Laurie it's time for the future, not farewell parties

So New South Wales have lost another series, their tenth in the past eleven. 

The Blues got close once again, but close isn’t close enough. 

The players try hard, they give 100% for their state, but they simply come up short.

It’s time for change.

Laurie Daley has already come out and said he won’t make any changes for Game III, but I’m sorry Laurie, you’re wasting a great opportunity.

Paul Gallen, Greg Bird and Robbie Farah have all been great servants to NSW, but their time is up. Even if the Blues had won the series it’s unlikely that the three would have featured next year anyway.

Instead of giving these guys a farewell party in Game III, let’s start planning for the future.

Daley himself came out and said during the week that he was hesitant to blood young players because of his own experience as a 19-year-old on debut, where he was overawed by the State of Origin arena and the occasion.

If we’re going to head towards some new talent next series, let’s ensure they don’t have the same issue - give the next generation a chance in Game III. 

 At the end of the day, does it really matter if we lose, we’ve lost the series anyway.

Matt Moylan wasn’t the worst player last night, but he’s not the best fullback in the state. James Tedesco should be the first player picked for the next State of Origin.

Dylan Walker has been made the whipping boy for New South Wales’ performance in the current series, but he was okay in Origin II. Sure he gave away some silly penalties, but his opposite Greg Inglis was kept fairly quiet.

It’s easy to forget Walker is just 21 years old, he’ll see more Origin football. 

James Roberts is someone we need to find a place for in the Blues backline. Whether on the wing or in the Centres, the 2015 Dally M Centre of the Year can win a game on his own.

Jack Bird showed last night he’s an Origin player, let’s not confine him to a cameo role like Game II. Whether at Five-Eight or Centre, he needs to be there.

Adam Reynolds could be a part of New South Wales’ future as well, but he’ll miss the next match with injury. It’s the ideal chance to try a new halfback, where the pressure to succeed isn’t as great as a live Origin match.

 Aidan Sezer is that man.

The best Rugby League judges in the land are crying out for Bryce Cartwright to be given a chance in the Origin arena and Game III can do that. 

He’s a real X-Factor and Cartwright will play a huge role in the next phase of State of Origin football.

Tyson Frizell was a stand out for the Blues in Origin II – it helps when you pick players in form. 

Ryan James is in Dally M contention, currently sitting up the top of the leader board. He has the versatility to play in both the front row and back row as well.

Nathan Peats is the future dummy half option for NSW and Tyrone Peachey is the spark off the bench, providing a utility option. He can play in the centres, halves, hooker and back row – virtually covering all bases.

These changes need to happen ASAP, but realistically they won’t happen – at least not for Game III.

Laurie Daley will pick the same side in hope of a victory. ‘We’ can salvage some pride, losing the series 2-1 and talk about how we were ‘so close again’. It’s a short term view, no doubt with Daley hoping to keep his job.

Why should he care about the long term prospects when he may not be a part of things anyway. That’s not an attack on the man, most coaches would do the same, but there’s no escaping a refresh is well overdue.

Why wait until next year?

No more farewell parties, let’s give the Maroons a taste of the future...

Future Blues

James Tedesco

James Roberts

Jack Bird

Dylan Walker

Josh Mansour

James Maloney

Aidan Sezer

Aaron Woods (c)

Nathan Peats

James Tamou

Bryce Cartwright

Josh Jackson

Tyson Frizell

Tyrone Peachey

Ryan James

David Klemmer

Wade Graham

ADAM SANTAROSSA 

*This article first appeared on SBS and they retain all copyright. 

http://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/league-nation-live/article/2016/06/23/time-future-laurie-not-farewell-parties

C’mon Laurie! Give us half a chance

If Trent Hodkinson and his Newcastle Knights we’re a racehorse, chances are someone would be calling for the curtain right about now.

Instead, New South Wales State of Origin coach Laurie Daley wants to give Hodkinson the No.7 jersey for Game One.

Hodkinson was underwhelming last season in Origin and he hasn’t had a good start to life in Newcastle in 2016, where he’s leading around one of the worst teams in the National Rugby League.

Daley says he wants to stick true and remain loyal, instead of looking at the other halves showing good form in the lead up.

There’s a host of halves showing their worth, led by Raiders pair Aidan Sezer and Blake Austin.

   

Sezer looks reinvigorated since going to the Canberra Raiders. He seems to have a license to run the football and he’s picking his moments well.

He was stilted in a team where everything was on his young shoulders at the Gold Coast. Now he has freedom and he can look to make an impact.

His halves partner Blake Austin was the most in-form player last season. He’s continued in the same vein in 2016. He was a standout in City-Country last year, has utility value, and yet didn’t even come close to a look in for Origin.

Adam Reynolds has been solid, despite some injuries, and his kicking game remains the best in the NRL and a significant asset to his South Sydney side.

That same asset is crucial to New South Wales chances, given the Blues have been horrendous in this area previously. The Blues last tackle options through Pearce and Hodkinson were simply not good enough. Kick after kick went down the Maroons throats, putting the Blues defence straight back under the pump.

Daley says he wants to remain loyal to those who’ve worn the jersey previously.

But despite winning the 2014 series, he didn’t remain loyal to the Blues halves pairing Josh Reynolds and Trent Hodkinson last season.

Daley also says he will only pick players in their true position.

This is despite picking Mitchell Pearce at Five-Eighth for last year’s series, a position he’d never played prior.

Hodkinson is badly out of form, and the stats tell the story.

Adam Reynolds is averaging 49.33 running metres for 2016, Sezer has 43.40 and Austin 35.33, whilst Hodkinson can manage just 25.12 – the worst in the NRL.

Hodkinson’s potential halves partner Mitchell Pearce has only just returned from a lengthy suspension for disciplinary problems.

You could use this weekend’s City-Country fixture as a platform to run the rule over halves contenders, only that representative fixture gets more ludicrous every year.

Sezer and James Maloney will be the only contenders to line up in Tamworth on Sunday, with their halves partners being Chad Townsend and Jack Bird. ( Yes, Jack Bird in the No.7)

Queensland on the other hand can take their pick of halves options. Johnathan Thurston, Cooper Cronk, Daly Cherry-Evans, Anthony Milford (suspended), Ben Hunt and Michael Morgan are just a few of their options.

You get the sense that Daley will continue making the same mistakes and go with Mitchell Pearce.

For mine, Pearce’s card are marked for Origin, he’s had enough chances. He goes missing in big moments and it’s clear he cannot handle the occasion, and the pressure placed upon him, fair or not.

    

With the game on the line, Queensland is like a well-oiled machine, with their chiefs calling the shots. You saw it with Cooper Cronk’s field goal in Game One last season. You could see it happening, but you just couldn’t do anything about it.

For New South Wales, their halves go missing when the pressure starts to mount. They lack direction and composure, with Paul Gallen seemingly always finding himself at first receiver in key moments.

I’d be picking Adam Reynolds and Blake Austin.

Both are in decent form and both offer something different. Austin can run the football, Reynolds can organise and kick well. He’s also a high percentage goal kicker, which is another area that’s let NSW down in the past.

Both have handled the spotlight well enough so far. Austin has emerged from a fringe first grader to a bona fide star, whilst Reynolds has come from the NSW Cup to a Premiership with South Sydney.

It's probably a year early for Sezer, but having worked with him at the Titans, I don't think he'd be overawed by the occasions like many before him.  

Queensland won’t blink twice if the names read out are the same as 2015 – Trent Hodkinson and Mitchell Pearce.

C’mon Laurie, let’s try something different.

Give us half a chance!

ADAM SANTAROSSA

Why Jarryd Hayne cant be replicated

Jarryd Hayne stands alone. 

The media in the last few weeks has been awash with articles wondering who will be the next Rugby League star to make the jump to the NFL.

Swarms of NFL talent scouts are reportedly on their way to our shores to rip our talent away.

But just who will be the next man to don the helmet and shoulder pads you ask? 

The answer - Nobody.

That’s not to say our NRL stars don’t have the physical attributes to make the grade, but it’s the intangibles that make the difference.

Jarryd Hayne is a rare breed, for a variety of reasons.    

Having worked with professional players at high profile sporting organisations I was constantly baffled at how they see their careers.

No one really cares about their legacy. At the end of the day it’s about how much they can make from their careers and everything else is a bonus from there.

That’s the nature of the beast and in a way you understand it. Professional sport stars are assets who depreciate over time and it’s about maximising return in a small window.

They play a highly physical sport that replicates a car crash multiple times each game day. With every week, miles come off the clock, and with some, as we’ve seen recently; careers can vanish in a heartbeat.

I understand the need for financial security to be important, but sometimes you wish ambition was higher on the agenda.

Ambition is what has fuelled Hayne’s quest for an NFL dream. Sure he has come from a solid financial base, he’s made good money in his NRL career so far, but it can be argued that he’s left just when he was really ready to cash in.

Not to mention the fact that he turned his back on more common destinations beyond the NRL, such as Japanese or European Rugby, which present higher financial returns than the NRL and at considerably less risk than the National Football League.

Hayne had an ambition to leave a legacy, something he wasn’t prepared to trade for money and that is unique.

He’s on a guaranteed contract of just $100,000, which will become around $400,000 should he make the San Francisco 49ers 53 man roster.

It’s expected his income will jump considerably through endorsements if and when he makes the final roster, given the NFL doesn’t have limitations on third party sponsors like the NRL, but his income, at least initially, still wont dwarf his NRL contract.

It’s a significant risk to lay it all on the line, with the odds firmly stacked against you.

There are plenty of hurdles to jump in the NFL before you’re even on parity with what you’re already making in the NRL. It’s quite apt that Jarryd Hayne was a champion hurdler in his youth, because he’s made the task look easy.

He doesn’t fear the big occasion, in fact he lives for it. Professional sport stars fall in one of two categories. Some react to pressure like ‘deer in the headlights’, others aren’t fazed by anything.

All the greats have that special something which blurs the line between confidence and arrogance - Ronaldo, LeBron, Jordan prime examples.

All have a cocky swagger and a self belief that tells them ‘nobody is better’.

Jarryd Hayne is that player and you can change the posts, the uniform, the rules and the shape of the football, but he’ll still find a way to compete and succeed.

We saw that on his State of Origin debut or in his youth at the Parramatta Eels when he was thrown into a one-on-one session with World Champion boxer Danny Green to ‘test his character’.

In all conquests Hayne showed no fear and it’s that approach that has won him so many admirers so far on his NFL journey.

As someone who worked closely with Israel Folau during his stint with the Greater Western Sydney GIANTS, I’ve witnessed a great athlete try to learn a new sport.

Folau is a special athlete, the rarest breed. But he did not have a passion for AFL. Israel worked hard, he wanted to succeed, but deep down it just wasn’t in him.

Jarryd Hayne has a love for the NFL. He immersed himself in the game long before he made the decision to make it his occupation. Whether that was watching every game of every round, playing Madden on XBOX, forming a friendship with Reggie Bush or having secret training sessions with UTS – he made it his life.

No one else in the NRL would be willing to take the risk Jarryd Hayne has.

They are too financially secure, they lack the self belief, they lack a true passion for the game or they simply let fear get in the way.

Jarryd Hayne is a one of a kind specimen. Forged in working class roots, with assets you cannot teach or replicate.

Will another talent of similar ilk emerge from the Rugby League world?

I would say it is highly unlikely.  

The Hayne Plane will fly the flag alone, quite simply because he is the only one who can.

ADAM SANTAROSSA

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