta Eels in Round 8 when he broke the line three times and ran for 161 metres.

Kicking is a crucial piece of the puzzle for the Blues, and how Queensland handle Soward’s range of kicks will go a long way to determining the result. In particular his long, low, driving kicks don’t give opposition backs as much time to get under the ball and run it back at pace, often turning them around and helping chasers pin those players down early in a set.

Danger Sign: Soward receives the ball deeper than most kickers, and it allows him that extra second to choose where he wants it to go. It works beautifully for the Dragons, so don’t expect Ricky Stuart to mess with the formula. Whenever the Blues need a good kick to get them out of trouble expect Soward to be well back from the play-the-ball, ready to get a clearing kick away.

Watch Out New South Wales: Where do we start? There’s a reason the Maroons have won five in a row, and there’s a reason they supplied 10 of the 13 starting players for Australia in the recent VB Test. Four of those reasons are named Slater, Lockyer, Thurston and Smith, who fill the crucial 1-6-7-9 roles that make up the spine of a football side.

Of those four world class players, any one of them is capable of turning an Origin match, but if we had to pick one, Thurston seems to be in a league of his own in 2011. ‘JT’ has a habit of playing out of his skin in Origin, regardless of what his form is like coming into the game or whether he’s under an injury cloud.

This year he enters the Origin arena in what could quite possibly be the best form of his career. Thurston leads the NRL for try assists with 14 (next best is Benji Marshall with 12) and line-break assists (19 – next best Jarryd Hayne, 12). If you cut it back to just halfbacks, Thurston also leads the way in line-breaks (seven), tries (six) and average running metres (73.7), and is second in offloads (11) and tackle-breaks (31).

It all speaks to a player at the very peak of his powers, and with the calibre of players he has around him he can turn the game very quickly.

Danger Sign: Much of Thurston’s success this year has stemmed from the fact that if opposition defenders rush up to pressure his kicking game he can step past them, but if they wait for the kick his running game can still cause huge problems. Watch for Thurston to run the ball early when the Blues are expecting a kick, just to remind them they can never know what to expect.

Plays To Watch: A furious opening stanza, as the Blues’ new-look forward pack clashes with the Maroons stalwarts; searching kick returns from Billy Slater causing havoc any time the defence offers half an opening; Thurston kicking high to the corners targeting the safe hands of Boyd and Yow Yeh; precision kicking from Soward to pressure the inexperienced Maroons centres; telepathic communication on the Blues’ right-side attack as club mates Soward, Beau Scott and Mark Gasnier link up; wingers Boyd and Uate venturing infield looking for work and taking vital hit-ups; instant impact from bench props Mannah and Hannant around the 25-minute mark; Paul Gallen to lift an extra gear (if that’s humanly possible) in his new role as Blues skipper.

Where It Will Be Won: One of the keys to the recent Maroon dominance has been the ease with which they’ve won the arm wrestle in the middle of the park. The Blues are yet to find a combination who can match it with the likes of Petero Civoniceva, Matthew Scott, Sam Thaiday or the recently retired Steve Price. Plenty of times in the past five series the Blues have come out fired up, but then found themselves backpedalling through the opening 20 minutes as Queensland’s ferocious forwards monstered them up the middle.

The Blues have some of the most prolific metre-eating front-rowers in the NRL, with Snowden (120 metres per game), Mannah (126 metres) and Merrin (117 metres) all getting through a mountain of work.

But possibly the key player here as far as the Blues are concerned will be new skipper Paul Gallen. The burly lock plays almost as an extra front-rower at times and leads by example week in week out for the Sharks, averaging an amazing 185 metres per game in 2011. His aggression and his combination with former Sharks teammate and fellow back row tyro Greg Bird will be crucial to the Blues attempting to match it with the Maroons’ forwards.

The History: Played 90 (since 1980); NSW 41, Queensland 47, drawn 2. The Blues have been victorious in Game One of a series on 15 occasions to Queensland’s 14. But the Maroons have won the series opener four of the past six years.

Conclusion: When you look at the calibre of players in the Queensland side it’s easy to see why the Maroons’ fans are so confident of making it six series in a row. But the Blues have a different look and feel about them this year, trying something they haven’t tried before and planning well.

With such a settled line-up and the home ground advantage at ‘Fortress Suncorp’, the Maroons are entitled to start as favourites – but if they take the new-look Blues lightly there’s every chance they could get ambushed.

Match officials: Referees – Tony Archer & Jared Maxwell; Sideline Officials – Steve Carrall & Jeff Younis; Video Ref – Tim Mander.

Televised: Channel Nine – Live from 7.30pm.

http://www.nrl.com/state-of-origin-i-preview/tabid/11019/newsid/62885/default.aspx

My Personal thoughts - It will be a very close game with Queensland winning, just. NSW will show they are serious about turning things around, they will be no easy beats.

 

[Browny]

Maxwell as the second ref, interesting

 

[Flutterby]

Pre-match "entertainment" - James Blunt

 

[Kris]

Pre-match "entertainment" - James Blunt

Yeeeeeew!





In opposite world.

 

[Fozz]

So do we supply our own tomatoes or are they handed out at the gate?

 

[Nashy]

James Blunt. good football music. Really gets you in the mood for it.



Oh sorry. I typed football instead of suicide.

 

[Fozz]

James Blunt presented by Dr Philip Nitschke.

 

[Black Philip]

James Blunt has killed this thread and subforum.

 

[Coxy]

James Blunt has killed this planet.

Fixed your typo.

 

[Fozz]

God hates James Blunt.

I hope.

 

[Bucking Beads]

Not excited about Origin at all TBH. [icon_shru

 

[Nashy]

What? Remove your testicles.

 

[Charmamba]

Not excited about Origin at all TBH. [icon_shru

+1 No doubt ill watch the game, and hopefully our 7.2 surround arrives before then (damn Radio Rentals).

But it just doesn't have the same feel to it.

 

[Nashy]

You guys are losers.

 

[Big Pete]

I'm as pumped as ever.

I really think NSW are going to give Qld a run for their money.

 

[jarro65]

I'm quietly confident ... which worries me [icon_confu

 

[Coxy]

I'm confident that QLD will play well.

However, I'm concerned NSW will too.