From The Couch: Rep Weekend

Blues Bounce Back: New South Wales bounced back in style in Perth, winning the second game of the series 44-12. Brad Fittler made mass changes and they generally worked. Matt Burton had one of the all-time great debuts and has locked in his spot in the side for a long-time to come. Api Koroisau did exactly as was required and got the Penrith playmakers good ball. Jake Trbojevic was the best forward on the paddock. Angus Crichton played tough and scored a try. Ashley Klein, of course, swung the rub of the green to the Blues including sin binning Felise Kaufusi. It was the right decision but it was one that could have been avoided. The key to success though was New South Wales dominating the ruck and Queensland failing at the basic fundamentals of tackling, discipline and catching. 

The pressure will be on Billy Slater to make changes for Game 3. Jeremiah Nanai won’t be in the team. Murray Taulagi and Dane Gagai are also changes of being dropped. 

Fittler’s concerns are at the other end of the spectrum with game one star Jack Wighton and Latrell Mitchell both set to be available. Fittler should be dropping Jarome Luai and playing Matt Burton at five-eighth but it would take an almighty set to do that. 

Origin’s Forgettable 17s: The most forgettable Origin teams, full of one-gamers and long-forgotten players and a few who got picked just a few times too many. 

New South Wales

1.Jonathan Docking
2.David Hall
3.Brad Izzard
4.Dylan Walker
5.Phil Duke
6.Terry Campese
7.Jarrod Mullen
8.Ryan O’Hara
9.David Trewhella
10.Tim Grant
11.Paul Merlo
12.Chris Walsh
13.Jim Leis
——————-
14.Graham Lyons
15.Jamal Idris
16.Jamie Buhrer
17.Stan Jurd
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Queensland
1.Corey Allan
2.Terry Butler
3.Brenko Lee
4.Graham Quinn
5.Edrick Lee
6.Grant Rix
7.Larry Briggenshaw
8.Clinton O’Brien
9.Matt Ballin
10.Dunamis Lui
11.Ethan Lowe
12.Bruce Walker
13.Trevor Paterson
———————–
14.Tony Kajewski
15.Greg Holben
16.Scott Tronc
17.Stu Kelly
————————

Women’s Origin Must Be Three Games: Friday’s Women’s State of Origin clash was, unsurprisingly, a truly elite affair featuring the finest players in the women’s game. It is just a terrible shame that this is a one-off … again. The sublime skills of Emma Tonegato and Ali Brigginshaw, the relentless strength of Isabelle Kelly, the darting speed of Tarryn Aiken, the wild power of Caitlan Johnston … the game had everything, an end-to-end, drama-filled affair that went down to the final siren. Fans are crying out for more and deserve a full series. 

Attention Bulldogs, Attention Tigers: It is unclear how the Bulldogs and the Tigers and plenty of other clubs have so much dross on their rosters yet Papua New Guinea stars like Nixon Putt, McKenzie Yei  and Solo Wane remain outside of an NRL system. To think Corey Waddell and Asu Kepaoa are not only in top 30s but have played regular first grade is astonishing. It shows the difference between good clubs’ willingness to invest in regions and scouting and poor clubs simply not. And can one of these ordinary clubs sign Sunia Turuva from Penrith immediately? He is more than NRL ready. 

Schuster Needs To Focus on Fundamentals: One look at the stats from Saturday night’s Samoa-Cook Islands clash and it would appear as if Josh Schuster had an outstanding game. He ran for 129 metres, had three try assists, two line breaks and busted four tackles. It was a game that should cause far more concern for Manly than it should be a sign of hope. There is no doubt Schuster has skill but his lack of toughness and refusal to get the basics right is a worry. An awful kick early in the tackle count cost Samoa a try and twice he kicked for try assists when he merely had to draw and pass. His defence is a complete liability. If Manly think he is their five-eighth from 2023 onwards then they are putting a lot of belief in the next Feleti Mateo. 

Ciraldo Needs to Be Careful: Cameron Ciraldo knocked back the Wests Tigers. It is easy to understand why. There is no worse club he could lob at. He is reportedly set to also knock back Canterbury to extend his time as an assistant at Penrith. He would do well to look at the careers of Jim Dymock, David Fairleigh and plenty of other hot assistants. Opportunities don’t last forever. The heat cools. Ciraldo is going to lob at a bad club because bad clubs are the ones that need coaches. He can get away with not signing this year but it won’t wash again next season. 

2022 Field Goal Update – 19: Sadly we did not see a field goal kicked across rep weekend. 

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Fun Fact #1: Queensland missed a record 60 tackles in Origin II. 

Fun Fact #2: Anthony Gelling represented Cook Islands without having a club. 

Fun Fact #3: Isabelle Kelly has now scored four tries in five Origins.

Betting Market of the Week: Ashley Klein’s view of the forward pass is:

$101: Anything that travels forward should be ruled forward
$2.50: There is a margin of error of two-to-four metres
$1.50: If it is over three metres forward and leads to a try it is sweet

Rumour Mill: Cameron Ciraldo has rejected the Wests Tigers and is likely to reject the Canterbury Bulldogs this week to remain an assistant at Penrith. Luke Thompson has returned to England on a personal matter and is unlikely to play again for Canterbury. Ricky Stuart has denied rumours he will leave Canberra to take up the job at Canterbury. 

Moronic Coaching Decision of the Week: Playing both Ben Hunt and Harry Grant at once was not a high point in Billy Slater’s Origin career. It blunted Hunt when he needed to go back to hooker and cost the Maroons some much-needed size in the middle. 

The Coaching Crosshairs: Justin Holbrook is reportedly on thin ice at Gold Coast after high performance manager Klint Hoare was sacked last week. Hoare was close to Holbrook and his dismissal is clearly a warning shot with the board and management not at all impressed with how dismal 2022 has been. His position should be being closely monitored by Canterbury. 

Watch It: With Anthony Gelling returning to the field for Cook Islands against Samoa, we go back to one of the most infamous moments in Rugby League history when Gelling attempted to charge down a Corey Parker penalty goal in a World Club Challenge affair in 2015. Watch it all here.