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Wed June 3 2009, 8:00PM AEST GMT+10Wed Jun 3: Queensland Origin 28 d. New South Wales Origin 18 at
Telstra Dome, Docklands, Melbourne (VIC)Crowd: 50,967
Wed June 24 2009, 8:00PM AEST GMT+10Wed Jun 24: New South Wales Origin 14 l. Queensland Origin 24 at
ANZ Stadium (Sydney), Homebush Bay, Sydney (NSW)Crowd: 80,459
Wed July 15 2009, 8:00PM AEST GMT+10Wed Jul 15: Queensland Origin 16 l. New South Wales Origin 28 at
Suncorp Stadium, Castlemaine Street, Milton, Brisbane (QLD)Crowd: 52,439
Mon June 8, 2009
The swine flu has hit the NRL with Bulldogs and Queensland prop Ben Hannant confirmed as contracting the disease and two players to miss tonight's match.
Hannant is believed to have contracted the swine flu in Melbourne following Queensland's opening State of Origin victory.
The NRL has taken all precautions and has withdrawn Dragons fullback Darius Boyd and Titans lock Ashley Harrison from tonight's match at Skilled Park on the Gold Coast.
North Queensland have put Johnathan Thurston, Matthew Scott, coach Neil Henry and trainer Billy Johnstone in quarantine until Thursday as a safety measure as they were all involved in last weeks match.
Click here to listen to Cowboys Executive Director Peter Parr speak about the quarantine of playersThe Broncos have had Darren Lockyer, Karmichael Hunt, Sam Thaiday, Israel Folau and trainer Allan Langer have also been quarantined following contact with Hannant.
Sydney Roosters forward Nate Myles has been sent to hospital for tests and has been quarantined for 72 hours after he was Hannant's room-mate for the opening Origin match.
Penrith have now announced that State of Origin trio Petero Civoniceva, Michael Jennings and Luke Lewis will be kept under wraps for the next three days.
Bulldogs trainer Tony Ayoub was also in Melbourne for the State of Origin and he is believed to have contracted the swine flu disease as well.
Over 80% of swine flu cases in Australia have emerged from Melbourne thus far and it remains to be seen if Hannant is the only player or official in the NRL to have contracted the deadly disease.
Titans v Dragons Betting Preview
NRL: Titans v Dragons Scores & Stats
NYC: Titans v Dragons Scores & Stats
Titans v Dragons ThreadRleagueBetting.comFri June 5, 2009
Source: The RoarAfter eighteen minutes, it looked as if the Maroons were going to run away with it, chugging along at a point a minute. You could have forgiven them for thinking it was all too easy. That's because it had been.
The Blues had only threatened their line once, through Jarryd Hayne's contentious yet correctly ruled out try, and when they did finish their sets, a quality kick was missing.
But after 25 minutes, the Blues finally managed to put some back to back sets together and the pressure soon told, with Ben Creagh diving on Hayne's suspicious looking infield pass.
It might have evened things up following the winger's earlier disallowed try, but if ever there was an example of why video referees should be able to rule on forward passes, that was it. It won't guarantee they'll get it right, but you'd hope the obvious ones would get picked up.
In any case, Gidley missed the conversion and the Blues were unable to make any more of their dominance count late in the half. As they trotted off at half time, the Maroons' twelve point lead still looked safe.
Gidley may have made some more noticeable errors in the second half, but he might well look back on that missed conversion ruefully. Keeping the Maroons under two converted tries in front would have helped the inexperienced Blues' mindsets.
As it was, the second half started similarly to the first, with Inlgis barging over and Thurston slotting from out wide to put his side three converted tries, and too far ahead of the Blues, even at that early stage.
The Blues might have tightened things up with a try to Craig Wing seconds after he was introduced to the game, probably too late, but the Maroons looked comfortable defending their line, even if they were giving up territory a little easily.
You have to wonder if Bellamy's habit of keeping game-breaking players on the bench until well into the second half of Origin matches is the right tactic. In past games we've seen Brett Stewart go largely unused and last night it was Wing.
HIs introduction gave NSW the spark they needed up the middle and took the pressure to make things happen off his very quiet and possibly overawed halves pairing.
Both Terry Campese and, more so, Peter Wallace, had poor games with the boot, which never allowed their side to truly build momentum. Although it's arguable that Billy Slater's superb reading of the game made most of their kicks look ordinary.
His defensive play last night showed just why he's the best player in the world right now.
In the end, a late try to the Maroons flattered them on the scoreboard and didn't reflect the effort of the fast finishing Blues.
Game two will be an interesting affair. The Blues will be heartened by how they clawed their way back into it, while the Maroons will feel they've still got plenty in the tank.
It'll be a tight one.
Gabriel Knowles is a columnist for The RoarOrigin #1 Match Scores & Stats
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Wed June 3, 2009- Blues Marooned in Mexican territory
Wed June 3, 2009- Origin #1 NSW v Queensland Betting Preview
Fri May 29, 2009- NSWRL fines itself $10,000
Fri May 29, 2009- Roar: The Blues real problem lies with the selectors
Thu May 28, 2009- Maroons to help kids from bushfire devastated areas
Wed May 27, 2009- Bulldogs: Not good enough for Origin, but good enough to lead NRL
Wed May 27, 2009- DISCORD Edition #7: Blues leak, Gallen, Jennings, Fien, Jones & Fire Up
Wed May 27, 2009- Campese's injury, Maroons first shot, Bears prepare to replace Sharks
Tue May 26, 2009- Queensland State of Origin Team Named
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Mon May 25, 2009- NSW State of Origin Team Named
Fri April 17, 2009- Editorial: Gallen for NSW captain, Ennis hooker, Weyman prop
Origin
Queensland Origin 28 d. New South Wales Origin 18
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