State of Origin II - NSW v Queensland - Pre-Match Discussion

[Super Freak]

Watmough to miss three games with an early plea.

No doubt will fight it and be right to go next week.

No one was injured, he'll be sweet.

On another note, I can't help but feel strangely fine about the night. It's more weird than anger, to be honest. I haven't experienced a series loss in such a long time, I kind of forgot how it felt.

 

[zappa]

at the very least, thaiday had the ball stripped.....qld should have been awarded a penalty

and i fucking hope someone questions the nrl about when aaron woods touched the ball from the kick off....qld would have had all the momentum for the last few minutes, who knows what could have happened then

i thought gillette played good, yea he made a couple of mistakes, but ****, we were under pressure and at least he was trying to ignite something

oh yea, game 3 atleast drop mcqueef and bring in mcguire.....give ben hunt a run aswell....we have nothing to lose and they both can gain a shitload of confidence!

 

[Super Freak]

at the very least, thaiday had the ball stripped.....qld should have been awarded a penalty

and i fucking hope someone questions the nrl about when aaron woods touched the ball from the kick off....qld would have had all the momentum for the last few minutes, who knows what could have happened then

i thought gillette played good, yea he made a couple of mistakes, but ****, we were under pressure and at least he was trying to ignite something

It wasn't an offense worthy of a penalty. They stripped the ball in the act of a try being scored, it's legal.

I have a feeling they didn't award it because of the Inglis try in 2012.

 

[Big Pete]

Gutted.

I thought the Maroons were inspirational tonight. Clearly battered and bruised, all 17 men did everything they could to draw the series up in difficult circumstances and nearly succeeded until the Blues were gifted a glutton of possession.

Really enjoyed the physical battle. That was an Origin match straight out of the 80s where every tackle was a fight and neither team was willing to give an inch. In the end, not a whole lot in it but Queensland just ended up making too many crucial mistakes at critical times and that was the story.

I don't care what anybody says, even in defeat I'm very proud of the Maroons tonight and will always be proud to be considered a Queenslander.

 

[Qlder88]

Gutted.

I thought the Maroons were inspirational tonight. Clearly battered and bruised, all 17 men did everything they could to draw the series up in difficult circumstances and nearly succeeded until the Blues were gifted a glutton of possession.

Really enjoyed the physical battle. That was an Origin match straight out of the 80s where every tackle was a fight and neither team was willing to give an inch. In the end, not a whole lot in it but Queensland just ended up making too many crucial mistakes at critical times and that was the story.

I don't care what anybody says, even in defeat I'm very proud of the Maroons tonight and will always be proud to be considered a Queenslander.

Amen.

 

[zappa]

It wasn't an offense worthy of a penalty. They stripped the ball in the act of a try being scored, it's legal.

I have a feeling they didn't award it because of the Inglis try in 2012.

didnt greg bird get a penalty for the same thing down the other end though?

i could be wrong though because i did watch the game with maroon coloured beer goggles

 

[Super Freak]

didnt greg bird get a penalty for the same thing down the other end though?

i could be wrong though because i did watch the game with maroon coloured beer goggles

I think that was actually a penalty for offside. I'm not entirely sure, though. I'll have to check the footage.

Although, I am pretty sure you cannot strip the ball before the line.

 

[uptheguts]

C'mon. If the Thaiday try was reversed and it was a NSW player did the same thing I doubt we'd be saying, "yeah, fair enough that was a try."

You can be absolutely certain thàt would have been a try if it was NSW in attack , so it would not matter what we thought.

 

[uptheguts]

Video refs were Steve Clarke and Luke ( it's Ok for Gallen to punch Myels in the head) Patten. The fix was in.

 

[Porthoz]

There was no way we were ever going to be allowed to continue the dynasty.

- Gallen swinging arm on Slater not penalised... LOL
- Penalty for Thurston's slap... bigger LOL
- Thaiday's no try... given Hayne knocked the ball out, Thaiday didn't need to regather control of it, just ground it... which he did!
- Reynolds was offside for DCE's grubber. Should've been a penalty try.
- Qld coming out of trouble, Hodges tackled, gets up to play the ball and gets tackled again... nothing happened, play on.
- Nek minnit, NSW's gets marched up the field for a Qld player laying "too long" on a NSW'ker...
- Gillett carrying the ball, 4 NSW'kers on him with hands all over the ball, Luke Lewis clearly strips it... nothing happened, NSW's feed.
- Woods touching the ball before it went dead. Let's just pretend that didn't happen, can't allow Qld to get the ball in attack when they're only 2 pts behind!

These are just the things I remember at the moment, but there was more. It was absolutely a concerted effort from the refs to make sure NSW won!

Regardless... it wasn't pretty, but we were actually hanging in there quite comfortably until Tate's injury and to compound it, the Taylor moment of stupidity, which gave NSW consecutive possessions (helped dutifully by the refs) until they scored a try.

FTR, I thought Taylor was going quite well, and I was of the mind that somehow Mal must have gotten in his head, as he was doing the required stuff without the typical brain farts... but it wasn't to be. No matter what his apologists say, that pass when coming out of our own half, was NOT on, and it was the turning point that ended up costing us the game.

Also FTR, I thought Gillett got a bit lost for a short period of the game when we were dominating, especially rushing out of the line trying to put a shot on the ball carrier. I thought the dropped ball was tough to catch in the first place, but he was one of the best runners of the ball for us, hit and tackled hard all night long too. Sure, let's mark him never to play Origin again, but let's give Taylor another chance... :stupid:

Smith was very good, dominating the field both in defense and offense. Hodges was excellent as well, always beating at least one defender and getting us plenty of meters, Myles was himself and didn't let us down, and Thaiday was good during his stints...
Unfortunately, that's where it ends when it comes to excellence in maroon. Inglis didn't get involved enough... again. Slater was good, but clearly underdone, Tate and Boyd did their jobs well, except for the one dropped ball from Tatey. Guerra was certainly better than McQueen, but this wasn't a game for him to shine either.

Thurston was invisible again, and DCE, even under a handicap, was the better maroon halve.

Scott's injury also didn't help. I was commenting with my kid that he wouldn't come back once I saw he was unable to breathe through his nose...

Lillyman was the best from the bench, Te'o disappointing, McQueen really isn't capable of more, and Taylor... well, there's a reason he had been marked never in Origin again... exactly for those idiotic brain farts!

I hope Hannant, Lawrence, McGuire, etc... all get opportunities ahead of McQueen and Taylor at the very least, but given Te'o is going to Yawnion, I wouldn't select him for game 3 either.

 

[Twiztid]

There was no way we were ever going to be allowed to continue the dynasty.

- Gallen swinging arm on Slater not penalised... LOL
- Penalty for Thurston's slap... bigger LOL
- Thaiday's no try... given Hayne knocked the ball out, Thaiday didn't need to regather control of it, just ground it... which he did!
- Reynolds was offside for DCE's grubber. Should've been a penalty try.
- Qld coming out of trouble, Hodges tackled, gets up to play the ball and gets tackled again... nothing happened, play on.
- Nek minnit, NSW's gets marched up the field for a Qld player laying "too long" on a NSW'ker...
- Gillett carrying the ball, 4 NSW'kers on him with hands all over the ball, Luke Lewis clearly strips it... nothing happened, NSW's feed.
- Woods touching the ball before it went dead. Let's just pretend that didn't happen, can't allow Qld to get the ball in attack when they're only 2 pts behind!

- Gallen hit him with his shoulder, the swinging arm never connected to anything high. Happens half of the time the player submits in the tackle.
- Blame Thurston for the brain snap. But not the first time he has done that over the past 9 years, Hodges has done it before as well. How many years has he got away with those little digs in a match?
- Thaiday's try is a tricky one. I am unsure of the ruling now days. If it is striped out, is it essentially a loose carry in the act of scoring and he must regather before hitting the ground. There has been a few similar situations during the year where it has gone either way. If he regathered a little bit higher, I would have been fine with it.
- I just watched it again. Reynolds might have been offside originally but the ball was moved 10 metres putting him onside.
- Seriously clutching at straws on the laying down. Both teams got their fare share of the amount of time of holding down. I like the QLD's love for the wedgie this year.
- While I think Lewis did have a dig at Gillett's arm, I thought he was trying to lift the ball to offload.
- Wood didn't touch the ball. He lost weight and that was the wind of the ball going past his jersey (SARCASM!!)

Here are a few of mine.
- Nate Myles basically DDTing Gallen's head into the ground while Thaiday steals the ball. No penalty for 2 man steal and where is the player safety. It was basically a crusher tackle into the ground.
- How many times did Hodges push off the face or do something in the play the ball?
- I thought the new rule was, throw a punch and you are in the bin. Why wasn't Myles binned? Yes, Tamou did drop an elbow but by the "new" rules Myles should have been binned with Tamou being put on report.
- The Josh Reynolds vs Gillett and Thurston was started by Reynolds so should have been a QLD penalty.
- After the Woods kick off touch. There was a fix up when DCE planted his feet back at the ball that Hayne regathered and was held up close to the line. Should have been 6 again.

There was plenty more. I am sick of hearing that NSW are the only grubs. QLD have given as much as they have received over the last 9 years (even beyond that). It is an amazing fete to see, even on the other end of it. It will be the things you will remember like old Souths fans remember the good years and Dragons fans remember their back to back premierships.

 

[Unbreakable]

- Gallen hit him with his shoulder, the swinging arm never connected to anything high.

 

[Twiztid]

He is talking about the Slater on the ground one.

Fair enough on that, should have been penalised but then you have a few high shots from Myles and Smith that were missed so it evens out.

 

[Porthoz]

[MENTION=8536]Super Freak[/MENTION], your next task, should you accept it, is to put together a video of the above mentioned situations by me and Twiztid, just to clarify whether my maroon goggles are worse than his blue ones... :laugh:

While you're at it, please add the above Gallen grub act at a proper speed and the Bird penalty at the end. Thanks! :wink:

 

[Big Pete]

Hopefully it knocks Mal's ego down a notch or two...or 10.

What ego?

The guy has coached this Maroons squad to 8 straight and you're going to put the boots into him because he didn't pick YOUR side? Jesus christ...

yawn!!! what about all the other QLD players who threw a shit pass or dropped a ball??

Who are you referring to exactly?

I agree that there are other players in the Maroons outfit who let the team down at pivotal moments but sadly Taylor has a history of this sort of thing and that play right there just about sums up every criticism made of him. It was a soft option at the wrong time when the team really needed him to run it.

I thought Dave played OK until that point. Couple of anxious moments in the ruck, couple of good runs, couple of soft ones.

I hope Suncorp is empty after that referring performance.

I'm the opposite.

I hope the Maroons fans get behind this Queensland team and remind NSW that they might have the shield but they're not the better Origin team and they're going to have a tough time defending it next year.

We out-derped NSW.

Way to go. Taylors pass to no-one was the turning point.

We got to a pressure situation and just lacked the players we normally rely on in the clutch. Not really surprise the play broke down on the right as much as it did with the likes of DCE, McQueen and Taylor, our least experienced players in control out there.

The Gillett knock on which looked pretty contentious hurt as well.

I didn't even realize David Taylor was playing well enough to be considered for the top 17 in Qld. :S

I don't think he was.

He was playing like Taylor, which got a lot of media attention but he still hadn't addressed his big problems and was always going to be a liability.

He got his spot because the Maroons were desperate in the forward pack and needed to roll the dice on somebody, sadly Taylor once again reminded everyone why he wasn't rated in the first place.

I feel for him but he isn't an Origin player.

Matt Gillett was useless, also.

That's harsh.

While Matty is one of those players who I think played his last game, before that passage in the second half, he was one of the better players on the park and was making some strong runs on the fringes.

I think those loose carries will ultimately spell the end for him, with Smith giving him a spray after the second one but he did some good things too.

Shit performance by everyone in the field tbh, disgusting refereeing, horrible offensive display from both teams, literally the worst origin I've ever witnessed in terms of attack.

May not even watch origin 3.

Please don't.

What a gift from the match officials to NSW. An atrocious performance.

Aaron Woods, the lopsided penalty count and Slater being held by the jersey so he can't chase a loose ball. Fucking disgrace.

I'd say it was worse than their supposed controversial Origin I performance.

Sadly it's yesterdays news really.

Yeah Taylor made a mistake but he was great other than that. Try and be a bit of objective lads. Out boys gave it their all and can hold their heads high, we were beaten by the ref and even the most biased NSW non-brogan supporters will realize that when the hear of the moment dies down.

As I said, it was more than just that, he made some pretty soft runs and his defence at times was a concern.

Gillett was terrible. 2 costly dropped balls in a row and missed tackles galore. DCE was a passenger, McQueen offered nothing and Taylor was next to hopeless. Lillyman as expected offered zero. We had no impact off the bench and had to carry DCE all game.

Harsh on DCE and Lillyman.

DCE came up with a couple of really good clearing kicks, the play towards the end of the first half was promising and I thought he had some nice touches through out. Considering his condition and the amount of times he was taken out late and excessively by the Blues defence when kicking the ball I thought he played OK.

I thought Lillyman was one of our best off the bench. Just made some nice strong carries through the middle. Not flash but he allowed other players to come into the game more which we needed.

Congrats to NSW won't make excuses they took their opportunity, we didn't. Reffing was poor both sides IMO and allowed far too much grubby play from both sides. Never want to see Taylor in a Queensland jersey again, soft under pressure. As for Hunt I actually wish he did play tonight, Thurston has been MIA in SOO for a while now, Cherry Evens at least tried but even so, we lacked a lot of direction and potency in attack from our playmakers IMO, some fresh blood would have helped.

I agree with the general sentiment but aside from his first kick I thought JT was one of the Maroons best tonight and everytime he ran the ball he troubled the Blues. Did very well to get the ball out at one point too which nearly set up a try for Tate.

I don't think Hunt would have made a difference. He's still too raw.

Good performance from Hodgo and thaiday, towards the end it felt like another broncos game with it all being dumped on Hodges to do everything.

I was very proud of both. Two of the best players on the park.

Such a shame Sammy dropped the ball over the line...correct call given the system but had the referee called try to begin with, would have been interesting...

DCE though needs to step it up if he wants to be the long term QLD halfback

I agree but his preparation has hardly been ideal.

Anyone else think Cherry Evans was utterly useless tonight? Hunt should have played.

No, DCE came up with some good plays despite his injury and being targetted excessively by the Blues defence.

As I said, Hunt is still too raw for this level.

I'm not sure who was worse tonight on Queenslands side, I could easily name 7 or more people who played horribly. Thurston hasn't really been good in a couple of years, he's really starting to lose his offensive brilliance at this level. Inglis has been invisible the last couple of years, makes one or two good plays a game, far less than you'd expect from someone of his skill level, give us Hayne over him and we're up 2-0.

Even Wally Lewis couldn't win all the time.

JT was one of the better players on the field and while he couldn't find a way to break through it's pretty tough to single him or GI out.

I'm pretty sure it was for offside.

That can be the only logical conclusion.

Still it took the referee an age to come up with that decision. It was a very sus penalty.

thurston's best days are behind him .... watching a re-run from an old series last night confirmed that for me.

While I think some members on here are being critical, I think you could be onto something with this.

JT's not as elusive as he once was and all his other issues are coming to the fore here.

Wasn't really a halves game but some of JT's lack of patience and lack of attention to detail has been exposed a bit.

We had to lose a big game sooner or later but I'm very disappointed we didn't chance our arm more especially down Toupos wing when he dropped back so deep.
Dave Taylors mistake just killed us too, never ever ever ever again, he passed a ball to no one because he didn't want to run it.

Yep.

I don't think they attacked Dugan or Hoppa enough. The play should have been directed down that end with kicks going up at Hoppa who was playing with one arm at one point. It never went up though and we just kept going for Tupou down a slower edge.

i'd go as far as dropping slater for milford and thurston for hunt. dynasty is over, lets start building the next one

JT owes you a bitch slap.

The only dynasty that would create is a Blues dynasty.

Queensland are a loyal bunch and the likes of Slater/JT deserve more time in the Maroon. Neither of their replacements are better at this stage.

Isn't it funny that the streak ends with a series that has 2 Lang Park games. Who would've thought.

Things tend to happen when you least expect them to.

NSW best chance seemed like last year but I don't think the media realised how close NSW came to beating the streak last year minus Hayne, Gallen and co.

With them back in the fold, they were always going to be tough to beat in Origin I and they proved it.

once hodges retires, there will be a massive void to fill. our best player by far. why doesn't inglis get as involved?

Hodges strength is that he can be a very good ball-runner from dummy half and goes looking for the ball more than most backs tend to.

GI transitioned to fullback on a few occasions but the Maroons couldn't get the ball to him.

I can't see too many changes for game 3, but there will most likely be a turnover (or changing of the guard) next year.

Pending on injury, I tend to agree.

Review things next year, at this stage, the team is virtually settled.

1. Thurston being penalised for a slap on Beau Scott, moments after gallen hit slater with a swinging arm to the head and nothing was said.

I couldn't believe this. All the players rushed in, clearly something was wrong with the tackle on first glance, the refs missed it and didn't even bother with the video.

The slap was silly from JT but replays showed Scott had his hands around Smith's neck. Tell me which offence is more severe?

In any case, it should have been a QLD penalty.

Yeah probably but the referees aren't going to risk it when Queensland were going to get the ball back anyways.

In that position though, Queensland would have taken the penalty everyday of the week. 6-0 HT, why not?

I can't agree with all this Taylor trash talk, that one brain fade was bound to happen, but apart from that he was phenomenal in attack and defense in his short spurt, if he gets rid of the silly errors in his game he's probably the best backrower we've got, or close to it.

Phenominal?

That's a huge exageration. Not going to go over my opinion of Taylor again but read what you said. "One brain fade is bound to happen..." sorry but that doesn't fly at this level, especially the fades he comes up with and for what he's offering in return.

IMO Thaiday was legitatmittly stripped of the ball when going for the line.He did not drop it as those dickhead nine commentators unamiosly declared ( including our sole Queenslander Vautin) he then fell on the ball and was in pretty much complete control of it , so why not a try?

Vautin didn't and hasn't commentated an Origin in a long time.

Wally was the sole Queensland commentator and seemed pretty convinced it was a try. Gus kept talking over the top of him which really summed up the thought process behind the decision.

 

[Unbreakable]

Phenominal?

That's a huge exageration. Not going to go over my opinion of Taylor again but read what you said. "One brain fade is bound to happen..." sorry but that doesn't fly at this level, especially the fades he comes up with and for what he's offering in return.

You've obviously got some agenda with Taylor, so it's pointless arguing with you. I will say that he only made one error, and as a team we made 10, in the short time he was on the field he comfortably made more metres than our other bench backrowers McQueen and Te'o, and with less touches of the ball.

Take the mistake out of his game and it's a very solid performance in an otherwise abysmal team effort.

~

And a bit off-topic, but Gillett missed NINE tackles.. good lord, someone get this kid a defensive coach, it's one of the only things stopping him from being an elite player.

 

[Super Freak]

@Super Freak , your next task, should you accept it, is to put together a video of the above mentioned situations by me and Twiztid, just to clarify whether my maroon goggles are worse than his blue ones... :laugh:

While you're at it, please add the above Gallen grub act at a proper speed and the Bird penalty at the end. Thanks! :wink:

I shall do exactly that!

 

[Big Pete]

You've obviously got some agenda with Taylor, so it's pointless arguing with you.

What argument? You went from saying Taylor had a phenomenal performance to a "very solid performance". If anything you agree that phenomenal was an exaggeration, which it was...

I will say that he only made one error, and as a team we made 10, in the short time he was on the field he comfortably made more metres than our other bench backrowers McQueen and Te'o, and with less touches of the ball.

We must be looking at different stat. sheets. NRL Stats has the following...

Dave Taylor 54m
Chris McQueen 62m
Ben Te'o 75m

The Maroons made 10 mistakes, true, none of them was as stupid as the one Taylor forced on McQueen. Taylor was informed all week about his one job, his one responsibility to the team and when the going got tough, he took the soft option like he has time and time and time again in the Maroons jersey.

If this was a one off, I would have given him a free pass but this is a common occurrence and has been the story of his Origin career.

FWIW Gillett missed six tackles according to NRL stats, the same number as Guerra who appears to be getting a free ride from A LOT of fans. I thought he played worse than McQueen in Game I...at least McQueen made a half-break.