State of Origin 1, The Tackle: James Tedesco under pressure to retain NSW Blues’ spot

NSW Blues coach Brad Fittler is under extreme pressure heading into State of Origin 2, but his captain James Tedesco may be under even more.

James Tedesco’s Origin spot is on the line.

This is the story no one wants to write. But it surely deserves at least some debate among all the fallout from NSW’s crushing loss in Adelaide.

Is it time for Brad Fittler to make the biggest call of all and drop James Tedesco to play Latrell Mitchell at fullback?

Because as much pressure as Fittler is now under heading into what could be a series deciding clash at Suncorp Stadium on June 21, there must be at least some focus put on the Blues captain as well.

No one is saying Teddy has not been a wonderful servant for the Blues over the years and he is still one hell of a player.

But is he as good a fullback right now as the South Sydney superstar?

You just can’t ignore that Teddy hasn’t been in the greatest form of his career so far this season.

And his performance in the 26-18 loss in Adelaide certainly won’t go down as one of his finest.

James Tedesco had a poor game. Picture: NRL Photos

Sure, Tedesco still did a stack of work that you wouldn’t get from Mitchell at fullback to finish with 20 runs for 164m, and he left absolutely nothing in the tank.

But he just doesn’t seem to have the same impact as he once did.

And there were also a few crucial mistakes highlighted by that unbelievable moment when he was outleapt by Roosters front row teammate Lindsay Collins for the match-clinching try.

The one guarantee is that Mitchell will come back into the team if he is fit to play after the calf injury that ruled him out of the series opener.

But should it be Stephen Crichton who gets the chop, or would Mitchell be more dangerous coming in at the position he plays for the Rabbitohs where he has been arguably the most dangerous fullback in the NRL this season?

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BLUES ROBBED BY FRIZELL ‘NO TRY’

Queenslanders had every right to blow up about the controversial try awarded to Api Koroisau.

But don’t forget the Blues copped their own bad call when Tyson Frizell was robbed a first half try.

There is no doubt it looked as though Koroisau had knocked the ball on before he scooped it up and sprinted away to score the try that gave the Blues a 12-10 lead early in the second half.

But the fact is the Blues should have been further ahead had Frizell also got the rub of the green earlier.

In the old days the benefit of the doubt went to the attacking team.

And here, even Queensland legend Cameron Smith conceded an angle of the replay viewed by the Bunker “looked as though some part of the ball touched the turf”.

But the moment referee Ashley Klein sent that up as a “no try” the Blues were up against it, with the Bunker determining there was not sufficient evidence to overturn the onfield decision.

Anyone looking at that replay other than the Bunker probably would have argued the point, even a Maroons great like Smith.

It’s fair comment saying the fact the Blues had a 57-43 per cent split of first half possession meant they should have put more points on the board.

But that doesn’t excuse this has always been a rotten rule and the advantage should go to the attacking team.

The Blues came THIS close to scoring! 😮 Did the Bunker get this call right? 🤔

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— NRL on Nine (@NRLonNine) May 31, 2023

SHOULD NEVER BE SEEN AGAIN

It doesn’t matter what age you are, if you cheer for NSW then the sky blue jumper is what you grew up on.

And it just looked so wrong seeing the Blues run out onto the Adelaide Oval in the navy blue jumper.

Fair dinkum, it was bad enough taking Origin to South Australia in the first place, and having to give away two for one tickets to try and fill the joint was just embarrassing.

But then seeing the famous sky blue sacrificed in another grab for cash just takes it beyond a joke.

You never see Queensland stuffing around with their jumper.

TIME TO MAKE ORIGIN FAMILY FRIENDLY

The 8.07pm kick off time for Origin is just too late for a midweek game.

Why can’t we have the game starting an hour earlier given it does not back on to a weekend or a public holiday?

It just ends too late for many of the younger and older rugby league lovers.

For years it’s been all about doing what’s best for the TV executives.

But over the last decade we’ve also seen Channel Nine’s Origin audience drop by more than one million viewers.

Surely it’s time for a kick off time rethink.

Fans pack the Adelaide Oval for Origin 1. Picture: Emma Brasier

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WALSH NOT JUST A PRETTY FACE

The Blues promised they would go out to target Reece Walsh and they certainly did that.

But you could only marvel at the young Queenslander’s courage under fire.

We already knew what a freakishly talented player he was. But he sure backed that up with toughness in what was another Queensland Origin miracle.

Can you imagine leaping into the air to try and take one of those towering bombs under with a line of defenders trying to rip you apart?

To top it off, Walsh came up with a pearler of a pass with that silky no-look cutout for Selwyn Cobbo’s 58th minute try to put Queensland back in front.

What a player.

HAMMER DELIVERS ON BILLY’S BIG CALL

Billy Slater copped a stack of criticism for his call to bring in Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow over Queensland Origin veteran Dane Gagai.

He was blasted for a lack of loyalty.

But Slater was proven to be spot on with the call with the ‘Hammer’ absolutely brilliant to emerge as the Maroons’ two-try hero.

There was understandable concern about the fact he’d played limited time at centre after taking over at fullback this year for the Dolphins.

But he not only handled it on the game’s biggest stage. he soared.

HAMMER TIME! 💥

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— NRL on Nine (@NRLonNine) May 31, 2023

MARTIN MADE FOR ORIGIN

How tough is Liam Martin?

The tearaway Panthers backrower had only been back a couple of games before Brad Fittler threw him a NSW jumper.

And in the opening 40 minutes he showed exactly why he is made for Origin.

After coming off the bench, Martin changed the game.

Not only did he score a terrific try running a great line off Jarome Luai.

But it was some brutal shots that were just as inspiring for the Blues, with Martin really rocking a few Queenslanders including one monstrous shot on Lindsay Collins.

CLEARY CAN HOLD HIS HEAD HIGH

Nathan Cleary wasn’t the reason NSW lost the game.

The halfback will cop his share of criticism for the Blues loss and that goes with the territory.

Up until laying on a magnificent crossfield kick for Stephen Crichton’s try it’s fair to say the NSW halfback had been good without being great.

But the kick for Crichton’s try was pin point perfection.

Then Cleary nailed the sideline conversion to put the Blues ahead 18-16 leading into the final frantic minutes.

In the end, it didn’t matter because the Blues blew it.

But it wasn’t Cleary that cost them.

Originally published as State of Origin 1, The Tackle: James Tedesco under pressure to retain NSW Blues’ spot