PONTIAN SEA EAGLE
Bencher
If dylan starts nsw by 4.
He's probably just taking some time to sync his sinews.Just theatre mate, bet he plays !!
I actually like the blues forward pack this year. Bench included. I don't think Reynolds will go that well, and I would have had Morris instead of Dugan.
Now that is accepted wisdom that dce trained the house down with Qld all week, expect him to run out on wed nightBaaaahaaahaaahhaa.
They're just saying it to piss you off now Shoe.
You know mozgrame it seems that Qld is the focus playing ambition choice for Queenslanders from what we hear. But what you say is interesting about loving footy. Something seems less over regulated up there. More relaxed or something. I know that rules for young halfbacks for e.g in mini league here were very restrictive on being able to run the ball until recently in nsw thus we have struggled in that department. But overall the mentality towards origin is definitely different
I put forward the same argument every year, and every time I get shot down. Qld people care more about origin than NSW. NSW would rather win a GF than an Origin series. Or at least, they would prefer their own particular Sydney club to win a GF rather than their state to win an origin series. (I see no problem with that at all. Honestly, I don't care which state wins, I just enjoy the spectacle!)
Daley is slowly changing that. He and Gould have copied the Qld side, learning from them how to instil a culture of pride, determination and a willingness to win at all costs. Qld, whether in front by 20 or behind by 20 with 5mins left on the clock will keep coming, just as strong as they did at kick off. The blues seem to say, "Stuff it, we're behind and we aren't going to catch up. It's only origin".
That has to change, and it is slowly. Young NSW players will start to emulate their state heroes, and want to represent their state in origin wins. And they will. The blues have been building now for a few years, and their blueprint is a proven winner.
Most Qld kids that play league just want to make it in the NRL. At this particular time of year, most would say they'd love to play origin, but ultimately, the goal is the NRL and not just the Qld sides either. Rocky is full of Manly, Dragons, Eels, Knights and Rabbit supporters. Interesting (or not) fact - Anthony Seibold's dad, is a giant in both stature, and his love of the eels!
So, why is Qld producing such a high number of kids that go on to NRL level??
Well, the other thing that is generally disbelieved when I bring it up, is that Qld country kids grow up tough. Real tough. We play on dirt and dead grass fields out west. We play up in divisions as kids, because we don't have enough kids for full teams. eg; I was NOT a big kid. I regularly played hooker for the mighty Baralaba Panthers in the under 12's. After the game, I'd usually back straight up (about a 15min break) and play centre for the under 14's. Same thing as you got older, under 14's under 16's etc....you kept playing kids older and bigger than yourself. Try having a run in the Mt Isa comp when you're 18/19. Some of those old boys will soften you up very quickly!! lol
So, as a kid you played a couple of games in the one day every weekend. You got busted. You had memorable wins. You made a lot of mates in a lot of different towns. We all did it, and saw nothing wrong with it. Parents, coaches, teachers....no one raised an eyebrow, and we all grew tougher, on the field and off it. Why? Because we just loved footy and wanted to imitate those local blokes that made it to the city (Brisbane, then Sydney).
Bush footy is a great equaliser or social leveller. It doesn't matter if you are the son of a rich cow cocky, a struggling farmers son, a butchers son, a ringers son. It doesn't care about your skin colour or ethnic background (in the bush at least) and it didn't really matter about size differences. If a big bloke ran at you, you just hit and stick and your mates would come in with you and drag him down. Some of the funniest things I ever saw were on footy fields. Big hits by smaller blokes on bigger blokes. Big hits going wrong and the tackler lying flat on his back while the big bloke keeps rumbling along. Hilarious! Humour and toughness go hand in hand. It's the Aussie way.
Fact ; Tough does not equal grub nor bully! Think Matt Scott as an example of a tough bush kid that made it. Or Jamie Lyon if you prefer.
True toughness, that grit your teeth and dig in for your mates toughness...there's only one way to get that and ironically, it's by not even realising you are developing it. You can't teach it. You have it or you don't, and when you get told how tough you are on the field, you laugh it off, because you don't think you're all that different. You just have a dig. (I always use Jamie Lyon as an example here). Country Qld players grow up tough, because they don't realise they're growing up tough. I hope that makes sense. 🙂
Footy brains on the other hand, well....that's another story. Bullfrog Moore was onto it in the early 80's. He believed in getting naturally tough footy players from the bush, bringing them to the city (Sydney) and teaching them the finer points of rugby league. You end up with a quality player, no matter the state. Bellamy uses the same method today, to reasonable success.
Anyway....I could talk about this for ages, but I'll end here. I love footy and am not opposed to a yarn. lol
sterlo was a Toowoomba boy,his dad was a dental tech in the RAAF,so by birth right he should have played for Qld
I put forward the same argument every year, and every time I get shot down. Qld people care more about origin than NSW. NSW would rather win a GF than an Origin series. Or at least, they would prefer their own particular Sydney club to win a GF rather than their state to win an origin series. (I see no problem with that at all. Honestly, I don't care which state wins, I just enjoy the spectacle!)
Daley is slowly changing that. He and Gould have copied the Qld side, learning from them how to instil a culture of pride, determination and a willingness to win at all costs. Qld, whether in front by 20 or behind by 20 with 5mins left on the clock will keep coming, just as strong as they did at kick off. The blues seem to say, "Stuff it, we're behind and we aren't going to catch up. It's only origin".
That has to change, and it is slowly. Young NSW players will start to emulate their state heroes, and want to represent their state in origin wins. And they will. The blues have been building now for a few years, and their blueprint is a proven winner.
Most Qld kids that play league just want to make it in the NRL. At this particular time of year, most would say they'd love to play origin, but ultimately, the goal is the NRL and not just the Qld sides either. Rocky is full of Manly, Dragons, Eels, Knights and Rabbit supporters. Interesting (or not) fact - Anthony Seibold's dad, is a giant in both stature, and his love of the eels!
So, why is Qld producing such a high number of kids that go on to NRL level??
Well, the other thing that is generally disbelieved when I bring it up, is that Qld country kids grow up tough. Real tough. We play on dirt and dead grass fields out west. We play up in divisions as kids, because we don't have enough kids for full teams. eg; I was NOT a big kid. I regularly played hooker for the mighty Baralaba Panthers in the under 12's. After the game, I'd usually back straight up (about a 15min break) and play centre for the under 14's. Same thing as you got older, under 14's under 16's etc....you kept playing kids older and bigger than yourself. Try having a run in the Mt Isa comp when you're 18/19. Some of those old boys will soften you up very quickly!! lol
So, as a kid you played a couple of games in the one day every weekend. You got busted. You had memorable wins. You made a lot of mates in a lot of different towns. We all did it, and saw nothing wrong with it. Parents, coaches, teachers....no one raised an eyebrow, and we all grew tougher, on the field and off it. Why? Because we just loved footy and wanted to imitate those local blokes that made it to the city (Brisbane, then Sydney).
Bush footy is a great equaliser or social leveller. It doesn't matter if you are the son of a rich cow cocky, a struggling farmers son, a butchers son, a ringers son. It doesn't care about your skin colour or ethnic background (in the bush at least) and it didn't really matter about size differences. If a big bloke ran at you, you just hit and stick and your mates would come in with you and drag him down. Some of the funniest things I ever saw were on footy fields. Big hits by smaller blokes on bigger blokes. Big hits going wrong and the tackler lying flat on his back while the big bloke keeps rumbling along. Hilarious! Humour and toughness go hand in hand. It's the Aussie way.
Fact ; Tough does not equal grub nor bully! Think Matt Scott as an example of a tough bush kid that made it. Or Jamie Lyon if you prefer.
True toughness, that grit your teeth and dig in for your mates toughness...there's only one way to get that and ironically, it's by not even realising you are developing it. You can't teach it. You have it or you don't, and when you get told how tough you are on the field, you laugh it off, because you don't think you're all that different. You just have a dig. (I always use Jamie Lyon as an example here). Country Qld players grow up tough, because they don't realise they're growing up tough. I hope that makes sense. 🙂
Footy brains on the other hand, well....that's another story. Bullfrog Moore was onto it in the early 80's. He believed in getting naturally tough footy players from the bush, bringing them to the city (Sydney) and teaching them the finer points of rugby league. You end up with a quality player, no matter the state. Bellamy uses the same method today, to reasonable success.
Anyway....I could talk about this for ages, but I'll end here. I love footy and am not opposed to a yarn. lol
You are not wrong about building toughness through pain and tough times. This is how the military operates. It is essentially understanding that no matter how bad it gets you have been there before and gotten through it before so you will get through it again. Obviously in the military this can lead to long tern issues of PTSD.
All in all its the same ethos - you can rely on your mates.
If that happens do QLD panic or pick and stick?Inexperienced outside backs and ageing forwards are not a good combination. I expect a comfortable Blues win at a ground where their record is very good.
Team | P | W | L | PD | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() |
1 | 1 | 0 | 38 | 4 |
![]() |
2 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 4 |
![]() |
1 | 1 | 0 | 36 | 2 |
![]() |
1 | 1 | 0 | 22 | 2 |
![]() |
2 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 2 |
![]() |
1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 2 |
![]() |
1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
![]() |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
![]() |
2 | 1 | 1 | -2 | 2 |
![]() |
2 | 1 | 1 | -30 | 2 |
![]() |
1 | 0 | 1 | -2 | 0 |
![]() |
1 | 0 | 1 | -6 | 0 |
![]() |
1 | 0 | 1 | -8 | 0 |
![]() |
2 | 0 | 2 | -16 | 0 |
![]() |
1 | 0 | 1 | -30 | 0 |
![]() |
1 | 0 | 1 | -38 | 0 |