Prince in frame for Origin berth

[DIEHARD]

Prince in frame for Origin berth

The awful early-season efforts of the North Queensland Cowboys could have ramifications in the representative arena, with some of the club's biggest names - including Johnathan Thurston - under pressure to ignite their form before it's too late.

North Queensland were heavily tipped to be grand final contenders this season. Instead, they have started with a woeful none from three and leaked more than 100 points along the way.

After first-up losses to the Titans and Tigers, things went from bad to worse when an undermanned Brisbane outfit routed the Cowboys 36-2 at Suncorp Stadium last Friday night.

The task won't get any easier this weekend when they host the dangerous Eels, a side with strike weapons deployed across the park.

Amid the on-field carnage could lie the representative ambitions of prop Carl Webb, whose odds of retaining his Queensland jumper are drifting in the face of stiff competition from improvers like Brisbane's Ben Hannant.

Fullback Matt Bowen, who many believed should have replaced Karmichael Hunt for the Queensland and Australian job last season, is another who will need a dramatic change of fortune to even feature in discussions.

But it is superstar halfback Thurston who may need to look over his shoulder if his side fails to take flight, with Queensland's impressive halfback stocks having challengers nipping at his heels for early Origin ascendancy.

Thurston is returning from a double shoulder reconstruction and has been solid without spectacular behind a struggling pack.

The Gold Coast's Scott Prince, meanwhile, has continued his stellar run of form and rarely plays a bad hand, while Melbourne's premiership halfback Cooper Cronk is the Kangaroo incumbent thanks to Thurston's surgery at the end of last season.

Thurston is still the favourite to be picked for the May 9 Centenary Test against New Zealand. But Queensland selector Des Morris says the form of the Cowboys half - and his supporting cast - could create some interesting dilemmas at the Maroons selection table.

"Form is always a criteria. It's just how far out of form players are that are the incumbents and what's going on around them - we have to take into consideration. That will be the same this year," Morris said.

"Obviously you like to have a stable team but in saying that, if one bloke's form is outstanding and the other bloke is struggling in form, you take that into consideration."

Queensland's famous loyalty to players has paid handsome dividends over the years but if the status quo fails to alter significantly over the coming rounds, that policy could be tested.

Queensland is blessed with brilliant depth in the number seven, meaning Morris won't be losing sleep even if Thurston fails to regain his magic or becomes a casualty of his side's bad form.

"I don't think Queensland are concerned. We're just hopeful they all stay healthy and fit and we'll make that choice when the time comes," he said.

"It's a healthy position for Queensland to be in - to have three quality halves of that standard. We're sure whoever gets the nod will do a great job for us."

http://www.leaguehq.com.au

[TITAN PETE]

If they pick the team tommorrow Prince would be a cert but it's not & i think QLD will will pick whoever Meninga wants in his side

[Tamwelg]

Play Princey in the number 7 and throw Thrurston in his original position in the number 6.

[eelectrica]

On tonights performance if Prince isn't QLD's no.1 choice at HB, we're begging to get asses kicked.
Won't bother watching the Melbourne game, but Prince has easily been the form HB throughout this year.

[Tamwelg]

Maroons need JT and me: Prince

Dan Koch | April 18, 2008

FOR Gold Coast Titans skipper Scott Prince, the 2004 State of Origin series is both a treasured memory and source of frustration.

His three matches in the Maroons jersey that year sit alongside the premiership when he was captain of Wests Tigers in 2005 as career highlights.

Yet Prince cannot hide his frustration at being overlooked in the three years since. His annoyance is aimed not so much at the fact selectors have opted for North Queensland's Johnathan Thurston, but more at what he now knows about himself.

"Don't get me wrong, it's great to be mentioned as a contender, but it gets to me because I look back and I know how much better a player I am now," Prince said.

"I am more experienced, I have experience in big games, I can control the game better and I am a much better defender than I was. I just feel I have done my time and I am ready for a crack.

"I am not trying to take anything away from JT and you can't dispute his results over the past couple of years.

"But at the end of the day I don't feel he is any better player than me. He is skilful and I respect what he has achieved - you have to. But I don't feel he's any better than me."

On his form this season, it is difficult to imagine there is anyone who could question Prince's case for a recall to Origin.

He has been the standout player in the competition, guiding the Titans to equal first on the NRL ladder after five rounds and he again looms as the key man in tonight's match against Brisbane at Skilled Park on the Gold Coast.

However, Prince is convinced there are those who doubt his ability to transfer the skills he displays at club level to the representative arena.

"All of it is out of my hands," Prince said. "But if they want you in the team, they will find a way to accommodate you.

"They play any number of guys out of position, but say JT and I play halfback and they can only pick one of us."

In 2005, Broncos coach Wayne Bennett rated Prince's departure from the Broncos at the end of 2003 as one of the biggest regrets of his coaching career.

Having arrived in Brisbane from the Cowboys in 2001 as one of the game's most exciting young talents, Prince endured a horrific three seasons, marred by back-to-back broken legs, knee and hamstring injuries. The first broken leg came just days after the death of his father, Les, who was killed in a car accident.

At the end of his third year, Prince, who was stuck in reserve grade behind Ben Ikin and Shaun Berrigan, was offered the chance to reunite with Wests Tigers coach Tim Sheens, who had given him his break at the Cowboys.

"I have always thrived on having that bit of extra responsibility. It was a role Tim gave me at the Cowboys and it was the same at the Tigers," Prince said.

However, Prince looks back on the time in Brisbane as the making of him as a player, captain and a man. The hours spent alone on the training track and in the gym instilled a mental toughness.

"Not many guys have to go through what Scott did at 21, but he got through a pretty tough period and has developed into a pretty special player and leader," former Brisbane captain Gorden Tallis said.

"You can just see how he has grown. Watching him play for the Titans he is such a dominant player and really leads the team in every aspect on and off the field.

"It also adds something special to every meeting he has had and will have with his former club, particularly at the Titans - the club he has helped build."

Source - The Australian

[GCT_07]

Ohhhh you will hate me for this........ Leave prince out...... he s too damn good .......

GO NSW