STATE OF ORIGIN II WRAP-UP
17 June 2010
Sport
5 stars
STATE OF ORIGIN II WRAP-UPToday is a dark day for Blues fans. Not only did their team get rolled 34-6 at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane last night, but the loss also means that the Cockroaches have now gone down in five consecutive Origin series to the rampaging Maroons. Even worse, it doesn’t look like things will get much better over the coming years for NSW, as the players in this Queensland outfit, with the possible exception of captain Darren Lockyer, are still in the thick of their playing-days prime. That said, even Old Man Lockyer had a blinder last night, picking up the man of the match award, so perhaps it is all doom and gloom for next year’s NSW Origin squad.
The slim ray of hope for the Blues is that try-scoring machine Israel Folau is defecting to AFL; while some of the squad’s star Melbourne players could find themselves chasing big money overseas as the Storm attempt to fit under the salary cap for next season. NSW should hope so, because after their dismal display last night, it seems that players leaving the Queensland squad is the only thing that might help them in the coming years.
Things got off to a rough start for the Blues – both literally and metaphorically. Greg Inglis, the man at the centre of the Blues camp racism furore, crossed to score in just the third minute for a try, and when Jonathan Thurston added the extras to a 12th minute Israel Folau four-pointer, it was 10-0 Queensland. That’s when NSW took the aggression to a whole new level; with Blues forward Luke O’Donnell spear-tackling Darius Boyd into the dirt as if he were harpooning a whale. Cue an all-in brawl that ended with several bloodied brows but amazingly no send-offs, and when the dust settled it was back to business as usual for Queensland, who sent fullback Darius Boyd in for a try in the 35th minute. Thurston nailed the conversion and it was 16-0 by the time the Blues could take a merciful break at half time.
Luke O'Donnell's spear tackle on Darius Boyd sparked an all-in brawl
Things didn’t change much in the second half, with three more tries going to Queensland’s Willie Tonga, Israel Folau and Copper Cronk respectively. JT kicked all the extras and it was 34-0 by the 62nd minute. A bit more biff here and there and a spectacular head-over-arse hamstring pull from NSW’s Matt Cooper kept the game vaguely interesting before Blues forward Brett White lumbered over the try-line in the 78th minute to put NSW on the board and save the team from a post-game nudie-run. It was small consolation though, with three things becoming abundantly clear in the midst of Queensland’s post-match ecstasy – a 3-0 whitewash to Queensland this year won’t be a problem, Craig Bellamy has seen his last Origin series as coach and, short of a miracle, NSW will continue their tradition of losing for several years to come.
Willie Tonga celebrates with teammates after crossing for a try early in the second half.
What do you think? Can the Blues turn it around next year or will QLD continue to dominate?
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