State of Origin 2022: Maroons’ silent assassin Selwyn Cobbo ready to blow NSW Blues away
Selwyn Cobbo has been short on words in Maroons camp, but his actions on the training field have convinced his teammates he is primed to torment the Blues on his Origin debut.
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Selwyn Cobbo is the “silent assassin” that is ready to commit Blue murder.
Queensland’s most exciting backline prospect since Greg Inglis will be unleashed on NSW on Wednesday night in his State of Origin debut in Sydney.
At only 20, Cobbo has the opportunity to forge a decade-long career in the Maroons jersey and his Origin journey begins on enemy soil at Accor Stadium.
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The indigenous community of Cherbourg, three hours north of Brisbane and home to about 1300 people, will be a sea of maroon on Wednesday night and Cobbo does not want to let his people and state down.
“The whole town will be going off,” Cobbo said. “They will support me every step of the way, as they always have. They support me in everything I do.
“At the start of this year I wrote down a couple of goals. I wanted to make the All Stars and I achieved that. I also wrote down that I wanted to play for the Maroons.
“I didn’t think I would be in the team this year. It’s another goal achieved. It’s exciting.
“I will feel nervous when I run on the field, but at the same time you will see me with the biggest smile on my face.
“Even though it will be challenging and there’s tough times during the game I will still have the biggest smile. I love playing footy, this is my passion.”
After playing seven games in his debut NRL season last year, Cobbo burst out of relative obscurity with a series of scintillating performances for the Brisbane Broncos being too hard to resist for new Queensland coach Billy Slater.
He will make his Origin debut after just 19 NRL games against a NSW team that has won three of the past four series and dominated the Maroons in 2021.
But Cobbo’s teammates have no concerns about the 190cm and 99kg flyer holding his own in rugby league’s toughest arena, even if he barely whispers a word.
“From what I’ve seen in camp, he is the silent assassin,” Maroons hooker Ben Hunt said.
“I’ve heard him say about three or four words in the whole camp so far.
“But as soon as he gets on the footy field he has got a presence. At training he is streaking away for tries and doing everything he needs to do.
“He is that quiet guy that goes about his job and plays good footy.”
With his imposing size, indigenous instinct and athletic ability, Cobbo has earned comparisons with Maroons 32-game great Inglis and Blues weapon Latrell Mitchell.
But it’s Cobbo’s desire to do the hard yards that has impressed Slater and his Queensland teammates the most. They know when the Maroons are under pressure, Cobbo will roll his sleeves up and play the Queensland way.
“He is a talent, he is a freak,” five-eighth Cameron Munster said.
“I don’t want to label him too much compared to other players.
“I admire the things he does in the backfield. A lot of wingers can score great tries from tough spots, but I like the way he gets out of backfield and does the hard stuff.
“We will need that.”
Before his Origin I selection was confirmed, Cobbo spoke about the daunting task ahead of him. A little over twelve months ago, Cobbo was playing reserve grade for Wynnum Manly. on Wednesday night, he will be running out in front of 80,000 Blues fans baying for Maroon blood that have been starved of Origin football since one game in 2020.
It’s as intimidating as rugby league gets and the Blues will do him no favours on the field, but Cobbo insists he will not let Queensland down in the toughest test of his career.
“I’m always up for a challenge and that would be a big challenge for me,” he said.
“Being able to represent my state and where I come from would be amazing.
“It would be a step up but if I make the team I will be ready.
“I’m not going to lie, I will be pretty scared, but I will be up for it.”
Inside Renouf, Bennett’s meeting with Cobbo
-Robert Craddock
Broncos great Steve Renouf knew his old coach Wayne Bennett would fall for Selwyn Cobbo but has warned the master mentor “you can’t have him.’’
As Cobbo prepares for his State of Origin debut on Wednesday Renouf revealed he and Dolphins coach Bennett spoke about the youngster’s incredible talent during a conversation at a recent wedding.
“I said what do you think about Selwyn and he said “I love him’’ but I said “well you can’t have him,’’ Renouf said.
“It was quite funny. We were having an intimate little conversation as the wedding was about to start and I knew Wayne would love him because he has always loved Indigenous players. His theory is they have something you cannot coach.’’
It has been reported wing sensation Cobbo, who like Renouf hails from the South Burnett, is being chased by 14 clubs but it is expected he will re-sign for the Broncos.
He is contracted with Brisbane until the end of the 2023 season which means he cannot field offers from rival clubs until November 1 this year.
Cobbo, who turned 20 on Sunday, faces a stern test of his mettle against the Blues who have noted statistic he has made 25 errors in the opening 12 rounds, the worst of any player in the competition.
It is expected that Nathan Cleary will pepper Cobbo with bombs even though he has a solid record taking them and Renouf feels this tactic could play into Queensland’s hands.
“They will probably target him but that can be fraught with danger. Sometimes players enjoy that.
“If you keep giving him ball and he gets confidence it could work against them.
“He wants the ball in his hands. It probably irks him to be on the wing but that is where he has to be at the moment. It would be harder for him if they kept the ball away from him.
“I did not play Origin until I was 21 so he is younger than I was and he is really confident. He loves and knows his footy.’’
“Selwyn is such a quiet kid but he is so confident of his own ability. He doesn’t shy away from contact which is a typical Cherbourg boy to be honest. He likes to clash. He will mix it with them.
Former Origin coach Phil Gould said on Channel Nine last week he feared Cobbo had been chosen too early and could be vulnerable in defence.
“I think under pressure at a different level...(it) can be quite telling at different stages of the game,’’ Gould said.
“That’s where he’s going to be targeted, that’s where he’s going to be found out.
“Not so much worried about him in the air, not so much worried about him bringing it back, he’s not scared, he’s a big boy, he’s going to handle himself physically.
“But the way these blokes play and the way they move the ball these days and the speed at which they do it and the accuracy of their passing.
“When you’re playing against James Tedesco, Jarome Luai– they are going to target him down that side of the field.”
How Cobbo’s bravery set him on path to Origin
–Peter Badel
He is the Queensland Origin young gun that was almost left out in the cold.
Selwyn Cobbo may be the hottest backline prospect in the NRL ahead of his Origin debut this Wednesday night, but there was a time when he was desperate for somebody to take notice.
The Broncos winger farewells his teenage years on Sunday when he celebrates his 20th birthday.
A maiden Queensland jumper is a fair present, but the best gift of all was the phone call he received as a 16-year-old from an NRL player agent which helped realise his boyhood dream of playing for the Broncos.
“I was in Mackay watching this kid playing on the left wing for the Central Crows under-16s,” leading agent Tas Bartlett of PSM said.
“They got flogged by the Marlins by 20 or 30 points, but I just remember this one Central Crows kid running the ball off his tryline.
“He was getting smashed by the defence, but he just kept coming back at them.
“I thought, ‘This bloke is one of the toughest young players I have ever seen in my life’.”
Bartlett made some urgent inquiries. His name was Selwyn Cobbo, a gangly teenager with Indigenous blood who has since gone from Cherbourg bush unknown to Queensland Origin debutant in the space of three years.
“Scouts often look at the flash stuff but Selwyn’s bravery impressed me that day,” Bartlett said. “There would have been 40 agents at that game but there was only one other manager who showed interest in Selwyn.
“The way he moved and his toughness reminded me of Latrell Mitchell (Souths and NSW superstar).
“I managed to get in touch with his parents. A few weeks later, I jumped in the car and drove to Murgon for a meeting with Selwyn and his parents at a cafe and I signed him that day.
“I had no doubt he could play NRL. I’ve watched thousands of young players, but Selwyn had something special I hadn’t seen before.”
Within 12 months of snaring Cobbo, the baby-faced flyer was packing his bags to move to Brisbane for a stint in the Broncos Academy.
Cobbo is no stranger to making a splash. Two years ago, he made history off the field, becoming the first Indigenous school captain at Murgon State High.
In the school’s 75-year existence, no Indigenous boy had risen to the prestigious role. Then Cobbo, in his shy, reluctant, understated way, broke the mould.
Now the 100kg backline phenom is primed to blaze a trail in the Origin arena, underpinned by life lessons imparted by his father Shamus during conversations around the family dinner table.
“His mum has been a huge influence on his life,” Cobbo’s father Shamus said.
“The two big words in our household were discipline and respect. If you aren’t disciplined in life, you don’t go too far. And we would talk to our kids about treating people the way you would like to be treated.
“Selwyn has got to where he has because of his discipline.
“I told Selwyn from a young age don’t think you are better than anyone, otherwise someone bigger and better and stronger will come along and sit you on your arse.
“I always said to him let someone else tell you how good you are. Don’t go around telling people how good you think you are.”
Cobbo’s form alone this season is speaking volumes. He has 10 tries from 12 games and has ignited Brisbane’s right flank with an energy, power and fearless running that has assured Queensland coach Billy Slater he will not fear running into the teeth of the Blues defence.
“There was a moment a few weeks ago where Selwyn was in the in-goal and he just pinned the ears back and basically said to the defence, if you are good enough to stop me, good luck to you,” Slater said.
“He just has the mentality when he gets the ball and I like it.
“It was a great phone call to make to Selwyn (telling him he was in the Queensland team). He has lit the game up and has so much excitement. There are parts of Selwyn’s game that are still raw, but he has as much talent as anyone.
“Most of all, he is a fierce competitor.”
Coates’ crazy Origin recall and why he left the Broncos
It was the biggest selection scandal in State of Origin history – and opened the door for the Queensland rebirth of sacked Maroons winger Xavier Coates.
The in-form flyer is Queensland’s X-factor in Origin I this Wednesday night with the Blues wary of his 194cm frame which played a role in the sacking of NSW winger Josh Addo-Carr, the man Coates succeeded at Melbourne.
The Blues have chosen the taller Daniel Tupou to combat Coates’ aerial power, which has gone to new heights since an off-season move from the Broncos to Melbourne that has netted 11 tries from as many games.
But it was the Ronaldo Mulitalo Origin eligibility furore last season that equally helped reignite Coates’ career.
The 21-year-old was axed after Queensland’s 50-6 drubbing in Game One and when Reece Walsh was a late scratching with injury 24 hours before Origin II, Maroons selectors handed Mulitalo his debut.
But on match morning, Mulitalo was sensationally withdrawn after it emerged he was not eligible for Queensland, prompting the Maroons to send a desperate SOS for Coates to fill the void.
Coates rushed from Broncos training to Suncorp Stadium for Origin II, played well in Game Three, and now returns for the 2022 series opener primed to cement his place as Queensland’s senior winger.
“I’ve got my chance again and I don’t want to let it go,” Coates said ahead of Origin I at Sydney’s Accor Stadium.
“It was a pretty crazy experience what happened with Ronaldo.
“I was dropped, then I came in for Game Two when Mulitalo got pulled out.
“The night before (Origin II) I got a call saying there were some issues going on with Ronaldo and I felt really bad for him because he is a top player and he really deserved that Origin spot.
“It was disheartening not to see him get his opportunity, but on the morning of Origin, I got told I will have to play because Ronaldo is not eligible.
“I was pretty shocked. I was at training with the Broncos about to go on the training paddock and suddenly I was told to go home and get to Suncorp Stadium to play an Origin game for Queensland.
“It was pretty good in a way that it happened so fast. Sometimes you can think too much about big games and get caught up emotionally, but I didn’t have time to worry about that, I just really appreciated the call-up again.”
Coates said he was desperate to atone for Queensland’s horror 2021 campaign. They were facing a 3-0 rout before delivering a face-saving 20-18 victory in the Game Three dead rubber.
“It was a hard series,” he said.
“I’m reasonably new to the Origin arena so it was tough to go through that.
“The title was lost in two games, that’s not what we are about in Queensland.
“In game three, we showed some pride and this year we want to come out swinging from Game One.”
Coates dropped a bombshell on the Broncos by quitting the club last season but says his superb form for the Storm has vindicated his decision.
“It was really hard to leave the Broncos,” he said.
“It was nothing to do with the state of the Broncos, I just felt it was a good opportunity for me to go down to one of the best clubs in the game and learn from a great coach like Craig Bellamy.
“I felt it was the best decision for myself. Sometimes it might seem selfish, but you have to look out for yourself in this game and I felt it was the best opportunity to join Melbourne and learn from the best.
“I have no regrets at all. They are a top-notch sporting club in Australia and it feels like such a professional, family club. The boys have been really welcoming. Their training attitude is really tough but I’m loving what it has done for my game.”
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