State Of Origin 2011 General Discussion

[BlackWhiteBlue]

I spose thats 'fair' in a way, if the Sharks season is shot, then yeah, may as well prepare his body for origin, which will also help him post origin. Im a believer of club before state, in fact, I think if Origin was to have its own weekend, no player should miss a club game for origin. They play the week b4, they play the week after

 

[djhabib]

So Gallen said on the super saturday pre game show, that if the sharks lose tomorrow, being 'the last throw of the dice' then he will seriously consider resting the week before the origin 3 game. Thoughts? I don't think he will, but hope he doesn't.

if thats it for our season then yeah i think he should, he deserves a break, but i still dont expect him to

 

[ABshark]

So Gallen said on the super saturday pre game show, that if the sharks lose tomorrow, being 'the last throw of the dice' then he will seriously consider resting the week before the origin 3 game. Thoughts? I don't think he will, but hope he doesn't.

Embarrassing.

 

[josh11223344]

wouldn't worry me, he can do what he likes. We know it's not a matter of thinking NSW is more important than us but this is the biggest origin game he will ever play in and if other people do it I think he should too. I don't think he will take the week off though.

 

[Henchmann]

I heard today it's likely Jennings won't be available for the next Origin, and with Hoppa injured were looking for a replacement!

Does Idris come straight in? Plus Lyon & Cooper have refused to play anymore.

 

[stevekneen10]

May be time to give Pomm a run??...

 

[gallenisgod]

May be time to give Pomm a run??...

hahhahahahaha YES! he will win it on homour alone. he's no origin player but if he were id be the only bloke at the game with a Pomeroy
tshirt on

 

[josh11223344]

josh morris should come in imo considering he will obviously not pick idris. Or put hayne in the centres and bring brett morris onto the wing.

 

[A.Snowden]

Josh Morris is ****.

 

[Sharky Pete]

Rub Johnathan Thurston out for Origin, say NSW Blues

Rub Johnathan Thurston out for Origin, say NSW Blues

Dean Ritchie From: The Daily Telegraph June 21, 2011 12:00AM

A BLUES conspiracy - or simply the NRL judiciary standing up to a petulant star who dislikes referees.

Whatever the truth, the fuse has been lit for an explosive week of cross-border hatred as Johnathan Thurston faces an Origin ban for his collision last Saturday night with NRL referee Matt Cecchin.

Queensland coach Mal Meninga branded the decision to charge Thurston with contrary conduct - contact with a referee - as ludicrous.

But NSW officials are adamant Thurston could easily have avoided Cecchin during the North Queensland Cowboys' clash with the Warriors.

And former referee Greg Hartley went even further, declaring Thurston's hit was symptomatic of a player who has never been friends with the men in pink. "He has to go, he needs a long holiday," Hartley said.

"You just can't go doing that to a referee. You can't go attacking an official.

"Bad luck if he misses Origin. He shouldn't have done it.

"He had plenty of time to go around him. Don't tell me he couldn't see Cecchin."

Asked was it a NSW conspiracy, Meninga told radio station 2MMM: "We don't say that - we just think it.

"How can they prove intent? It's ludicrous. Johnathan apologised to the ref and it was accepted. Where's the malice? It's hard to fathom."

Thurston is facing a two- match ban by pleading guilty. He will also miss two games by fighting and losing the charge.

His only hope of playing against the Blues is by fronting the NRL judiciary tomorrow night and beating the charge or seeking a downgrade.

If the downgrade is successful, Thurston will miss one game - North Queensland's match against Penrith this Sunday - but would be free to confront NSW at Suncorp Stadium on July 6.

North Queensland last night made contact with leading Sydney SC Geoff Bellew, who is on business in Los Angeles. Bellew though is leaving LA today and has accepted the case.

The incident occurred when Thurston was coming across in cover to tackle Warriors player James Maloney, who scored a try, in the 23th minute of the game in Townsville.

A well-placed NSW source said: "It will be interesting to see how strong the judiciary is and whether they will go weak at the knees at the inevitable downgrade request.

"The occasion will probably get the better of them. Thurston had four or five metres to change course."

But Queensland legend Arthur Beetson yesterday blasted the decision by the NRL's Match Review Committee to charge Thurston.

"What a joke," Beetson said. "I can't believe it. A complete waste of time.

"I can't believe he will have to come all the way to Sydney for the judiciary."

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...in-say-nsw-blues/story-e6frexnr-1226078809906

Ron Massey comes to Johnathan Thurston's defence in State of Origin fiasco

Matt Marshall From: The Courier-Mail June 21, 2011 9:36AM

HE'S one of the most respected league brains in NSW, he's a Blues fan, and even he thinks the charge levelled against Queensland No.7 Johnathan Thurston is a joke.

Ron Massey sat in the box beside legendary coach Jack Gibson for his four grand final wins, and he was alongside Wayne Bennett as the Dragons swept to glory last year.

He is as dumbfounded as any Queenslander after Darren Lockyer's Origin III home finale on July 6 hit a major roadblock yesterday.

The NRL match review panel, comprising of NSW members (above from left) Greg McCallum, Peter Louis and Bradley Clyde, levelled a grade two contrary conduct charge at Thurston for making accidental contact with referee Matt Cecchin against the Warriors last weekend.

It will rub Thurston out of the series decider, unless he can clear his name or have the charge downgraded at the NRL judiciary tomorrow night.

Thurston's shock charge, coming hot on the heels of Blues flyer Akuila Uate being cleared for a dangerous tackle in the lead-up to Origin II, prompted former Queensland skippers Arthur Beetson and Gorden Tallis to lash out.

"The bottom line is they're kidding," Beetson fired. "My mate looked at me today and said 'this is a joke, isn't it?' and he's Ron Massey, he's from NSW, he's one of the best.

"Coming from him, it says it all . . ."

Now Thurston's got to go down and fight it. Johnathan's so competitive he wouldn't have even seen the referee.

"He's one of the most competitive guys in the game, he's always trying to stop tries and create tries.

The refs are not only making bad mistakes, now they're getting in the way in more ways than one."

Beetson argued an anti-Queensland agenda at headquarters had long existed. "Some of the refereeing and decisions the NSW league let go for NSW players was a joke, they wonder why we get so fired up," he declared.

"The Broncos got poor decisions at the judiciary for a long time too. Some things never change."

If found guilty, Thurston will miss two club games plus Origin III, given he would be ineligible for Origin selection. His fate, and perhaps the Maroons, lies with leading Sydney-based barrister Geoff Bellew, SC, who cleared Thurston of a dangerous throw during the 2007 NRL semi-finals. The Cowboys will argue that Thurston's eyes were fixed on Warriors' five-eighth James Maloney racing for the tryline and that he didn't see Cecchin.

"They set a precedent in letting Uate off, and now they do this, when both of them (Thurston and Cecchin) got up laughing," Tallis fired. "Are they serious?

"There's no consistency. "

Thurston last night confirmed he would be seeking to have the charge dismissed, and Queensland coach Mal Meninga voiced his support.

"I defy anyone to claim someone deliberately runs into the back of a referee, it's ludicrous," Meninga said on Sydney radio. "How do you say it was intent?

"Apparently the referee tried to get out of the way and Johnathan apologised and the referee accepted it straight away."

NSW coach Ricky Stuart last night said he expected the charge to be downgraded.

http://www.couriermail.com.au/sport...by-nrl-judiciary/story-e6frepbx-1226078597897

 

[deano the p]

I heard today it's likely Jennings won't be available for the next Origin, and with Hoppa injured were looking for a replacement!

Does Idris come straight in? Plus Lyon & Cooper have refused to play anymore.

There was an article in the Telecrap on the weekend ruling Idris out as an option due to his attitude. I don't know who they are gonna run with.

 

[josh11223344]

according to todays telegraph hayne at centre and b.morris on the wing. Which on paper looks pretty good imo.

 

[Sharky Pete]

Revealed: how Thurston escaped Origin ban by a whisker

Revealed: how Thurston escaped Origin ban by a whisker
Greg Prichard
June 24, 2011

JOHNATHAN THURSTON didn't know how close he came to being suspended and missing one of the biggest State of Origin matches ever.

The Herald can reveal that the vote from the three-man judiciary panel in favour of a not-guilty verdict at Wednesday night's judiciary hearing was 2-1.

And that's not all. The panel member whose vote effectively became the deciding one entered the deliberation period unsure of which way to go and took much of the 45 minutes the panelists spent discussing the matter before making up his mind.

North Queensland halfback Thurston, arguably the best player in the game, had pleaded not guilty to grade-two contrary conduct, contact with referee, which resulted from his collision with referee Matt Cecchin during last Saturday's game against the Warriors at Dairy Farmers Stadium.
A guilty decision would have forced him out of the NRL game between Penrith and the Cowboys at Centrebet Stadium on Sunday and also the series-deciding Origin III at Suncorp Stadium on Wednesday week.

NSW are seeking to end the most dominant period by either state in Origin history, after the Maroons won five series in a row, and it will also be the last Origin match for Queensland five-eighth and captain Darren Lockyer, who is retiring from representative football at the end of the year.

Thurston, the Maroons' halfback and Lockyer's regular partner in the playmaking duties during that reign, would have been crushed had he been forced to miss the Origin game. He was thrilled when the verdict was handed down, but it was by no means a quick decision by the panel.
They don't take 45 minutes to decide unless there are strong opinions both ways being aired.

The Herald has learnt that when the panel, which comprised former players Ian Roberts, Michael Buettner and Sean Garlick, began deliberating, one of them was of the opinion Thurston was guilty, another not guilty and the remaining member undecided.

During the three-quarters of an hour in which they discussed the matter before announcing their verdict, they called for video footage of the incident to be played to them again and also sought clarification regarding the definition of the charge from judiciary chairman Paul Conlon.

The panel member who began the deliberation period undecided is understood to have seriously considered both possible verdicts before settling on a choice.
Had Thurston been found guilty, he then would have been able to seek a downgrading of the charge. A grade-one would have meant his suspension beginning and ending with the Panthers-Cowboys game on Sunday.

But there is obviously no guarantee a downgrading would have been awarded, and such circumstances would have meant an awfully nervous wait for Thurston while the panel deliberated on that, on top of the nervous wait he had already endured.

The fact the panel was split over the verdict is a further indication of how the Thurston-Cecchin incident has polarised public opinion. Some opinions were clearly made along state lines, but others either saw the contact as accidental or believed Thurston could have avoided it.

Speaking upon his return to Townsville yesterday, Thurston said that despite his strong belief he was innocent he had begun to worry when the deliberation period dragged on. ''I was starting to think it was not going to go my way,'' he said. ''When I heard the words 'not guilty' I was very relieved and happy.''

Thurston described the collision as a ''freak accident'', adding: ''I didn't see him until we collided.''

http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...d-origin-ban-by-a-whisker-20110623-1ghkm.html

 

[A.Snowden]

Blues squad for game 3

Minichello
Morris
Hayne
Gasnier
Uate
Soward
Pearce
Gallen (c)
Ennis
Mannah
Scott
Creagh
Bird

Gidley
Watmough
Merrin
Lewis
Galloway
G. Stewart
Jennings

 

[Born&bred]

*sigh* Can we please get rid of Ennis?

One of qld's best he his.

 

[snowman]

who do you put in there?
robbie farah is not an origin player.... hee is absolute crap

 

[stevekneen10]

Ennis goes alright, i'd stick with him.

 

[josh11223344]

*sigh* Can we please get rid of Ennis?

One of qld's best he his.

I wanted farah at the start of the series but ennis has really surprised me and showed he is an origin player. I thought he played really well in both games.

It's great to see galloway included. We have 4 origin quality props imo and they are galloway, snowden, mannah and TLL.

So hopefully he gets the bench spot over merrin (who is not an origin player atm) can't believe TLL isn't in the squad. He would be a much better selection than stewart imo.

 

[goodbyepenrithhellosharks]

go the ranga digits

 

[deano the p]

Good I hope Jennings plays, I really do not want to see Hayne in the centres.