Game 1 09: Queensland vs New South Wales

[DIEHARD]

Queensland Maroons vs New South Wales Blues

Wednesday June 3 2009 - Etihad Stadium, Melbourne

Tickets: http://www.ticketmaster.com.au

MAROONS

Billy Slater (Storm) 26, 8 Origins
Israel Folau (Broncos) 20, 3 Origins
Greg Inglis (Storm) 22, 7 Origins
Justin Hodges (Broncos) 27, 7 Origins
Darius Boyd (Dragons) 21, 2 Origins
Darren Lockyer (Broncos) 32, 27 Origins
Johnathan Thurston (Cowboys), 26, 12 Origins
Steve Price (Warriors) 35, 25 Origins
Cameron Smith (Storm) 26, 16 Origins
Petero Civoniceva (Panthers) 33, 23 Origins
Sam Thaiday (Broncos) 23, 6 Origins
Ashley Harrison (Titans) 28, 3 Origins
Dallas Johnson (Storm) 26, 9 Origins

Interchange:
Karmichael Hunt (Broncos) 22, 7 Origins
Michael Crocker (Rabbitohs) 28, 10 Origins
Ben Hannant (Bulldogs) 24, 3 Origins
Nate Myles (Roosters) 24, 9 Origins

BLUES

1 Kurt Gidley, captain (Newcastle Knights)
2 Jarryd Hayne (Parramatta Eels)
3 Jamie Lyon (Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles)
4 Michael Jennings (Penrith Panthers)
5 James McManus (Newcastle Knights)
6 Terry Campese (Canberra Raiders)
7 Peter Wallace (Brisbane Broncos)
8 Luke Bailey (Gold Coast Titans)
9 Robbie Farah (Wests Tigers)
10 Brent Kite (Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles)
11 Ben Creagh (St George Illawarra Dragons)
12 Luke O'Donnell (North Queensland Cowboys)
13 Paul Gallen (Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks)

Subs:
14 Craig Wing (South Sydney Rabbitohs)
15 Justin Poore (St George Illawarra Dragons)
16 Glenn Stewart (Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles)
17 Michael Weyman (St George Illawarra Dragons)

18th Man: Luke Lewis (Penrith Panthers)

Coach: Craig Bellamy (Melbourne Storm)

[DIEHARD]

This is it! Let's do this Q L D! 4 in a row!

[kwigibo]

[kwigibo]

Walker's on!

[kwigibo]

According to another forum by way of ch 10 i guess, Bailey is the only Titan in the Blues, Laffranchi left out. Not that I mind, one less chance at injury.

[karnage]

Have a look at this team. You would not want to be a Blue this year, QLD will have to be 3's on against this outfit. You were right about Bailey being the only Titan named, Laffranchi misses out but might be in line to replace Gallen who is under an injury cloud.

. Kurt Gidley (c)
2. Jarryd Hayne
3. Jamie Lyon
4. Michael Jennings
5. James McManus
6. Terry Campese
7. Peter Wallace
8. Brent Kite
9. Robbie Farah
10. Luke Bailey
11. Ben Creagh
12. Luke O'Donnell
13. Paul Gallen

Interchange

14. Craig Wing
15. Justin Poore
16. Glenn Stewart
17. Michael Weyman

If Jennings and Hayne defend on the same side of the field QLD could score 30 points down their corridor alone.

The biggest danger to Mal's men is complacency.

[psmitty]

My prediction for the Qld team is bellow:

Slater
Boyd
Inglis
Hodges
Folou
Lockyer (c)
Thurston
Smith
Civoniceva
Thaiday
Harrison
Johnston

Bench:
Hunt
Hannant
Myles
Crocker

If im wrong ill run on to skilled park naked. lol

[Ryan]

Jennings will leak more points than he scores, NSW backline will get exposed big time. Surprised to see Laffranci left out, their loss........

[psmitty]

Woops forgot to put Price in my team also.

I can guarantee that this will be right. Im happy to put my money where my mouth is for anyone who wants a bet?????

[DIEHARD]

Maroons star Johnathan Thurston targets rookie Blues halves Peter Wallace, Terry Campese

MAROONS halfback Johnathan Thurston questioned the ability of Blues' first-time halves combination of Peter Wallace and Terry Campese to handle the pressure of an intense Origin opener.

The star No. 7 is unconvinced the raw NSW playmakers can jell smoothly together after a hurried one-week preparation.

While Wallace and Campese will be asked to carry the Blues' hopes on the basis of a busily patched together slap-and-dash understanding, Thurston will team with champion skipper Darren Lockyer for the 10th time in Queensland's star-studded halves.

"They're both pretty much rookies," Thurston said. "They are great players in their own right but it's their first game together so hopefully we can put them under a bit of pressure.

"Their key positions are all new, it's the first time they will all be playing together, if we can put them under a little bit of pressure we will see how they match up to it.

"It's Campese's first game and I remember my first game, I was under the pump a bit. That's what Origin is all about."All the latest on State of OriginThurston and Lockyer played nine straight Origin games together from 2005-07 before Lockyer's forced absence last year. But the seasoned duo have since dusted off their polished scrumbase routine in four Test matches for Australia.

They have played 10 Tests together, nine as the Kangaroos' starting halves, and boast 14 wins from their 19 games as representative teammates.

"It's a huge bonus playing back with Locky, especially at Origin, we're on the verge of history," Thurston said. "We've been pretty successful over the last couple of years and the longer we have together, the better we'll get.

"We're getting pretty good at reading each other's games and the style we play, that all comes with time and experience."

While they face a daunting assignment against the Maroons' magicians, the Blues' playmakers can draw confidence from Wallace's promising two-game unveiling last year and the presence in NSW camp of Halfback of the Century Andrew Johns.

The teaching task of both Johns and NSW coach Craig Bellamy is however a prickly one with the Blues' four "key position" players - also including Tigers hooker Robbie Farah and Knights fullback Kurt Gidley - all hailing from different clubs.

There has been speculation Bellamy unsuccessfully petitioned NSW selectors for Knights duo Jarrod Mullen (pivot) and Isaac De Gois (hooker) given their established club combination with fullback and skipper Kurt Gidley.

There was a major scare at Camp Maroon yesterday when star hooker Cameron Smith suffered a fresh knock to his left knee following a heavy training collision with Storm teammate Billy Slater.

After a nervous minute in which Queensland's victorious 2008 captain lay on the ground, Smith recovered to complete training.

Source: http://www.news.com.au

[DIEHARD]

Queensland v New South Wales
Etihad Stadium Wednesday 8pm

Queensland gets their chance to lay a concrete foundation on their bid for a record-making fourth straight series victory in Melbourne, with team selections on both sides of the border and Queensland?s tilt at Origin immortality generating more interest in Game One than any other game over the past decade.

No question this match-up has a bit of ?ying? and ?yang? about it.

In the Maroon corner lurks Mal Meninga?s all-Australian backline which, if you believe the press, is guaranteed unstoppable. It?s certainly taken some ?heat? off their ageing ? although it must be admitted still punchy ? forward pack headed by 35-year-old Steven Price and 32-year-old Petero Civoniceva, a pack NSW will be desperate to get on top of from the kick-off.

In the Blues? corner selectors have finally bitten the bullet and totally overhauled their squad with seven newcomers (it was eight originally before back-rower Glenn Stewart failed to beat his dangerous tackle charge at the judiciary). That includes Dragons? props Michael Weyman and Justin Poore and their team-mate Ben Creagh, plus Wests Tigers hooker Roobie Farah in the engine room, while five-eighth Terry Campese, centre Michael Jennings and winger James McManus make their debuts in the backline.

Queensland (with no players on debut) will field an unrivalled set of backs, plenty are suggesting the Blues have the firepower in the engine room to even things out.

Coach watch: Mal Meninga has an impressive 66 per cent winning record from his nine games at the helm for Queensland. But this game looms as defining for NSW mentor Craig Bellamy who enters with a 1-2 record.

Watch out Queensland: Our tip is the opening 20 minutes will be as fierce as any opening stanza in the history of Origin, with NSW in particular looking to dominate the early exchanges in an effort to gain control of the ruck.

The key for the Blues will be to force their opponents backwards when defending and slow down the play-the-balls; this will limit the opportunities for playmakers Darren Lockyer and Johnathan Thurston, who thrive when given good time to organise their troops while opposition defences are struggling to re-align. But when flustered? Like anyone, they can be forced into errors.

In attack NSW will look to gain a mountain of territory and give themselves good field position ? and they have the ?pig? prop rotation to do it. To date Luke Bailey is making 142 metres a game, Michael Weyman 128, Justin Poore 116 and Brent Kite 104. Not to mention back-rowers Luke O?Donnell 125 metres, Ben Creagh 118 and Paul Gallen 141.

Watch out NSW: While the brilliant and creative Queensland backline threatens danger all around the park there are a few key areas the Blues can monitor.

The first is to watch out for Lockyer heading down the blindside, or switching the point of the attack down the short side. He?ll look to catch out Jennings in particular, who has a question mark over his defence; the youngster missed four tackles against the Sharks a fortnight ago.

Justin Hodges will use his strength and a big right-foot step to beat his man, so defenders on the inside will need to be attentive to ?shut the gate? and pick up any trailers looking for an offload.

The same applies for Inglis, although he likes to exploit blindsides with strength before offloading to the flanks.

Next, Billy Slater will run behind decoys in the Blues? 30-metres zone, injecting himself as the second man to either take on the line or else suck in defenders and offload wide for wingers Folau and Boyd.

And Folau will be a go-to man in the air, so the Blues? outside defenders need to swarm in numbers and legally shield their ball receivers as Folau chases. They also need to watch for his damaging runs from dummy-half ? he?s made 75 so far this season to top the NRL.

Where it will be won: The forwards first. Then the backs. And the tactical kicking games of both sides ? and not just those used in attack ? will go a long way to determining a winner.

Whoever wins the battle up front will get good opportunities to post points ? it then falls to the attacks to play their part.

Expect Robbie Farah (leading dummy-half line break exponent with six) and Cameron Smith (second behind Farah with three) to make plenty of inroads late in each half.

Both sides have superb kick returners. The Blues? Kurt Gidley has made more overall runs than any other player in the NRL to date (210 times for a competition-high 1806 metres or 164 a game), while the Maroons? Billie Slater (648 metres) and Darius Boyd (644 metres) are the best in the comp running the ball back from kicks.

Both camps need to make sure their kicks are mostly to space, to allow their defences time to group in the one line ? or the dazzling array of talent on both sides of the park will let loose.

Also, look for the NSW kickers to go high on occasion to Billy Slater in general play ? if the Melbourne custodian does have a weakness it?s his reliability under the high ball. Plus a good hang time will allow the kick-chasers the time to ensure they collar their man early.

The History: Played 84 (since 1980); NSW 40, Queensland 42, drawn 2. The Blues hold a 3-2 advantage over the Maroons in the five games played in Melbourne. Also, NSW have been victorious in Game I of a series on 15 occasions to Queensland?s 12.

Conclusion: It will be a fast, bruising and furious encounter. The match-ups across the park are stunning and it?s shaping as a game for the ages.

What?s certain is that both sides have players with specific strengths they will be looking to tap into.

Having selected new players like Creagh and Jennings, they?ll be looking for them to bring their unique skills to the party. For Creagh that means taking the ball one-off the ruck near the Maroons? 10-metre line and carrying defenders as he takes giant strides for the line. For Jennings and Jarryd Hayne it means drawing on the explosive speed that has helped them each to a competition-high 12 line breaks.

Meanwhile Dallas Johnson will be called upon for the resolve that?s seen him notch more tackles than anyone else (515), Thurston will be a go-to man for line-break assists (11, tops in the NRL) and try assists (12, tops again).

We could go on, and we?ve missed plenty. But you get the picture.
Who will win? While Queensland deserve favouritism the Blues are in it up to their eyeballs. It doesn?t matter who you cheer for, we just know you?ll have plenty to cheer about.

Match officials: Referees ? Tony Archer & Shayne Hayne; Sideline Officials ? Steve Chiddy & Jeff Younis; Video Refs ? Bill Harrigan and Tim Mander.

Televised: Channel Nine ? Live from 7.30pm.

* Statistics: NRL Stats

Source: http://www.nrl.com

[Steve]

Just noticed the Cineplex people are showing origin on the cinema screens.

http://www.cineplex.com.au/movie/810

[DIEHARD]

Just noticed the Cineplex people are showing origin on the cinema screens.

http://www.cineplex.com.au/movie/810

OMG! That is genius! Free admission as well. I love Cineplex!

[Steve]

WHEN you have spent your whole life growing up in the rough-and-tumble streets of Mt Druitt's housing commission estate, being scared just isn't an option.
Not when your mates are running away from the cops, not when you're playing footy in the local park, and not when you're apprehending someone trying to steal your old man's car at 5am.

Take a stroll around the weatherboard and fibro homes around Blackett, where working-class families tread the breadline daily, and you understand why fear won't be an issue for NSW debutant Michael Jennings.

One of six kids who grew up in a three-bedroom Government-owned residence, nothing has ever come easy for the lightning bolt Blues centre.

For starters, dad Antonio and mum Vialata both worked two jobs. Family holidays were trips to football carnivals and by the time they were up to child number six, two of the youngsters had to make do sleeping on the loungeroom floor.

It might have been tough, but you won't catch any of the Jennings clan complaining.

So when Queensland centre Justin Hodges cranked up the mind games by suggesting the Blues rookie will be "scared'' in the furnace of OriginI in Melbourne on Wednesday night, his family just flashed those bright smiles.

Maybe someone should take Hodges on a tour of the Wests City Tigers' home ground in Mt Druitt - Jennings' first junior club - where legend has it that parents had to clear the field of broken glass before the kids could kick off.

"Growing up in Mt Druitt, everyone was shocked we were bringing our kids up there,'' Vialata explains.

"Everyone would say it was scary, how there was a shooting or a robbery. But we were just comfortable. We always left our door open with the screen locked. We never had much trouble.''

There was one time when Dad, 'Nio', made a citizen's arrest on a would-be car thief. And Michael and his siblings waited in hiding for his accomplice.

"They picked the wrong house then. When they saw Nio coming out they took off. That's Mt Druitt, but we always felt safe.''

Nio adds: "The main thing is to put the kids in sport and get them training ... then they don't have time to muck up.''

The secret behind Jennings' acceleration lies in his extensive family tree, which includes a mix of bloodlines from Tonga, Fiji and as far away as England.

Jennings' great grandfather was an Englishman named George Napier Jennings, who was born at sea and settled in the Pacific Islands, marrying a half-Tongan, half-Fijian wife named Mau.

But the pace comes from mum and dad. Mum Via was a champion athlete, selected to play netball for Tonga, while dad Nio was a sprinter and gun rugby union centre and winger.

His half-brother, Arthur Jennings, represented the All Blacks on the 1967 tour of Great Britain and France.

So the footballing magic touch is in the Jennings genes. True to form, Via and Nio have never missed a single game.

"They're stalkers,'' daughter Lola jokes.

They don't like flying, so the pair pack up the family van or 4WD, with younger sons George, 16, and Robert, 13, and drive to the Gold Coast, Melbourne, Wagga Wagga, Brisbane or even Temora. Wherever Michael is playing.

They will drive the 712km to Melbourne on Tuesday to watch their son's State of Origin debut the next night.

Via still fondly remembers the day her third son strolled into the rented family home in Blackett and slapped a piece of paper in front of her.

"He just said, `I bought you a present Mum','' Via recalls. "We used to always be leaving things until pay day. But now with most of the kids working and Michael we are very fortunate. Thank God.''

The present was the title deeds to a brand new $400,000 five-bedroom home in Quakers Hill. "I said, 'Can you afford this?''' Nio explained. "But, for him, he knew how we struggled. We were renting for years. He's been a big help. It was the first thing in his mind.''

http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegrap...006066,00.html

[DIEHARD]

OMG! That is genius! Free admission as well. I love Cineplex!

I got 3 ticket to this session, should be interesting. Let me know if you want to go Steve. Goatus also has one but reckons he is still deciding whether to go or not.

Me... I'm interested in seeing origin on a cinema screen.