Jake captain, Robson, McInnes, Edwards, Barnett... this looks to be a side with different character to the usual A-lister NSW teams of previous years. Well done Madge
I like that Madge has ignored the view of many pundits/commentators and just chosen players in form. Hard-nosed players that play with consistency, nobody 'picked on potential', aside from Nicho - who has earned it in Rounds 1-10 despite his team's flogging over the weekend which he was pulled injured from - as long as he can get himself right, we'll have a dig. Or we'll get flogged with Qld using the Panthers template to hunt Nicho down into the dust.
This is a team that won't beat themselves, they will keep turning up. Not giving Tedesco the (c) is the biggest gamble, but also the biggest sign that after 2 origin losses - where we were 'on paper favouties' - that somethings gonna change. Qld are arguably favourites now. Blessing or curse? Who knows.
If the determinant of that blessing or curse is a quorum of Anasta, Kent, Rothfield and Gordon fkn Tallis? Yeah, i'll take a punt on the 'underdogs' thanks very much.
If it fails, at best it shows what Madge is willing to do in response - use the broom vs ego-driven loyalty of Freddy - it's easier with only 1-game as a track record. Not especially keen to revisit a time when players like Gallen get the nod continually because they show the 'passion' whilst bypassing the word 'Team'. Gallen thought he could single-handedly 'passion' us to a win in his time - Gallen was a fool. Felt like he probably had himself as coach/captain/NRL-demigod on Supercoach the way he prioritised indiviudal stats - surprised the greedy fkr didn't decide he was the goalkicker too. That guy was the biggest case of on-paper 'stats' vs actual game impact - a complete moneyball failure. His selfishness in play was invisible to the stats the systems like Supercoach prized so greatly.
As mentioned, Tedesco dropped from (c) was the biggest casualty, contentious and arguably harsh, but in reality Tedesco has lost 2 SOO as captain when Blues were the favourites (on paper), and also was captain in our most recent 0-30 loss to NZ - when the Roos were also favourites. He's the Roosters captain - a team picked to win the comp bascially every year since Cordner retired. They haven't made it past week 2 of finals - Souths out-performed them. DCE comprehensively out-captained him.
Madge as Blues coach is backing a Luai/Hynes halves combo, and Edwards as FB. A good coach builds his team around their strengths. So now Robson makes sense over Api, Yeo on bench in favour of Cam McInnes might work, a Mongrel like Leniu in the rotation despite his suspension make sense as an aggressive interchange with a perceived 'softie' nice-guy like Jake at Prop... Freddy speculatives like Pangai Jnr are out (thank fk), and guys like Burton will ultiamtely mirror the Cobbo bench call I reckon - sorry Hudson Young but Burton is our 'Turbo has done his Pec' backline-anything backup option - and Slater selecting Cobbo on the bench has made that both easy and justifiable.
My concern is how to place those named centres with those wingers - Crichton and To'o on one side is beast-mode from Panthers days, but leaves Lomax with Suali'i on one side......potent attack but defensively liable.
No L.Mitchell makes sense given the bunnies this year, and Turbo injury hurts - and it means we pick acutal Centres as Centres this year. Even though Mitchell/Turbo in the centres is a different unit to what we have this time around, they are both not Centres. Latrell is an origin engima though. Is he still? Dunno - and we won't know this year methinks unless we lose Game-1 bad and Latrell cuts sick in the next fortnight.
Admittedly my doubts on Suali'i are driven by a lack of exposure on the kid - maybe Rugby know
what they are doing spilling a decade of budget on him.
Roll the dice. Why not? If Madge comes on and retains a losing team, whats the point? They won't shaft him after 1 game will they. He may as well give it a shake up - first game is in Sydney after all...
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