In the opening three tackles of State of Origin II on Sunday night, Daniel Saifiti, Tom Trbojevic and Junior Paulo were all monstered by the Queensland defence.
The Blues fired three massive guns and the Maroons wore the shots.
But the next run from Tariq Sims was a beast. Then Isaah Yeo charged through the middle, and the Blues ended their first set in a respectable position.
In the seventh minute, Trbojevic tried to scoot around Kurt Capewell and the big Charlevillian dragged him down with a perfect around the legs tackle.
But less than five minutes later NSW had scored down that wing and by the end of the 26-0 win, three tries had come from that blistering right side of Tommy Turbo and Josh Addo-Carr.
It was the story of the game: Maybe Queensland could weather the first couple of shots from the Blues, but the hits never stopped coming, ending in a 76-6 scoreline across the first two games of a series that’s yet to leave Queensland.
The team that scored 50 points without Addo-Carr crossing in Game I seemed intent to gift him a couple in Game II, just because they could.
The Blues’ ability to go to plans C, D, E and F and being able to inflict pain however they please is reminiscent of the Maroons of the eight straight streak.
But if the Lockyer-Thurston-Smith-Slater-Inglis-Cronk sides were full of scalpels, this Blues team is a bunch of hammers and drills.
Not a lot of dead weight in this team.(
AAP: Dave Hunt
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Even if they don’t have as many Immortals and football geniuses in their side, they make up for it with sheer physical strike power and brilliance across the park.
Every one of them goes forward after the first contact with the defence, and that’s if the defenders can actually lay a hand on them.
The Blues ran for 400 more metres than Queensland and had a 70-metre advantage in the all-important post-contact metres. They also had seven line breaks to Queensland’s one.
NSW dominated all over the stats sheet, but you don’t need those numbers; just watching the game it becomes immediately clear the Blues are simply too fast and too strong.
Sometimes in rugby league, when the gap is this vast, that’s enough.
Every member of the back five is a beast; the halves are strong, elusive and skilled; and the forward pack has a perfect balance of ball playing and power.
The Dally M Medal winner is an afterthought off the bench.
After the Maroons finally got their feet under them, in the second half on Sunday night, they finally started firing some shots of their own.
Cameron Munster took control of the attack and they tried to take advantage of Kyle Feldt’s height and leaping advantage over Brian To’o.
Kyle Feldt (top) could jump over Brian To’o (bottom) all day, but the Blues found a way to stop Queensland every time.(
AAP: Darren England
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They kicked to that contest three times, and every time the smaller man found a way to jolt the ball free.
When the Maroons finally strung some passes together, again with Munster instrumental, Xavier Coates was destined for the line but Trbojevic flew from nowhere to slap the ball out of his hands.
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That combination of physical ability and the willingness to run through the finish line, even with the result already a foregone conclusion is a recipe for winning, winning and more winning.
And, according to hooker Damien Cook, it all comes back to the players from Penrith, who do that every week with smiles on their faces.
“I think the biggest part is probably the six Penrith players. Obviously they’re winning week in week out so they’re playing with a lot of confidence,” he said after NSW wrapped up the series in front of 52,273 fans in Brisbane.
Jarome Luai (top) and Nathan Cleary (left) brought their winning ways and reckless abandon from Penrith.(
AAP: Darren England
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“They’re just playing without fear and that’s a big reason why we won the series and two games.
“Brian’s doing a great job out of our end in yardage sets, he’s been unbelievable for us. And Jarome [Luai] is picking his moments as well. He has some great players outside him but he’s not overplaying his hand.”
Origin seemed to be the only way to stop the Panthers winning games this NRL season, but the bad news for Queensland fans is they’ve brought those winning ways to the Blues.
And from Sunday’s team, Trbojevic, Latrell Mitchell, Nathan Cleary, Luai, To’o, Liam Martin and Payne Haas are all still under 25.
This isn’t over. It’s only just begun.
Source:: ABC News
