State of Origin 2026

Lestronge said:
Mate if you’re a lead runner and you run into the defensive line , especially into someone covering , it’s obstruction all day . It’s been clearly that for a long time .Olakuatu has to do a better job pushing through the line .
You’re off your head if you think sending off a teams fullback , balanced out the game . It was a sin bin for sure .
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That was not obstruction, he ran the inside shoulder and Harry was covering. When you're covering, you run sideways, Harry stopped for Ola, and made a defensive decision. You cant take a still frame or slo mo and call it black and white that he was obstructed. Harry made a defensive decision to stop his run for Ola.

NSW scored one, had a legit chance denied and scored another one within 10-15 minutes of Ponga being off. Even if it was a sin-bin, it would have been 3 tries apiece.

Qld was the better team for 50 minutes but as we have seen in NRL, posession always reverses and NSW played shit but QLD defended shit too.
 
GNR4LIFE said:
I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a terrible decision turn a game like that. Definitely not a game on that stage. He was clearly being advised by the bunker, but Klein took the opportunity to have his Bill Harrigan “look at me look at me moment”. Shocking.
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They still haven't released the audio of what Bunker said to Klein. What Klein said was definitely "yeh mate, but ...." There's no way Klein can overrule Bunker.

No journo so far has asked publicly for that audio.

I said it at the start. The reason Klein gets Origins is to make sure they stay close. They may retain him for Origin 2 to make sure QLD wins and then dump him in Origin 3 because by then it doesn't matter, they've already achieved the ratings.
 
user118245 said:
Brailey 9, Robson 14
Haas to start, AFB Bench
Ford Bench, JSaf gone
McLean start, Koula bench
Latrell (if healthy) for Crichton
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Api to replace Robson
McLean to start on wing.
Koula to replace Crichton
Moses to 6, Strange bench

Not sure Tedesco deserves to hold his place despite that winning try.

If Haas not available for game 2, NSW in trouble. The starting middles were dominated.
 
4jtigers said:
I have just a little reservation with May - he just doesn't run forward all the time, sometimes he wants to ball play as if he was the halfback. He needs to do one job and that's to go forward, Twal would've been better I reckon but if May cuts that bit on his play then ok.
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It isnt like he gets the ball for when hes going to take a hit up and starts to crab sideways. The only time he looks to crab kr ballplay, he has been offloaded the ball and is standing still as a support player. Ive never once seen him get the ball in the position for taking a hit up and seen him try ball play.
 
rozelle_rudy said:
Api to replace Robson
McLean to start on wing.
Koula to replace Crichton
Moses to 6, Strange bench

Not sure Tedesco deserves to hold his place despite that winning try.

If Haas not available for game 2, NSW in trouble. The starting middles were dominated.
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Don’t think api will start, I’d have him 14 if he does play. Agree with teddy as well but daley the coach so who knows what he can pull out of his ass
 
GNR4LIFE said:
There’s a slow motion angle that shows clearly shoulder on shoulder and head on head.
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It isnt clear at all. You cant 100% say that there is absolutely no contact from the shoulder to the head, and thats in super slow mo.
 
tig_prmz said:
Lol all these Queenslanders coming out saying NSW got lucky.

Murrays was a try and so was Strange's first one. Harry wasn't in the defensive line, he was cover tackling and ran into Olakuatu. Bs call.

If those two on technicality were no tries than KP was fair too.

It all balanced out at the end and NSW won the 50-50 contests and the clutch plays by Teddy and Cleary.

NSW scores or almost scored each time they were near the try line. Qld has a lot to work on.

But... Klein will get picked again to make sure Qld wins the second game, because NRL needs to make sure there is a decider.
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You're kidding yourself, you must have been watching a different game if you don't think QLD were the better team
 
mtd#2 said:
I’ll play fantasy coach.

Strange proved to us tonight that some players are just built for origin.

The QLD team on paper was a complete shambles, you had blokes playing in positions they dont even play at club level, other blokes not in the best form.... but they turn up, because they are origin type players.

Cleary didnt show shit until QLD were down to 12 men. He hasnt shown shit in most origins. Strange, even when the blues were down, still showed spark on his debut.

Id seriously shake things up.

1. Tedesco
2. To'o or McLean
3. Mitchell
4. Staggs
5. Mclean/Koula
6. Strange
7. Douhei

8. May
9. Brailey
10. Haas
11. Murray
12. Young
13. Yeo

A pack that can each make 30 runs and 60 tackles a game and not break a sweat. If three of these blokes take runs back to back, there is NO way that the blues dont make metres moving forward.

Braileys job is simple, go through the motions, feed the ball and wait for his moment. The edges then receive the ball on the back of momentum.

Then around 25 mins, take the workers off and bring on the impact in Hamole and Radley. Radley can give Terrell a spell. Hamole on for Murray.

Imagine the game slowing a bit, Radley has a quick play the ball and it shifts to one side:

-Douhei, Hamole (fresh), Staggs and To'o/McLean.

OR

- Strange, Young, Mitchell and Koula/McLean.

Teddy sniffing around both sides.

If Ponga wasnt sent off - nsw fans would be calling for daley to be sacked.

Strange and Douhei are big and strong ball runners - something Cleary is not.

Moses and Cleary can jog on, they've had their chances.

Edit - i am aware this is fantasy, but the team needs to land somewhere in the middle. If they try the same shit in game 2 qld will romp them.
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First of all…getting rid of Cleary when he is fit is madness but we’ll move past that as I am well aware that for some really crazy reason, NSW fans hate him. Replacing hm with Doueihi rather than Moses is beyond the pale. That is an infinitely weaker side.

May is a stat padder. That works well most of the time at NRL level, but Origin needs more. He would disappear like Woods used to. Brailey will struggle at this stage. Perfect late sub as was Maclean. I’d leave them be.

NSW would be crazy to make changes. They hold on to the ball last night and QLD do not go up 20 blot.
 
upthetigers said:
If Koula didn't go for the hero play and stepped inside to avoid the sideline, KP wouldn't have been sent off and QLD would have won
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So its Koulas fault?
Maybe if KP wrapped his arms he wouldnt have been sent...rightly or wrongly....as for what happens next no one will ever know
 
Reading a lot of Karenesque justifications for the send off today….the truth is only non footy people are still claiming that was a direct shoulder charge to the head.
All good. Just understand that your opinions are helping kill this sport.
When a bloke can get sent from the field for an accidental head clash and tens of thousands of idiots applaud the decision…well you are going to have to live with the consequences.
 
Tucker said:
First of all…getting rid of Cleary when he is fit is madness but we’ll move past that as I am well aware that for some really crazy reason, NSW fans hate him. Replacing hm with Doueihi rather than Moses is beyond the pale. That is an infinitely weaker side.

May is a stat padder. That works well most of the time at NRL level, but Origin needs more. He would disappear like Woods used to. Brailey will struggle at this stage. Perfect late sub as was Maclean. I’d leave them be.

NSW would be crazy to make changes. They hold on to the ball last night and QLD do not go up 20 blot.
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In regards to Cleary, it’s because we’ve seen him dominate for Penrith for a full 80 multiple times but he can’t do the same for NSW for some reason. In my eyes (and probably majority of NSW fans) while he’s had good games for NSW, he’s never been that sole reason as to why NSW won Origin that year when they have. His last series won was back in 2021 and that series was ultimately one of the worst series from QLD that year, maybe even the worst of all time for QLD, but I wasn’t alive when Origin started so I can’t say for sure but in my lifetime that’s the worst series performance I saw from QLD. But back on Cleary and last nights game, while he did have a couple moments before KP got sent off, he ultimately didn’t do a lot until he did. I’ll give him credit he kicked a brilliant 40/20 which helped us big time, and obviously did score a try and seal the last try with that bomb for Tedesco to score, but we all felt he was very quiet until KP got sent off. Strange IMO was the dominant half for NSW majority of the game, he played real well for almost the whole game while Cleary only stepped up once KP was gone. And the big one is he has never won a decider for NSW, the Origin series wins he’s been apart off NSW managed to win the first 2 games to seal it. The 2019 decider he didn’t play and missed the entire 2024 series due to injury. He did finish the game strongly once KP got the flick, but us NSW fans have never seen him dominate an entire 80 minutes of an Origin game. That’s why we’re so hard on him as we know he can do it, but for whatever reason he just simply can’t in Origin.
 
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