What does a rugby league fan do on a Sunday afternoon in London? Watch the English Super League on BBC2, of course! And there’s Tony Smith coaching HKR, featuring Jake Clifford and Tex Hoy, giving Castleford Tigers a good old touch-up. Entertaining, but about QCup standard.
At the same time I was still recovering from yet another crazy weekend of results in the NRL. The Dragons certainly didn’t die wondering with a most enterprising last play of the game to snatch a win from the Chooks. Then there were the Eels giving the Bunnies a loss the latter needed to remind them that you have to go hard for 80 minutes every week. And, for all their worries, the Sea Eagles turned up and gave the Raiders a pasting.
And what about the Wests Tigers? It took them five rounds to score 66 points at the start of the season, then they go and do the same in a single game! Crazy stuff alright! Then the Sea Eagles turned up and gave the Raiders a pasting, and the Bulldogs showed a bit of fight to keep their hops alive.
I’m loving it!
Round 13
State of Origin season heralds several weeks of split rounds starting this weekend. The Dolphins are at home to the Dragons tonight with the latter missing their heart and soul, Ben Hunt, while the Dolphins will be without The Hammer and Tom Gilbert. Something tells me that the Dolphins are better placed to find more than adequate replacements and so I’ll go with them.
Tomorrow night it’s the Eels hosting the Cowboys, a clash from the lower end of the ladder but so very significant to both as they battle for relevance. The Eels were electric last week, the Cowboys lame. There’s the story – the Eels, possibly to an embarrassing extent.
On Saturday the Warriors take on the Broncos in a game I find hard to tip. You’d probably go with the Warriors at home and the Broncos undermanned due to Origin. But past experience suggests that the Broncos often rise to the occasion and pull off unexpected wins against the odds. I’m tipping (and hoping) that might be the case again this weekend.
On Saturday night the Rabbitohs meet the Raiders, both last round losers. I think the Rabbitohs will benefit from their loss more, recover faster and move on to rediscover their mojo. Canberra looks a bit undermanned up front where the Bunnies pack will assert their ascendancy and control the game. South’s comfortably.
Then on Sunday the Knights clash with the Sea Eagles. Origin selections will play a big part here with Newcastle retaining Ponga while Manly lose both DCE and Tom Turbo (while Jurbo is out injured). Newcastle for me.
So my winners this week are the Dolphins, Eels, Broncos, Rabbitohs and Knights. (I got 4/8 last week to move up to 18th out of 34.)
State of Origin
There are the obligatory surprises in the selections for Game 1. The NSW back line picks itself, even if that means the very deserving Campbell Graham misses out. Freddie is showing a bit of initiative by starting with TPJ and Hudson Young while keeping Paulo, Murray and Martin on the bench. Looking for a strong physical presence to assert domination? Maybe, but risky with TPJ known for having a short fuse. Don’t be surprised to see the more experienced Paulo start.
Billy Slater has also surprised with the absence of Ponga, Gagai and Capewell. None of these surprises me. With Ponga, it’s a case of health first for the young man to make sure he has many years ahead of him. The pace of Origin is getting beyond the aging Capewell, so go with younger, faster legs. Gagai has been little less than magnificent for the Maroons over many years but the time comes to leave the scene before one season too many risks undoing a proud record. The risk in omitting theses three is that a load of experience goes with them.
I’ll leave it at that for now and see what evolves as we lead into next Wednesday night.
Game 1 of the women’s State of Origin series will be played next Thursday night. On paper you’d have to say that NSW looks very imposing, especially in their backs where they dominated last year. Even without Caitlin Johnson they look strong up front as well.
The omission of Chelsea Lenarduzzi from the Maroons squad is puzzling given her dynamic strength and hustle. The move of Brigginshaw to lock is nteresting but Tamara is a wily replacement at No. 7.
Origin is a strange creature, so let’s see how this one unfolds.
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About Ian Hauser
A relaxed, Noosa-based retiree with a (very) modest sporting CV. A loyal Queenslander, especially when it comes to cricket and rugby league. Enjoys travel, coffee and cake, reading, and has been known to appreciate a glass or three of wine. One of Footy Almanac's online editors who enjoys the occasional editing opportunity to assist aspiring writers.
There’s certainly been some notable omissions from the Origin teams, so it’ll be interesting to see which (if any) of those players are recalled as the series progresses.
I’m surprised at the selection of Pangai jnr for NSW, as well as the omissions of Damien Cook and Campbell Graham.
After game 3 last year, I thought it might be the end of Josh Papalii’s Origin career, and possibly Gagai’s as well. Gagai has been an integral part of the Maroons line-up for several years but last year was not one of his best, and perhaps the time is right to move in a different direction. The omission of Ponga is fair enough due to concussion concerns, although Reece Walsh’s form has been a bit erratic in the past couple of weeks. It’s also worth noting the omission of Xavier Coates.
In the women’s Origin, I find it bewildering that Lauren Brown has been left out of the Queensland squad, in addition to Lenarduzzi.
Crazy is one word, Ian!
If only Souths played hard for 80 minutes!
Another lesson.
The magnificently named Tallis Duncan was great on debut.
Origin: after five months in the Barossa, off we go to ‘the Oval’ (I thought the Oval was a cricket ground in London?!) for Qld v NSW
Bring it on!!