State of Origin: James Tedesco’s Blues selection revives hope across NSW

THE gate is finally open and the onus is now on every NSW player to demand selection next season, writes PAUL KENT.

PAUL KENT

3 min read

July 4, 2016 - 7:30PM

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ONE down, Queensland to go.

James Tedesco gave Laurie Daley no choice but to pick him at fullback despite the solid form of Matt Moylan in the first two Origin games.

It revives hope across NSW.

James Tedesco and Aaron Woods during NSW Blues Origin team announcement. Picture: Gregg Porteous

Finally a door has been kicked down, a new directive written, the Loyalty Program is under review.

The gate is open and the onus is now on every NSW player to demand selection next season.

Who is up for the job?

For years Daley has insisted he wanted players demanding their selection through performance.

Kick the doors down, he said. Force me to pick you.

It was completely reasonable. It was, after all, Origin.

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In the meantime, the Blues adopted a Loyalty Program.

With Queensland already several years in to its decade-long domination Blues officials realised players were playing scared. Conservatively, trying to minimise the damage in the face of defeat. This way, hopefully they could save their position for the next game.

So the Loyalty Program was implemented.

James Tedesco’s Blues selection revives hope across NSW. Picture: Gregg Porteous

Players were picked for Game I and told they were there for the duration. So don’t be nervous about your position, making mistakes, go out and play to win.

Queensland had been long driven by a similar policy of picking players out of form and even out of first grade who would perform like proven stayers once in the Origin arena.

It was done for solid reasons but over time it has become counter-productive for NSW.

It was Catch-22.

Form was no longer the major criteria. Soon, it did not even matter if a player chosen was in form and, sadly, many were not.

All that saved them was the lack of anybody seriously challenging their position, like Tedesco has done with Matt Moylan.

Moylan did not play poorly in either of his two Origins and is unlucky to miss out given recent selections.

But it was the right one. While loyalty had its purpose it must also be remembered that Origin is a representative game and the most deserving player in his position should be considered.

Matt Moylan was unlucky to miss out for the Blues.

It would be small hurt if a player the best in his position got to the end of his career and played little rep football because the coach had a preference for another.

Meanwhile, ignored in all this was Queensland had another, slightly different criteria that went along with their loyalty program.

They picked the players they knew NSW did not want to face.

It’s a philosophy that goes all the way back to the 1980s when the Maroons waited nervously to see what combination the Blues came up with on selection day.

If Brett Kenny was named at centre a muffled cheer went up in the Queensland boardroom.

If Kenny was named at five-eighth they shuffled their shoes.

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The Queenslanders long knew that Kenny was the only player that could ever regularly outpoint Wally Lewis at five-eighth.

Only problem was NSW didn’t. More often Blues selectors outsmarted themselves and pushed Kenny to centre to accommodate someone at five-eighth.

Tedesco is that player now. Queensland don’t want him getting the ball. They don’t want to see him there at all and now a lot of their thinking will go towards stopping him.