With a blink of an eye Origin is upon us. Mate v Mate. State v State. And you will never guess who the favourites are this year.
The State of Origin series kicks off at a rainy Accor Stadium in Sydney on Wednesday night, before heading to Melbourne and ending in Brisbane.
The Blues are, once again, favourites to win Game 1 and the Series despite the Maroons being current shield holders and NSW missing key players in this match.
The Maroons being the underdog is a running joke that those north of the Tweed play victim to every year. Behind closed doors they are laughing it up.
This game will be a tightly fought game with the extended interchange bench allowing both coaches to cover more positions than the forwards rotation.
On paper, the Maroons have the edge. The Blues are without both Payne Haas and Latrell Mitchell who would have been automatic walk-in starters.
I once again have to question Laurie Daley’s selections. His fascination of having multiple ball players playing out of position just to get them in the team has burnt the Blues many times previously. I don’t know how Jacob Saifiti is on the bench ahead of Jackson Ford or what message playing Manly centre Tolutau Koula on the wing says to all the form wingers in the competition.
But the late withdrawal of Mitch Moses may be a blessing in disguise. Ethan Strange, a natural running five-eighth will now partner Nathan Cleary who will have total control.
For the Maroons, much has been said about the omission of Reece Walsh but clearly Coach Slater believes he’s not fit enough to play. Billy is not afraid to make changes, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see Reece feature in the remainder of the Series regardless of Wednesday’s result.
The Blues need to win Game 1, or they face a similar gauntlet the Maroons did last series (the record for a decider at Suncorp is far more daunting than Sydney). Under Coach Daley, the mighty Blues have a 3-5 win/loss ratio in Sydney.
The Blues are the true underdogs in this game.
It’s Game 1 and this game will be a cracker. In the Mighty Blues we trust!
NSW win by 8.
Rob
The Creator and unbiased Blues supporter.
