Origin
New South Wales Origin 17 d. Queensland Origin 16

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Location: Australia > National > Senior Representative Competition: State of Origin

Can Queensland bounce back?
Thu May 25, 2006
During the 1980's Queensland were underdogs for games where they were the unbackable favourites and last night the Maroons snuck into favouritism when New South Wales had them covered all over the park.

The victory by New South Wales was the most one-sided one-point victory since the 1985 Grand Final when Canterbury bombarded St George 7-6 in a game they never looked like losing. Last night, the Blues forwards were relentless and powered their way up the field and laid the platform for the NSW halves of Brett Finch and Braith Anasta to produce, which they did for only three tries. Finch played above himself and very admirably last night but to say he is a better option than Craig Gower, Matt Orford or Brett Kimmorley is foolish and Anasta is still struggling with that style of game to play at five-eighth where he's trying to be the new age Origin protocol player rather than the brilliant instinctive player he was back in 2001, which is still easily his best season.

Queensland had no answer to the New South Wales forward pack led by Willie Mason and it was only their inability to finish off the ground work laid by the forwards that saw the Maroons within a chance of stealing the game. The chaos with Gower's injury and the doubt over Danny Buderus did bring New South Wales back to field and the one-point loss in many ways does cover the weaknesses and problems that Queensland have heading into game's two and three.

There were five players out there for Queensland who aren't starting players for their clubs, although one of them Nate Myles played his finest game of the season and stood extremely tall. Myles does have four Internationals in front of him at the Bulldogs who play second-row and prop.

Queensland need to find forwards who can power over the advantage line and nullify the likes of Mason & co. Dallas Johnson and David Stagg are admirable footballers but are they players who can handle the next step up?

Matthew Scott has barely started a game for the Cowboys this year and was thrown into the State of Origin arena ahead of his time. Shaun Berrigan was relegated to the Broncos bench for good reasons due to his form but he was still selected for the Maroons. Sam Thaiday and Carl Webb are impact players for their clubs but the pace of Origin needs players who can play that little bit longer and be able to squeeze 60 minutes of football into 30 minutes.

Who do Queensland have in the forwards department that can help them out?

Shane Tronc and David Shillington are two names that easily come to mind. Tronc is a big man and he'll match Mason in the size department but Tronc's speed around the park could be a problem for him and the Blues would possibly look to catch him out. Shillington has been a shining light for the Roosters this year as the star studded outfit have struggled for week-to-week consistency and cohesion.

Another area where Queensland struggled last night was organisation.

Darren Lockyer is the 3rd greatest post-war fullback Australia has produced and in 2003 he made the 28 Kangaroos post-war squad alongside Clive Churchill and Graeme Langlands. Lockyer's standing as a fullback is unmatched and his best game of the season was when he moved to fullback in the Test match against New Zealand three weeks ago. However, Lockyer as a five-eighth is an excellent stop gap measure but his consistency and running game hasn't been the same.

Queensland have an excellent halfback who would handle the general play kicking duties and the organisation ready and waiting in the wings. Scott Prince for some who have forgotten about him has played 3 State of Origin matches, 1 Test for Australia, captained the Wests Tigers to a Premiership last year and won a Clive Churchill Medal. Prince is at the peak of his powers, he's fully fit and has been in great form since the start of 2004. Prince would be the ideal No.7, which would allow Lockyer and Johnathan Thurston to play their natural and instinctive games of football. Prince halfback, Thurston five-eighth and Lockyer fullback gives Queensland so much strike power and than Matthew Bowen can play off the bench where he's caused damage for Queensland in the past.

Brent Tate simply has to go and it's a matter of who'll replace him whether it be Willie Tonga or Billy Slater. Tonga has struggled with form and injury this season but his knee problems are now fine and would have had a few matches under his belt by the time of the second game. Slater has done well for Queensland on the left wing in the past and it will allow Greg Inglis who has played the majority of his football at the Storm as a left centre to fill that position.

Queensland have to win the second game at all costs and they really have to find ways to win the series as the Origin concept will start dying a slow death. The failure to get a sell-out crowd last night by the Sydney people does show that Origin is losing it's way as a 50-50 contest and Queensland is what the meaning of State of Origin was all about in the early years.

Mal Meninga isn't the best coach but he's got very good people on his coaching staff including soon to be Canberra coach Neil Henry. Meninga however is a winner and he's a man more than anyone who can deliver the passion out of the Maroons as they'll need it for the second game.

The Queensland selectors can look at the scoreboard and say, "oh well we lost by one, lets give them another chance" or realistically look at the game closely and realise that New South Wales were completely dominant and if only Gower wasn't injured or Buderus wasn't in doubt than they would have won by 40. The Blues no matter which way they'll go for the second game will surely have a better preparation and if Finch is retained as halfback he would have had a game and a week of training under his belt.

As for who to pick and leave out. Definately Prince, Shillington, Tronc and one of Tonga or Slater have to come into the side.


Mason amongst the game's elite and the Bulldogs best ever
Thu May 25, 2006
I've copped plenty of criticism for the last 12 months for my views on Willie Mason and the Bulldogs have copped even more criticism for re-signing Mason when he was off contract last year.

Unfortunately injuries last year destroyed Mason's season after an excellent 2004 where he was slowly but surely developing from a forward with potential to a footballer with performance. Mason worked hard in the off season to be at top fitness and prove many points as vowed to repay the Bulldogs the faith they had showed in him by choosing Mason over Roosters bound Braith Anasta.

The decision was an easy one with Mason displaying great qualities as a footballer and clubman, however it didn't stop the critics saying that Anasta should have been the one to stay. Mason was more important to the Bulldogs future success and he's also the person who can rally those around him.

Mason's selection in the Australian Test side was criticised, mostly by people who have hardly watched a Bulldogs game this year and his form is getting better by the week and his performance last night was that of a footballer who can say he's amongst the top five players in the game, which Darren Lockyer unfortunately no longer is until he moves back to fullback.

The Blues led by Mason absolutely steam-rolled the Queensland pack allowing halfback Brett Finch to look like a superstar and settle into the NSW outfit much quicker than his preparation warranted. Mason was dangerous every time he touched the ball and he also did plenty of defensive work for a big man. Mason won the Man of the Match award and donated his $2,000 prize to the Cancer Council in a very nice gesture.

In one of my articles after the 2004 Grand Final, I made the comment that Mason has the ability to be the best forward the Bulldogs have produced and he's certainly heading down that path with another dominant display in a big match. Mason in the Grand Final won the Clive Churchill Medal for being the Best & Fairest player on the ground and he was a major difference between the Bulldogs winning and losing such an important match.

Mason's performances this year certainly sees him very high in the pecking order and he deserves a position somewhere in the pack. The Bulldogs have been the most successful and stable club since Ted Glossop came in as coach in 1978 where he has since been succeeded by Warren Ryan, Phil Gould, Chris Anderson and current coach Steve Folkes with all five coaches winning Premierships and Ryan claiming two.

During that time the Bulldogs have had a wealth of forwards including Mark and Graeme Hughes, Steve Folkes, Peter Cassilles, John Coveney, Geoff Robinson, Paul Langmack, Darryl Brohman, Brian Battese, Peter Kelly, Peter Tunks, David Gillespie, Paul Dunn, Bruce McGuire, Mark Brokenshire, Simon Gillies, Darren and Jason Smith, Dean Pay, Jim Dymock, Martin Bella, Darren Britt, Mitch Newton, Robert Relf, Steve Reardon, Steve Price, Tony Grimaldi, Travis Norton, Mark O'Meley, Andrew Ryan, Reni Maitua, Roy Asotasi and Sonny Bill Williams. The Bulldogs have also produced some fine hookers with George Peponis, Billy Johnstone, Mark Bugden, Joe Thomas, Geordi Peats and Jason Hetherington leading the way.

Where does Mason stand amongst a long list of forwards to make the big time at the Bulldogs?

I've always believed that in period of time from Glossop to Folkes that the six best forwards were D.Smith, Folkes, Gillespie, Kelly, Peponis and Tunks. If I had to choose a bench, I would have previously put Mason on it with Britt and Langmack, possibly starting Langmack and using Smith as a utility player. However, Mason is too good a player now to leave out and a spot must be found for him amongst the Bulldogs elite.

Mason's standing as a Bulldogs great is now confirmed and his position in representative sides is now a certainty when he's fit and available. Mason has had his moments early in his career and to his great credit he's turned himself around as a footballer and person who is maturing and taking on far greater responsibilties. Mason has never been a bad person, he's just always been a kid at heart who didn't fully understand his importance on the field and to the Rugby League community. Mason has always been a great family man and looks after his Mum and siblings extremely well and he's very loyal to those close to him.

The Bulldogs have always stood by Mason and to see him turn his career and life around has been a great credit to himself and people such as Folkes who always displayed a hard but fair attitude with Mason. The Bulldogs are now reaping the benefits of Mason and if they are to win the Premiership this year, it's going to be Mason leading the way for them.

Wed May 24, 2006
• NSW 17-16: Finch the unlikely hero
  

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