State Of Origin 2010 General Discussion

[Google News]

Trent Barrett backs Mitchell Pearce as captaincy material - The Australian

Source: http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=...ptaincy-material/story-e6frg7mf-1225886885876

Trent Barrett backs Mitchell Pearce as captaincy material
Brent Read
July 02, 2010 12:00AM

NSW captain Trent Barrett has seen enough in his short time with Mitchell Pearce to predict he could become a long-time leader of the Blues.

"He's a terrific bloke and very easy to get along with - one that suits this environment," Barrett said. "He's a guy that down the track people will gravitate to on and off the field. He's confident - an out-and-out halfback. Not much worries him.

"That's a good trait to have, particularly in his position."

As they prepare to play their second Origin game together, at ANZ Stadium on Wednesday night, Barrett could scarcely be more impressed with the Sydney Roosters playmaker.

So impressed, he had no hesitation endorsing Pearce as the future of NSW.

"You don't want to put too much pressure on him either but I think he is one that stands out as being a potential leader of the state for a long time," Barrett said.

Pearce, who will make his third appearance for NSW in Origin III, is taking every opportunity to soak up what he can from Barrett.

"He's real loyal and a great leader," Pearce said. "He's just a real nice guy, just a genuine nice guy. He's a leader. He does things his way and sets a great example.

"I had a massive wrap on him after he left the camp."

As for the captaincy, Pearce remains focused on the present rather than the future. When his name was first linked with the job by former NSW coach Ricky Stuart earlier this year, Pearce admitted he was embarrassed.

He didn't feel he was ready for the job. Nothing has changed.

"I think everyone here would love to lead it one day down the track and I am no different," Pearce said. "At the moment it is the furthest thing (from my mind). I don't deserve it."

Pearce's biggest rival for the Blues captaincy could be backrower Paul Gallen, who is expected to regain the Sharks leadership from Barrett at the end of the season.

"If I do get the Cronulla captaincy, we'll wait and see how I go for the first 10 or 11 weeks before Origin's picked, and if they haven't decided on a captain then, and I'm getting on with the refs all right . . . of course you'd love to be NSW captain," Gallen said.

"It's a big honour to captain any team, but to captain NSW would be unreal. I'd certainly love to do it."

Gallen was mentioned as a potential captain last year, only to lose the job at Cronulla in controversial circumstances.

"When I lost the captaincy at Cronulla, I haven't really thought about it since then," he said.

Gallen, however, has an ally in Barrett. The Sharks and Blues skipper has offered to perform a mentoring role with Gallen down the track.

"Trent's actually spoken to me about being a captain, and he's said he can help me in the future," Gallen said. "With his help, I could probably be a better captain. He hasn't spoken in-depth about it. But he has told me that he'd love to help me out when he's finished."

 

[Google News]

No joy for Bellyache, but better days ahead

Source: http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=...-days-ahead-for-next-coach-20100702-zu14.html

No joy for Bellyache, but better days ahead for next coach
ROY MASTERS
July 3, 2010

While nothing official has been said by the NSW Rugby League or himself, Bellamy knows his time as Origin coach is up. Although bitterly disappointed he did not realise his dreams for the Blues, he leaves a legacy for the next coach.

''I think one thing that did come out of this year is we have a No. 1, 7 and 9 who can be the nucleus of next year's team,'' Bellamy said. ''Jarryd Hayne at fullback, Mitchell Pearce at half and Michael Ennis at hooker are three young blokes who can do a good enough job to stay there.''
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He also believes utility Kurt Gidley will be a long-term fixture, saying he displays the self-sacrificial traits he so admires in a player. ''He's a tremendous young kid,'' Bellamy said. ''He always puts himself on the line. I won't forget that last game in Brisbane last year when they put up a bomb at the end, looking to get square, and he didn't flinch.''

Nor has Bellamy surrendered hope Gidley will be resurrected as captain, although he concedes veteran campaigner, Trent Barrett, is the best player to lead NSW on Wednesday night.

''How Kurt handled himself going to the bench and how he coped with losing the captaincy really impressed me,'' Bellamy said. ''There was no sulking, no complaining. It just showed what type of guy he is. He didn't deserve to have that happen to him but it's the way footy is and that's not taking anything away from Baz [Barrett] who I agree should be skipper under the circumstances.''

Although Bellamy has used several props, he is optimistic he has finally found a rotation which can combat Queensland's go-forward. ''I think those two young props [Kade Snowden and Tim Mannah] will come up OK,'' he said.

While he doesn't seek to dwell on whether NSW's serial defeat is by a once-in-a-generation team all born under the same star, or a better resourced and organised Queensland system, he does concede the failure of certain players to perform perplexes him.

Maybe it's simply a case of the quick pace of Origin football exposing flaws not evident at club level, but some players, particularly the St George Illawarra connection, made poor defensive decisions, or failed to become involved.

''We had two good camps and I thought the preparation was OK,'' he said. ''We were playing a good side but it's still disappointing, particularly in the second game where we beat ourselves with lack of work off the ball. There was no urgency with the Queensland tries, particularly the ones either side of half-time. Not getting back into position defensively was our problem.''

 

[peachey]

fox fan line

Phil from Wyong - you are a dribbler

1.its PAUL Gallen not ROBERT Gallen
2.you claim to have watch many games, point out where Gallen's "mistakes" have been?

 

[sharks4ever]

You beat me to it, what a ****wit get all the facts right befoe saying ****

 

[Capital_Shark]

HAHAHA old mate Phil the dill from Wyong was a crack up

 

[peachey]

HAHAHA old mate Phil the dill from Wyong was a crack up

haha i had to rewind the IQ to make sure i heard right..

 

[Google News]

Snowden has the genes to be species of Origin

Source: http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=...es-to-be-species-of-origin-20100703-zuvg.html

Snowden has the genes to be species of Origin
DANIEL LANE
July 4, 2010

KADE SNOWDEN inherited his toughness from his father, who, after breaking his neck on the footy field returned to brick-laying as quickly as possible, and grandfather, who punctuated his 14-year stint in bush football by riding bucking brumbies in rodeos around the Hunter Valley.

Ricky Stuart, his coach at Cronulla, offered an emphatic vote of confidence in the 24-year-old when he said Snowden had the maturity and hardness to compete in Wednesday's Origin match against Queensland prop Petero Civoniceva, the grizzled veteran rated the NRL's toughest warrior.

"You've got to be a special product to be good at Origin, and Kade Snowden is just that," Stuart said.

Arthur Beetson, the grand-daddy of the code's front-rowers, believes Snowden is ''made'' for Origin football, while rugged former international Steve Roach proclaimed his admiration for his iron-man qualities after they spent some time together in the Country Origin camp earlier this year.

And yet, for all the talk of his toughness and durability, Snowden's mother, Lisa, will most likely shield her eyes behind her hands when he debuts in the sky blue jumper because she's not a fan of the position her 110-plus kilogram ''baby'' appears primed to make his name in.

''It's the worse position [prop] in the world,'' she said after saying she couldn't understand why people find it difficult to believe Kade was his school's chess champion. ''I liked it better when he was in the second row. As a mother, I hate the front row.''

His father, who broke his neck when he captain-coached Gateshead in Newcastle's lower division league, holds no fear for his son's safety. Chris Snowden described his mishap as a one-in-a-million accident, and he'll yell encouragement for his boy to take the best Queensland can offer.

''Kade dreamt of playing Origin when he was just a boy and he's fulfilled that dream,'' said Chris Snowden, who made no attempt to hide his pride. ''It's great. Ever since he could walk he's held a ball in his hands. This is what he's wanted."

Snowden, who struggled to keep up with the pace of first grade when he joined the Sharks after being cut by Newcastle in 2007, carries the hopes of his state on his shoulders. He's one of the baby Blues to be blooded at ANZ Stadium with a view to the future. After five seasons of drought, the state selectors have shown faith in young lions such as Snowden, Tim Mannah and Michael Jennings - and if they needed confirmation of the prop's commitment to the cause, he's spent most of his time in Origin camp counting down the minutes until kick-off.

When asked why the likes of Beetson believe he's tailor-made for Origin, Snowden replied: ''I don't know if it's because of the way I play. They say Newcastle is the hardest first-grade competition in NSW and I played in that all my life, often up a grade. I guess that helped.''

As a younger player his tendency to ''square up'' was earmarked as a flaw. He vowed - albeit in the cold light of a pre-Origin meet-and-greet with the media - not to allow his temper to get the better of him in a brand of football where aggression can be mistaken for passion.

''Passion is different to aggression,'' he said. ''Passion is something you have or don't have, and I believe anyone who plays Origin has it. As for [square-ups], I didn't want to be known as a thug. I think all young boys go through it. I stopped. I didn't want to be the player who makes the costly mistake for the team.''

Snowden insisted his father exemplified "true" toughness and should he need help to stoke the inner coals when the Maroon Corps unleash rugby league hell on Wednesday night, he'll think of a man who overcame a broken neck to provide for his family and a man who was robbed of potential rugby league fame through being dealt a lousy hand by fate.

"Dad played football until he broke his neck in a tackle and I'm told by lots of people who saw him that he could've been anything," Snowden said. ''That's what I consider tough. That's what inspires me."

 

[Google News]

Spine for future is in place: Craig Bellamy

Source:http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=...ce-craig-bellamy/story-e6frg7mf-1225888704927

Spine for future is in place: Craig Bellamy
Stuart Honeysett
July 07, 2010 12:00AM

CRITICS have called on the Blues to find a spine and now outgoing coach Craig Bellamy is confident his embattled team has done just that.

And he believes it is one that will hold NSW in good stead for tonight and into the future.

Bellamy will be chasing a face-saving win in the dead rubber State of Origin match at ANZ Stadium tonight, but regardless of the result he is confident he is leaving the Blues in good shape.

Regarded as one of the NRL's premier coaches, Bellamy will leave the Origin arena with a forgettable record - heading into tonight it stands at eight games for two wins, six losses and no series wins.

In his defence, he has been a victim of arguably the greatest Queensland team assembled. The Maroons have almost an all-Australian team that includes Darren Lockyer, Johnathan Thurston, Billy Slater, Greg Inglis, Sam Thaiday, Cameron Smith and Petero Civoniceva.

Making things worse for Bellamy is that he inherited the job when the Blues had already lost two consecutive series.

And the selectors have chopped and changed the team considerably during his three years at the helm as they have tried to find the right team to turn it around.

However, Bellamy is confident NSW has finally got its spine (key positions) right - halfback Mitchell Pearce, fullback Jarryd Hayne and hooker Michael Ennis - and it won't be long before his successor is ending the Blues' record run of series losses.

The only key position that still has to be determined for the future is five-eighth, as Cronulla veteran Trent Barrett is expected to announce he will retire once the game is over.

"It doesn't take long for momentum to swing and I know it's been a little while since the last period but the positive thing out of this series for us is I think we've got a spine in place there now that can be there for a fair while," Bellamy said.

"If you look at Queensland, and just taking them as an example, Slater and Lockyer and Thurston and Smith have been together for a long time now. That is the spine of your team and it's so important.

"While 'Baz' (Barrett) is not going to be there too much longer, you'd like to think that Jarryd, Mitchell and Michael could be there for a while and NSW could build a team around those guys.

"The more these guys play together the better it's going to be for NSW and it's easier to build a team around that when you've got guys that have played together for a long period of time at this level."

Bearing Bellamy's words in mind, tonight's final game takes on added significance for NSW, given a win will give fans some hope for the future while another loss means there could be more long winters before it finally turns the corner.

Queensland is equally as motivated and determined to make it 3-0 to erase the bitter memories of last year when some players partied in the lead-up to the final game and blew the chance for its first clean sweep since 1995.

However, NSW has tinkered with its attack and is expected to be more direct.

And Barrett said he was confident the Blues could score a morale-boosting win tonight..

"To beat them you're going to have to score 16 to 20 points and we can defend that," Barrett said.

"We can play some footy at them and we've got to enjoy it too.

"We need to go out there with an open mind when we're attacking and we certainly need to be switched on.

"We've (also) got to be prepared to defend well. Our defence let us down in the second game and we come up with a few errors and bad reads in defence that was uncharacteristic.

"We've got to fix that but we've got to go in with the attitude of we've got to beat them - not just compete with them."

 

[snowman]

fox fan line

Phil from Wyong - you are a dribbler

1.its PAUL Gallen not ROBERT Gallen
2.you claim to have watch many games, point out where Gallen's "mistakes" have been?

was this on monday night

i dont see nsw winning a series for another 3-4 years