The New South Wales State of Origin side is set to be named on Sunday night and it seems everybody is talking about who should be selected. Some players are automatic selections (i.e. Gallen, Jennings) whilst other spots are extremely up for grabs (i.e. five-eighth, bench). In something that is sure to spark much feedback…
Since being fined and having his contract almost torn up a few weeks ago, Blake Ferguson has come back into the Canberra Raiders side and been in some decent form. One the weekend Ferguson tore the Newcastle Knights apart in a display that saw him dominate the entire outcome of the game. Ferguson broke the…
Over the last 7 years since NSW has won an Origin series the question has arisen countless times through media outlets and social networking sites weather State Of Origin is still relevant to the game of Rugby League. The simple answer is Yes it is the more difficult answer is how do New South Wales come up…
With the City vs Country game now behind us we all turn our attention to the State Of Origin series. New South Wales has lost 7 series in a row. Despite talk of building a winning team we still come into the State Of Origin series with a lot of big questions hanging over the…
This Sunday afternoon, Coffs Harbour will play host to the annual City Vs. Country event. Whilst the concept is a fun one and brilliant for the local area hosting the game, its fast losing credibility as a genuine Origin selection tool. The presence of Origin certainties Jennings and Hoffman takes up 2 spots that could…
Queensland currently reigns over the most dominant period of State of Origin since the concept’s inception in 1980. Coach Mal Meniga has arguably the greatest pool of talent to choose from and has built a team that has at times destroyed the best NSW could muster in the past 7 series. Billy Slater, Cameron Smith,…
Not too long ago there was a time where Queensland were considered to be selecting players from a much smaller player pool than New South Wales had at their disposal. Back before Queensland decided to turn its back on born and bred Queenslanders and started selecting players from Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, Fiji, Northern…
Thanks to funding from the New South Wales government, Sydney will host two games in next years State Of Origin series with Brisbane hosting the other match. Over the last few years the NRL has been pushing for more funding to host these games. Ironically it was Victoria’s willingness to pay to host matches that…
The NSWRL has announced the Blues State Of Origin side for game one and I have to say, its a lineup I really like and one that looks like its been selected to attack the Maroons and really go after a win rather than trying to defend its way to a series. When you have…
Queensland’s winning run at State Of Origin level burns away at me every single day. When I watch games I rate the form of possible Origin players, as well as the Queenslanders. I think that New South Wales are in a much better position than they were say two years ago. Now we know who…
Queensland has wrapped up its 6th straight State Of Origin series win with a 34-24 win over New South Wales. Lets face it, the scoreline flattered New South Wales. I’ve never seen an opening half an hour to any Origin match like the one I saw in this game. Things just went Queenslands way. The…
The second game of the 2011 State Of Origin series will be a game that I remember for a very long time. It is everything I love about sport. Witnessing a champion side face off against a team full of desire. An amazing contest. Reaching that point in the game when, both teams had proven…
We have passion! We’ve got the passion! Its about emotion! I’m passionate and emotional! The greatest sporting performances I have seen in my lifetime all come from cold, emotionless performances in which there was no wasted energy on emotion until the contest was well and truly over. I tend to think the New South Wales…
As Queensland crossed for their first try of the opening State Of Origin game after just five minutes, it was easy to worry that New South Wales were going to be on the wrong end of a big scoreline. Considering that for the next 20 minutes of the match, Queensland dominated possession and field position,…
I’ve waited to write this article until both New South Wales and Queensland had announced their State Of Origin lineups. I think its funny that we still see NSW selecting their team ahead of QLD. I guess it comes back to the fact that the administrators of our game have been just about non existent…
Well, we’ve had City vs Country and a lot of club games to gauge the form of a potential New South Wales State Of origin lineup…so now…its time. I think it is fair to say the the lineup we thought we would see at the season of the season is very different from the lineup…
Well the predictions of doom and gloom over the crowd figure were off the mark but the predictions of a Queensland clean sweep were spot on. While New South Wales seemed to put up more of a fight, the fact is Queensland were not at their rampaging best and STILL managed to come away with…
Talk is that the crowd for State Of Origin number 3 in Sydney on Wednesday night will struggle to get a big crowd. Ticket sales have supposedly been slow, people are selling tickets on EBay for cheap, and while they are talking about a crowd of 50-60,000, I’m tipping more along the likes of 40,000….
You are probably wondering why I have not listed the Queensland and New South Wales sides heading into State Of Origin three. The reason is, it doesn’t really matter who was named. Queensland have named a very strong side, they have dropped Ben Hannant for Petero Civoniceva. They looked great. New South Wales on the…
The Queensland Rugby League team has completely dominated New South Wales in game two of the State Of Origin series, running away with a 34-6 victory. The win gives Queensland a record five series wins in a row, and makes Mal Meninga the most successful coach in State Of Origin history. To say this was…
When I first heard that Timana Tahu had left the NSW cap for personal reasons, I was a bit confused. When I heard he had left after being upset at something Andrew Johns had said, I thought it was a piss weak move. It them came out that Andrew Johns had made a racist remark…
Every so often sport tosses up one of those moments even the casual observer has to witness for themselves. When Andrew Johns runs out onto Telstra Stadium on Wednesday night….it will be one of those moments. Andrew Johns is the best player I have ever seen. He has dominated the game at every level and…
If Queensland have their way the State Of Origin trophy will belong to them on Wednesday night. Their quest to wrap up the series though has taken a beating with Brad Thorn struggling to overcome a sternum injury. After losing prop Steven Price for the series to a knee injury, the Queenslander’s couldn’t afford to…
Well, Andrew Johns has made his return and Brett Kimmorley is badly out of form. Craig Gower just isn’t playing well at all while Matt Orford has never shown the ability to lift his game to the next level. So what should NSW selectors do this week when they announce the side to hopefully win…
NSW selectors this week MUST make changes to the NSW forward pack. In the first game forwards Jason Ryles and Luke Bailey were completely dominated by QLD. This wasn’t helped by a poor bench that saw second rower Steve Simpson having to fill in as a prop when either Ryles or Bailey left the field….
Well, its finally here. The NSWRL announced an 18 man NSW Blues Origin side on Monday and its a good looking lineup: 1.Anthony Minichiello 2.Matt King 3.Matt Cooper 4.Mark Gasnier 5.Luke Rooney 6.Trent Barrett 7.Brett Kimmorley 8.Luke Bailey 9.Danny Buderus (capt) 10.Jason Ryles 11.Nathan Hindmarsh 12.Craig Fitzgibbon 13.Ben Kennedy Interchange: 14.Craig Wing 15.Steve Simpson 16.Andrew…
Well the City vs Country game has been run and won and the NSW selectors have chosen a 30 man squad for the upcoming State Of Origin series. Braith Anasta, Luke Bailey, Danny Buderus, Trent Barrett, Ryan Cross, Ben Creagh, Joel Clinton, Matt Cooper, Craig Fitzgibbon, Mark Gasnier, Craig Gower, Scott Hill, Nathan Hindmarsh, Ben…