Almanac Rugby League – State of Origin Washup: And the winner is…Footy!

 

Men’s Game 2

If you haven’t already done so, mark July 17 in your diary now! That’s when the deciding third instalment of this year’s Origin series will be played out after NSW levelled the series at the MCG on Wednesday night. Lang Park will rock! Either Queensland will win a third consecutive Origin Shield or NSW will record a very rare win in a decider played in Brisbane.

 

Two of the old adages of rugby league played out in this week’s Game 2: forwards win matches, and defence wins matches. The rest takes care of itself.

 

Exhibit 1: The NSW forward pack, including those coming off the bench, dominated the middle and edges, both in attack and defence, especially in that pulsating first half. In offence, they ran with power, purpose and intent, eating up the metres and keeping the Maroons on the back foot repeatedly. In defence, the pack hit hard, often and relentlessly. It was, in the real meaning of the word, ‘awesome’. Consequently, the backline, Moses in particular, has ample time and oodles of space to create waves of various attacking points, both out wide and inside, through the hands and in the air, to leave the Maroons grasping at jumpers and gasping for breath. 34-0 at halftime was a pretty fair reflection of what happened in that first period.

 

Exhibit 2: On the rare occasions that Queensland had the ball in the first 40 minutes, they usually found themselves trying to come out of their own 10 metre zone to be confronted by a Blues outfit determined to make them earn every metre with a maximum of difficulty (and pain). Backs aren’t usually renown for their defensive prowess but, in this case, 1-7 were no less committed and effective than 8-13. Consequently, their in-your-face, sustained pressure forced numerous mistakes and disjointed, ineffectual play from the Maroons.

 

Exhibit 3: Exhibit 1 + Exhibit 2 = total domination, time, space, momentum and confidence to create multiple chances which, in the hands of players with the skills of this level, must lead to points on the board. And so it unfolded with power, panache and precision. Overall, that first half by NSW was close to flawless, possibly the best ever half of Origin footy by a side.

 

Spare a thought for Nicho Hynes, will you? Playing behind a losing pack, he was scapegoated after the Blues’ loss in Game 1. How he would have relished the dominant bunch of forwards we saw on display on Wednesday night!

 

The second half was a different affair, more akin to your standard Origin contest – close, tight, testy and tough with the odd push and shove thrown in. Queensland actually won the half 18-4 but it’d hard to know how much NSW was willing to just play out the game and inflict whatever scars they could ahead of Game 3. But the Maroons may take some heart from an improved effort and a couple of well-worked tries as well as a hint that the Blues can be distracted by drawing them into niggles – the likes of Martin, Luai, Mitchell and Crichton (S) are susceptible to the odd prod.

 

Best players:

NSW – numbers 1-17, and coach Maguire for resurrecting his squad from the disaster of Game 1.

Queensland – DCE (playing behind a beaten pack), Cotter (beaten but not bowed) and Dearden (good second half comeback after being monstered in the first).

 

Injuries aside, I can’t either side making too many changes for Game 3. Bring it on.

 

Women’s Game 3 Decider

As someone once said, “You gotta love footy!” It tosses up all sorts of twists and turns that never allow you to feel any certainty about what is about to transpire. Going by the clock, NSW dominated about 60% of play in this year’s three-game women’s Origin series – and still lost. How they will rue that loss in Game 2 when they were just minutes away from a series clinching win.

 

And so the decider went to Townsville last night where a sellout crowd of over 21,000 rocked up to see the final battle. If omens can be read early on in a game, then it was all over almost before it started when an unusual error from Emma Tonegato provided the Maroons with an early try. Six points became 8 after just 8 minutes and the Blues were in strife. By halftime it was 14 with the series all but gone. The Blues finally got on the board after an intercept on the hour but hopes of a come from behind win disappeared moments later with a third and final try to the Maroons sealing the match and series.

 

For the winners, Aiken, Mato, Pelite and Brigginshaw were prominent but please don’t underestimate the series-defining contribution of the Maroons’ goal-kicker Lauren Brown. Firstly, she saved her side in Game 2 with two highly pressurised goals in atrocious conditions and, secondly, she knocked over 4 from 4 last night, again in unfavourable conditions. Vanuatu Pelite was Player of the Match while Shanon Mato was Player of the series. Isabelle Kelly doesn’t know how not to give everything and she featured prominently for the Blues. Millie Elliott was the pick of the pack and probably should have been given more than 47 minutes on the paddock.

 

This will go down as one of the great Queensland wins against the odds in the context of the whole series. And probably rightly so. More importantly, a three game series for women’s Origin has proved to be a huge success so we can look forward to more of the same in the years to come.

 

Not long now until the 2024 NRLW season kicks off.

 

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To see the details for State of Origin in 2024 click HERE.

 

Our writers are independent contributors. The opinions expressed in their articles are their own. They are not the views, nor do they reflect the views, of Malarkey Publications.

 

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