Almanac Rugby League – 2022 State of Origin, Game I: Ambush at Homebush!

 

Ah, the fine line between winning and losing! How often do we say it? How often is it just so true? What if Paulo scores just before half-time and NSW goes into the sheds 10-6 up? What if Yeo scrambled just 50cms more on the very last play of the game and we go into golden point? What if Munster kicked a field goal in the last minute of the first half – Queensland would have been out by 13 points with less than 10 minutes to play and fairly safe. What if Cleary’s conversion attempt early on had scraped inside the post rather than hitting its outside? And on and on…

 

In the end we had a cracker of a game – gritty rather than pretty overall; better structure and style by NSW versus spirit and guts (and the odd piece of inspiration by the likes of Munster and Holmes) from Queensland; absolutely ferocious defence at both ends; a referee who, in the main, was unsighted. One of the great Origin clashes? Probably in the top 20% but that was more about the importance of the game for the Maroons to re-establish themselves as a side to be reckoned with after the debacle of 2021.

 

In what we’ve come to expect from State of Origin, the game started at a furious pace with the Blues settling the sooner but unable to take advantage of better field position. It was all of 15 minutes before  a lovely spread to the left saw the charging Wighton score out wide. Cleary hit the outside of the post with this conversion attempt. NSW 4-0.

 

Queensland had the better of the rest of the half apart from the loss of Coates to a game-ending leg injury. The interchange bench worked well for the Maroons with both Carrigan and Collins injecting fresh legs, grunt and hard-hitting defence while Grant probed away at dummy half. A bouncing ball can create havoc and so it was when a pass from Ponga, possibly meant as a cut-out, bounced past Gagai into the hands of Cobbo who had a short space of clear air in front of him. Drawing the defence, his kick in-field bypassed the committed Tedesco and favoured Gagai as he followed through to score. Holmes converted. Queensland 6-4.

 

A mistake by the energetic, enthusiastic debutant Cotter gave the Blues a late chance and Paulo strolled through under the posts – but not before Murray impeded Carrigan. A narrow escape for the Maroons who went down the other end where a spur of the moment attempt at field goal by Munster went wide. Half-time: Maroons 6-NSW 4.

 

Queensland opened the second stanza full of vim, verve and positivity although it looked like they were down to 15 men when Nanai suffered a bad lower leg injury. Cherry-Evans scored a (seemingly) ridiculously easy try under the posts as he strolled through untouched after the Blues’ defence completely misread the play. Holmes converted. Queensland 12-4. Six minutes later they were in again down the left after a beautiful Ponga cut-out pass allowed Holmes to go past Tupou untouched but he couldn’t convert. Queensland 16-4.

 

Nanai miraculously returned on the hour and put in a solid effort. The game went back and forth for about 15 minutes with the Maroons holding on desperately as the Blues exerted pressure but couldn’t find the correct play late in their tackle counts. Munster used every trick in his repertoire – stealing the ball one-on-one at least twice, jolting it free on another occasion, intercepting close to his own line, and creating havoc every time he ran the ball. Holmes and Ponga also provided rock-solid defence under the high ball.

 

The Maroon wall finally cracked after a couple of soft penalties saw NSW move downfield where Murray ran a good line to find a gap and, with Cleary’s conversion, it was a 6 point game with 8 minutes to play. The Maroons chose to attack when they could and went close through Munster, Cotter, Cobbo and Fa’asuamaleaui. They didn’t score but they forced NSW to bring the ball back from deep in their own half each time. A last minute penalty saw NSW have one final chance but Yeo was held half a metre out as time expired. Queensland 16 d NSW 10.

 

New South Wales played the more structured and orthodox game built around their Penrith core. Yeo, in spite of an early head clash, was strong early and Campbell-Gillard ran with purpose. Haas was his usual strong self while Sims provided the menace. The backline looked likely to break free but, apart from the Wighton try, couldn’t find the necessary cohesion. Tedesco tried hard to inject himself but was, on the whole, fairly well contained. Cook left it until late in the half to run the ball and made some useful darts.

 

Meanwhile, the Maroons played with energy but not a lot of method in the first half. It was only when Carrigan and Collins came off the bench that they found some rhythm and go forward to build on the strong showing of Cotter. Cherry-Evans led well, debutant Cobbo looked solid and Munster had that look about him that suggested that he was a simmering volcano waiting to erupt. They did well to go into the sheds with the lead.

 

Early in the second half when the Maroons found their confidence and moved the ball more, the Blues defence struggled to cope with the enigmatic Munster, the support play of Ponga and the continuing force of Carrigan and Collins through the middle. After conceding two tries and facing a 12-point deficit, the Blues lost some their structure and seemed to be looking for a scoring play too often rather than building pressure. Once they finally broke through via Murray, they regained some rhythm but couldn’t find a hole in the defence, nor could they cope with the dazzle of Munster who turned them around on several occasions.

 

For the Maroons, the second half was built around a strong showing through the middle, the organisation of Cherry-Evans, the guile of Grant and Hunt, scrambled defence, and the poise of Ponga, Cobbo and Holmes at the back. As a team, they all just kept showing up for each other to deny the Blues a way back. It looked like the Maroons of days gone by – think Fatty’s 1995 Neville Nobodies.

 

I thought that Pat Carrigan was the best player on the field. He ran the ball with purpose, courage and vigour and lost nothing to his bigger, more fancied opponents; he also defended stoutly. Man of the match Munster was sublime at times and injected uncertainty into the minds of the defence. Collins was Queensland’s second best forward, playing with strength and grit. Cotter had a fine debut – he’s a goer! Holmes looked better as a winger than a centre and displayed safety and composure under the high ball. Cherry-Evans organised well, Ponga lurked, Gagai scrapped and fought like he always does at this level, Capewell and Kaufusi toiled throughout. Overall, the Maroons got a lot more out of their bench players.

 

The Blues were best served by Yeo, Haas, Murray, Tupou, Cook and Tedesco. Cleary had his colours lowered by Cherry-Evans and Luai couldn’t match Munster. (Expect the Penrith halves to come back strongly in Game 2.)  The big surprise for me on the night was the way the Blues lost their way for 30 minutes in the second half – most uncharacteristic in a Fittler-coached side. They’ll be better in Perth. The kicking game of both sides was substandard for this level, too often going too long and not exerting enough pressure on the back three.

 

State of Origin has lost nothing of its capacity to thrill, entertain and draw us in. It remains great theatre. This year’s series is now set up beautifully with the hot favourites under the pump while the for-now victorious Maroons will need to lift a gear or two if they hope to close out the series in Game 2.

 

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