State Of Origin

[Torneyboy]

Ok the blues (NSW) won the series.

 

But QLD thrashed the B******S tonight in game three.

 

Matt Sing 3 tries.

 

Score 36 to 6 yeah yeah...go the maroons

16 ZIP at half time

[gobbledonk]

TB,

 

Here's my match report for those who may enjoy a little more detail from a diehard Blues fan :

 

I am going to get in early and congratulate QLD on last nights win - very much deserved. They turned up willing to prove a point, whilst their opposition seemed surprised that they weren't playing touch on a beach in Forster.

 

Its tough for me to be too hard on a team which took home the shield after the smoke cleared, but I am willing to heap my scorn on one player : Bryan Fletcher. I'm not sure exactly which medication he is supposed to be taking, but for a guy on $300K-plus per season , he was extremely ordinary. When not rushing up to create gaps for QLD to run thru, he was busy trying to throw miracle passes (when he wasn?t simply dropping the ball cold). I've fired off an email to the relelvant authorities, and the Spastic Society are going to see what they can do for him.

 

That said, NSW had very little to offer their fans last night. Some great last-ditch defensive efforts, but pathetic options in attack. When QLD got close to the NSW line, they had the patience to kick for the line dropout : this paid off repeatedly. NSW had a few opportunities where they needed to show the same degree of patience, and they blew it every time.

 

Webke, Tallis and Civoneciva completely dominated their opposition forwards, and I sincerely hope they don?t repeat the dosage in September. A lot of the players on that ground belong to teams who are fighting for top 4 slots, and several will be lucky to make the 8, but that shouldn?t have impacted the NSW motivation last night. The Blues fans, particularly those of us who live north of the Tweed, deserve better. I would have been happier to see Gould give a few more Neville Nobodies a run last night - they had nothing to lose, and they would have bought a lot more enthusiasm into the match. The only guy in a Blue jersey who I thought tried hard for the full 80 was Minichello : he got hammered several times, to the delight of the Lang Park crowd, but he still held onto the ball, unlike (aarrghh) F***wit Fletcher. I hope the selectors can remember Minichellos efforts in the first two games and give him a run in the Green and Gold (OK, fullback is taken, but there must be a spot for him in the centres ?).

 

My overall verdict on the series is that it was crap. One reasonably close game followed by two complete mismatches : what happened to the series of the mid-late 90's, often decided in the last 5 minutes of the final game ? To hear Sterlo and Fattie babble on about how it was one of the best they'd ever seen was laughable : amazing what fat TV contracts will do for your credibility.

 

Lets hope for better next year - from both squads.