I thought it was a fairly boring origin compared to its usually high standards. NSW and Queensland both played below par and there were very few big hits or any biff. NSW didn't deserve to even be in the match. The scoreline was flattering. Inglis was excellent and Thurston played well as usual but no one else from QLD really stood out from my point of view. For NSW Hayne, Wing and Lewis gave everything they had and are the probably the only blues that can hold their heads high. The impact of Wing off the bench was excellent, he turned the match straight away. Lewis tested the maroons line a few times and made some good defensive decisions. Hayne was excellent and needs to be involved more. I think he needs to be the fullback for game 2.
Changes ???
I don't think NSW will make many changes but I really hope they make a couple. Hayne to fullback and Gidley to either 5/8 or hooker. If we move Gidley to hooker then we can bring in Mullen at 6 and drop Campese. Campese really struggled to make any impact and looked out of sorts. Mullen is in form and has been there before. Laffranchi also played very average and you would expect that Stewart will come in for him. Mcmanus struggled too and we need Monaghan's size and strength in there to slow down Inglis on the right hand side.
One positive the on field refs actually went ok. Shame about the video ref call. In the end it probably didn't matter anyway.
What are your thoughts and suggestions ?
