Kevin Walters v Brad Fittler: Coaching contrasts to define State of Origin series

THE sides for Origin I are a reflection of the men who picked them, Maroons mentor Kevin Walters and Blues boss Brad Fittler. Both are admirable in different ways.

STATE of Origin has seen some coaching contrasts but none quite like this … Flighty Freddy versus Careful Kev.

In the red corner is Kevin Walters, the down-to-earth railway worker’s son who once said of himself “mate, I’m from Ipswich, we don’t have smoke and mirrors up there’’.

Walters picks his teams slowly, logically with a spoonful of loyalty and a pinch of forward planning.

And in the blue corner there is Brad “Freddy’’ Fittler, a man who has llamas for pets, who is shamelessly left field and who once said he wanted to pick players he enjoyed watching.

The sides for Origin I are a reflection of the men who picked them.

Both are admirable in different ways.

Maroons coach Kevin Walters and Blues coach Brad Fittler.

It’s steadiness versus adventure, continuity versus conjure, reliability versus some dice rolling.

Fittler had a theory that the scar tissue of 11 series losses in the past 12 years had mentally immobilised a host of players who were solid performers but just could not get the job done.

So out went the likes of Aaron Woods, Josh Dugan and Blake Ferguson and in come a group who have played just 39 Origins between them, three less than Cameron Smith played in his career.

Fittler has picked the sort of team Blues fans often choose the morning after they have lost the competition decider, when they are angry and adventurous.

Fittler is not angry but he is shamelessly adventurous. He will not die wondering.

This Blues team should not be underestimated if only because they have perhaps the fastest backline ever seen in State of Origin football.

James Roberts and Josh Addo-Carr are flying machines and James Tedesco not far behind them.

NSW coach Brad Fittler will not die wondering. Picture: Toby Zerna

If Queensland doze off at any point trouble beckons. At some point in this series NSW will score a try in which we will say “where did that come from?’’

But if the Maroons can repel the Blues in Game One it will be a major victory because it will turn the Blues against themselves and trigger debate over whether Fittler went too hard too early and left too much blood on the selection room floor.

Walters is an interesting study as a coach.

Last year he choked up with emotion when announcing the omission of Billy Slater and he pokes fun at his own soft nature and how he could shed a tear as a boy over nothing more than the wrong number coming up in a board game.

But sentimentality should not be confused with softness for he never runs from the tough calls.

Walters personally takes on responsibility for ringing sacked players and his words on Monday confirmed that conversations with axed stars Darius Boyd and Matt Scott were, shall we say, filled with plenty of spirit.

Maroons coach Kevin Walters never runs from the tough calls.

Despite winning the past two series Walters enters Origin with much to prove. For some reason he always seems to have to prove himself.

Only last week he and his close friends were reportedly jolted by news that the Broncos planned to offer Craig Bellamy a four-year deal to follow Wayne Bennett despite Walters reportedly being told he was the pea for the job.

If Walters never got the chance to coach his beloved Broncos his coaching career would not seem fulfilled.

A win in this series could take him a significant step closer to his heart’s desire but as he knows well rugby league is a game of smoke and mirrors.

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Originally published as Kevin Walters v Brad Fittler: Coaching contrasts to define State of Origin series