Your QLD team

[I bleed Maroon]

That makes 6 starting Broncos playing for QLD. Our front row is putting on a show, apparently.

 

[Porthoz]

Mal Meninga announced the extension of his contract for another 3 years.

DCE under injury cloud.

 

[Nashy]

They should rule DCE out right now. We carried him last year with some form of injury, they should have learned. It affected his game.

He's gotta be the most overrated player named.

Good team otherwise, **** the Blues.

 

[Cult]

If DCE is out I'd like to see us have 4 forwards on the bench.

 

[I bleed Maroon]

If DCE is out I'd like to see us have 4 forwards on the bench.

Nah no chance, Meninga will go with the utility again, either Hunt or Morgan.

QLD essentially already have 4 props on the field, if you count Thaiday

 

[Cult]

Nah no chance, Meninga will go with the utility again, either Hunt or Morgan.

QLD essentially already have 4 props on the field, if you count Thaiday

Yeah I know. I just think we need either Napa or Papalii on the field. Need that fear factor. I know he's out but I swear Gallen fears Papalii.

 

[I bleed Maroon]

Yeah I know. I just think we need either Napa or Papalii on the field. Need that fear factor. I know he's out but I swear Gallen fears Papalii.

To be honest, I'm not sure what Guerra has done to unseat those two. He's been decent this year but not amazing.

 

[Cult]

To be honest, I'm not sure what Guerra has done to unseat those two. He's been decent this year but not amazing.

I like Guerra. He's consistently good, whereas Papalii has been good for about three weeks.

 

[I bleed Maroon]

I like Guerra. He's consistently good, whereas Papalii has been good for about three weeks.

You could potentially explain that by suggesting that maybe his form has improved BECAUSE he wants to play Origin. Never underestimate the power of hunger.

Regardless, Meninga has won 8 series. Nobody has the ground to question him at this point.

 

[Cult]

You could potentially explain that by suggesting that maybe his form has improved BECAUSE he wants to play Origin. Never underestimate the power of hunger.

Regardless, Meninga has won 8 series. Nobody has the ground to question him at this point.

I love how around Origin time, Dave Taylor has a massive hit up and makes 15 metres and the commentator says something about his selection chances then he attempts an offload and messes everything up. Happens every year.

 

[QUEENSLANDER]

You're letting your bias speak.
Gillett has been under utilised in attack at the Broncos, not through his own fault, but has been excellent in defense all season, (which is what people complained about last year) and a very important cog in the team.

You think hes going to be utilized any differently in Origin tho? No way. Mal expects his forwards to run hard and tackle, thats it. There is no room for backrowers will ball playing or offloading skills in Mal's game plan. Gillett / Papalii / Taylor have all be used the wrong way and just used as tackling battering rams. i dont see the point in picking him if thats all they want them to do. may as well just pick hannant. oh, they basically did, lillyman

 

[Harry Sack]

You think hes going to be utilized any differently in Origin tho? No way. Mal expects his forwards to run hard and tackle, thats it. There is no room for backrowers will ball playing or offloading skills in Mal's game plan. Gillett / Papalii / Taylor have all be used the wrong way and just used as tackling battering rams. i dont see the point in picking him if thats all they want them to do. may as well just pick hannant. oh, they basically did, lillyman

Hard to say but if he can't get quality ball from Thurston and Cronk then we're in trouble. Maybe Mal is planning to mix up the game plan a little and that's why he's named Gil??? That being said, I would have had Pappa over him as well.

 

[jarro65]

Napa in for DCE

 

[Porthoz]

You think hes going to be utilized any differently in Origin tho? No way. Mal expects his forwards to run hard and tackle, thats it. There is no room for backrowers will ball playing or offloading skills in Mal's game plan. Gillett / Papalii / Taylor have all be used the wrong way and just used as tackling battering rams. i dont see the point in picking him if thats all they want them to do. may as well just pick hannant. oh, they basically did, lillyman

If that's the case, why did you push for a lazy five-eight in the body of a prop to be named in the team, up until last year?

Gillett can run hard and tackle (and certainly shored up his deficiencies, thank you Wayne!). In fact, that's exactly what he has been doing all season at the Broncos.
He also has an x-factor and besides, he will have Thurston and Cronk feeding him ball.

 

[Broncoman]

Congrats to McGuire good to see him get some Aussie rep recognition. The backing of Wayne Bennett sure has helped him.

 

[QUEENSLANDER]

If that's the case, why did you push for a lazy five-eight in the body of a prop to be named in the team, up until last year?

Gillett can run hard and tackle (and certainly shored up his deficiencies, thank you Wayne!). In fact, that's exactly what he has been doing all season at the Broncos.
He also has an x-factor and besides, he will have Thurston and Cronk feeding him ball.

Who are you talking about?

Also, let me clarify. I dont agree with how mal has used taylor, papalii and gillett. When i said "There is no room for backrowers will ball playing or offloading skills in Mal's game plan.", that was not how i feel we should play. That was just me stating how i see Mal looking at his forwards. To me, if you want to pick gillett, papalii or taylor you need to let them run wide and target the small guys, and allow them to offload if the situation arises. So far they havent been allowed to do that, so i dont see the point in picking them

 

[Porthoz]

Who are you talking about?

Also, let me clarify. I dont agree with how mal has used taylor, papalii and gillett. When i said "There is no room for backrowers will ball playing or offloading skills in Mal's game plan.", that was not how i feel we should play. That was just me stating how i see Mal looking at his forwards. To me, if you want to pick gillett, papalii or taylor you need to let them run wide and target the small guys, and allow them to offload if the situation arises. So far they havent been allowed to do that, so i dont see the point in picking them

I was talking about David Taylor of course, and like you say, he could never fit into Mal's plan, but you still wanted him ahead of Gillett last season.
Matt can fill the role as Mal wants though, but he can do more as well... that is the big difference.

I agree that the choice between him and Papalii can be a coin toss, as while Gillett has more speed and ball skills, Josh has more power and aggression. Ideally, I want them both in the team, and it will probably happen, as Thaiday and Parker are getting long in the tooth anyway...

 

[Big Pete]

Feels like the final frontier with this squad. We know for sure that Hodges won't be around for next year but there must be others who are going close to playing in their last series. I'm sure Mal is going to use that as inspiration - all those clips from the Trans Tasman test about how old the spine was and how it was all the Queenslander's fault I'm sure will be used to stir the boys up.

I've got question marks on a number of selections. Can Will Chambers really cut it out on the wing? Is Guerra actually any good or was he bolstered by a few consolation tries? Does Gillett have anything unique to offer at this level? Can McGuire step up?

I mean you could ask questions of everyone in the team, but those I'm interested in because it means a lot moving forward.