The 2014 State of Origin
series kicks off from Suncorp Stadium on Wednesday night and right on time, Blues
supporters have gone to a dark place. We
are a broken, jaded, miserable pack of footy fans and have a finely tuned
love/hate relationship with the greatest sporting event in Australia. There is
nothing that can change that, no amount of social media fury, no argument about
the team selected and no amount of alcohol. Only a miraculous series victory.
Do we believe in miracles?
Blues coach Laurie Daley has
essentially said that he picks his New South Wales team based on NRL form.
There seems to be an inherent mistake in this philosophy. No footballer
performs well in 1st grade without their teammates, without training
with them for an entire off-season. Queensland enters this series with a team
selected on character, raw skill and history – not by how many tries they
scored on the Friday night before the team was selected.
Maroons coach Mal Meninga says
a lot of things and they are mostly boring, so we’ll ignore quoting him for the
minute. Good news is that all the talking will stop at 8pm on Wednesday night
for the 100th meeting between the most hated rivals in the land.
What a magnificent history and a great celebration of the jewel in the crown of
our code. Here’s to many, many more – or until I have a myocardial infarction.
New South Wales have it all to
do and are $2.80 underdogs; but they will keep it close. The Blues’ best chance
is their bench – Trent Merrin, Anthony Watmough and Luke Lewis will cause a
stir when they finally get on the field, in the hope it brings composure back
to the Blues’ more inexperienced starters. Ultimately, two very physical packs will
sort out the pecking order for 65 minutes and then, Queensland nudge their way
ahead. Jonathan Thurston the standout, just ahead of Robbie Farah.
My tip: A field of broken
dreams.
Man of the Match tip: Jonathan
Thurston
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