State of Origin Tackle: Paul Crawley reveals his Game 3 likes and dislikes

He may not have won the Wally Lewis medal, but there was one player who stood above both packs this series, writes Paul Crawley. ORIGIN LIKES AND DISLIKES.

Brad Fittler. Picture: Brendon Thorne/Getty

Paul Crawley reveals his State of Origin Game III likes and dislikes from NSW’s win over Queensland.

GAME 3 DISLIKES

WALKER SHOWS WHY BLUES GOT IT SO WRONG

Before we start patting Brad Fittler on the back for getting the team right for game three, the question that should be asked is why the bloody hell did it take three games to get Cody Walker in the team?

Freddy’s supporters will say that’s easy to say in hindsight.

Let’s be fair dinkum.

Walker has been the best ball playing five-eighth at club level for the past two years, and plenty of people have been screaming for him to get a shot.

Finally he did and didn’t he turn on a show, as he single-handedly unlocked the NSW attack in the dominant 24-10 victory.

Remember, when the Blues have dominated in recent years it was when Latrell Mitchell and Tom Trbojevic were starring.

Brad Fittler presents Cody Walker the Player of the Match award. Picture: Brendon Thorne/Getty

Neither played here, and it still didn’t hold the Blues back.

Josh Addo-Carr, James Tedesco, Bradman Best had a field day.

It was wonderful to watch.

It’s just a shame we had to wait until the dead rubber to see it.

Fittler would have been kicking himself sitting up in his coaching box as Walker cut Queensland to pieces every time he went near the ball.

Walker will be 34 when Origin rolls around next year.

You just hope whoever is coaching picks on form, and ignores Walker’s birth certificate.

BLUES PAY FOR SELECTION DEBACLE

Want to hear a crazy stat?

It’s unbelievable only four NSW players who started game one ended up starting game three, while the Queenslanders had nine.

All up, NSW used 28 players to Queensland’s 22 throughout the three games, with the Maroons’ only changes forced through injury or suspension.

You can’t pick an Origin team like it’s a game of SuperCoach.

Some club coaches don’t use as many players throughout an entire NRL season.

So when the NSW hierarchy sit down to do their review, let’s hope they don’t sit and clap their hands about how they finished the series on a high.

What they need is a ‘please explain’ from Fittler and chief selection advisor Greg Alexander as to what they were thinking with some of the bizarre selections.

It was just madness from the get-go.

The shield evaded Brad Fittler. Picture: Brendon Thorne/Getty

GUTHO MADE TO WAIT

You had to feel for Clint Gutherson who didn’t get on the field until the final three minutes.

It basically means the Blues again played one man down for almost the entire match.

It’s like Freddy goes in with a plan to use his 17th man as basically an 18th man.

He just doesn’t get the interchange.

GAME THREE LIKES

TEDDY SAVES BEST FOR LAST

If that is to be James Tedesco’s last Origin, the Blues skipper certainly saved his best for last this series.

Teddy was way below his best in the opening two games but he had a blinder in this one.

He finished with 17 runs for 223m and nine tackle busts and just tried his heart out.

He’s been a champion player and it’s been sad to see him struggle this series.

But he deserved that performance for the effort he has produced in all three games.

MOSES UPSTAGES CLEARY

If there was another Origin to be played next week and Nathan Cleary was fit, NSW just could not drop Mitchell Moses to rush the Panthers star straight back into the team.

There’s no question that at club level Cleary has been the game’s best halfback in recent seasons.

But he was well below his best in game one in Adelaide. While Moses has really put up his hand to challenge Cleary for the NSW No. 7 jumper next year in the two games since.

It will make for an interesting debate heading into next year’s series.

ALL HEART, ALL GRUNT

If there was one forward that stood above both packs this series it has been hard working Queensland prop Lindsay Collins.

And that bulldozing charge just before halftime that led to Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow’s fabulous try just sums this bloke up.

There was nothing pretty about Collins’ charge. It was just all heart and grunt to get as many metres as he could and backing that up with a fast play-the-ball.

Collins never gets the wraps of the likes of Payne Haas, Tino Fa’asuamaleaui and the likes, but he’s dead-set made for the tough stuff of Origin.

The Greatest State of Origin Editions

The Greatest State of Origin Editions

Originally published as State of Origin Tackle: Paul Crawley reveals his Game 3 likes and dislikes