Campo’s Corner: Why Payne Haas shouldn’t play Origin I
Why Payne Haas shouldn’t play in Origin I, the strange collapse of the Dragons and some of rugby league’s biggest ever smashings - it’s all in this week’s edition of Campo’s Corner.
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We are lost in the long grass of Origin bolter season and it’s an equally exhilarating and infuriating time to be alive.
Names are thrown into selection contention and discarded just as quickly. Dynasties rise and fall on the back of a single injury. The debate around the New South Wales halves is re-litigated again and again and the takes get as hot as the surface of the sun.
There’s still some fun debates to be had. Could Josh Morris, an Origin hero, rise from the ashes and fill in at right centre for the suddenly injury hit Blues?
Maybe Daly Cherry-Evans, exiled from the Maroons for so long, ends up as the new skipper in what would be a truly incredible turn. How can Brad Fittler find room for Cody Walker and Luke Keary while not totally destroying Nathan Cleary’s future prospects and acknowledging that despite his extraordinarily poor form James Maloney is the Blues player with arguably the greatest line of credit?
Nothing will be set in stone until the two teams are announced, but there’s one potential selection that begs addressing – the case of exciting Broncos rookie Payne Haas.
Haas is 19 years old and one of the best prospects in the league. His workrate and production has been terrific in the five games he’s played this season and he’s justifying the huge wraps he attracted as a junior. There is no doubt that Haas could be a long term player for the Blues if he continues this type of form.
But Haas has played eight first grade games. If he’s selected for Game I, as has been mooted, he will have played all of 10.
This wouldn’t make him the least experienced Origin player of all time. Back in the dawn days of Origin football plenty of Queenslanders were picked straight from the old Brisbane competition.
Rex Wright and Phil Duke were both picked for the Blues from bush footy sides in the 1980s, although both later came to teams in the Sydney premiership. Paul Field was picked straight from the Cootamundra Bulldogs in 1983 and is the only Blues player in history never to have played first grade.
In 1990 Queensland picked Willie Carne after six first grade games. In 2002 they picked Brent Tate after 14. In 1995 they famously picked Ben Ikin after just four.
This is not that. The bush boys played in a time when the gap between country and city rugby league was far closer than it is now. When Ikin and Tate played, Queensland had no choice and Carne played in a different era, three decades removed from the modern game.
By their very nature, representative teams are supposed to be a reward, something that is to be earned through consistent good performances.
While Haas has been impressive this season, at the time of writing he has played five games for a team that is badly struggling. If he is catapulted into Origin so early and still so unproven it would undermine what representative jerseys are supposed to stand for.
Given the sheer amount of players at their disposal it should be incredibly difficult to crack the Blues squad. Five good weeks in the earliest days of a player’s career should not be enough to earn a start at the highest level of rugby league.
What does it say when six good weeks with a bad side are enough to leapfrog players who have been pushing for an Origin berth for years? If Haas gets a run ahead of the likes of Junior Paulo, Jordan McLean, Matt Lodge, Dale Finucane, Tevita Pangai Jnr and Cameron Murray, all far more proven performers at the highest level, then they have a right to ask what’s the point of all this; why even aim at playing Origin and make the requisite sacrifices if a rookie with 10 games to his name can jump the queue on the back of, and this can’t be stressed enough, half a dozen games in an underperforming team.
Naysayers can point to that most meaningless of rugby league cliches “if you’re good enough, you’re old enough” but that doesn’t hold water nor does the equally empty-headed “well, he’ll be there for the next 10 years so we may as well pick him now”.
Tomorrow is not today and representative jerseys should be earned on consistent, regular performance, not given for five good games.
The best parallel that can be drawn to a potential Haas debut is Sione Mata’utia, who was picked for Australia after a mere seven first grade games in 2014. Mata’utia is, and probably always will be, the youngest player ever selected for the Kangaroos and it put an impossible burden of expectation on his career.
The talk at the time was that Mata’utia, who’d scored seven tries in the seven games he’d played, was a special one, a can’t miss, a once in a generation talent who’d be a Kangaroo for years, so why not get started now?
Mata’utia played three Tests in that tournament and was totally dominated by New Zealand’s Manu Vatuvei as the Kiwis won the final. Fast forward five years and Mata’utia is still only 22 but hasn’t come close to fulfilling the impossible expectations with which he was saddled. How could he? Where can anyone go after being catapulted into the game’s elite arenas at such a young age?
This column is not intended as a slight at Haas, who clearly has a huge future, or Mata’utia, who was set up to fail by the selectors. If Haas is still playing like this in 12 months time then by all means pick him. He will have proven he can do it against the best players in the world for a full season and that’s enough.
But right now Haas simply does not have enough runs on the board and runs on the board have to matter, otherwise there’s no point having them. Finucane has played in five grand finals and was a crucial cog in three of them, Murray emerged as one of the Rabbitohs best players in the last 12 months, Paulo is in career best form and probably would have already played Origin if he’d stayed in Sydney his entire career.
In his first series as Blues coach Brad Fittler managed to impress upon his players the prestige and the pride of the New South Wales jersey, something he understands more than most given he’s the state’s most capped player.
But more than anyone, Fittler should understand the dangers of throwing in Haas too early because 29 years ago it was Fittler, all of 18 with 11 games to his name, who was catapulted into Origin football. To this day he’s the second youngest Origin player ever after Ikin.
Fittler had at least played in two semi-final matches the previous season but he himself has admitted how badly he handled the adulation that came with it.
Haas may well become an Origin stalwart for the Blues. But there’s nothing wrong with waiting for him to prove it for more than five weeks.
Maybe Haas is what he’s shown himself to be, maybe he is the best forward prospect to come along since Jason Taumalolo. But maybe he’s not. There is no reason the Blues shouldn’t wait and see if that’s actually true.
THE TITANS ARE NOT GOOD ENOUGH
Gold Coast should be thankful Penrith are struggling so badly at the moment because the Titans should absolutely be copping as much heat.
The Titans boast a 2-7 record after nine rounds, the same as the Bulldogs and the Panthers, but arguably have more talent than either team. In Ash Taylor, AJ Brimson, Jai Arrow, Brian Kelly and Jarrod Wallace they have the nucleus of a good side, even without Nathan Peats and Ryan James. Their 26-18 loss to Cronulla to open Magic Round was a game they never should have lost and they have nobody to blame but their own terrible choices.
Tyrone Peachey’s decision making, both with the ball and in defence, were simply not good enough for a player of his experience and stature. The incumbent Origin utility has underwhelmed all season and it seems the constant shuffling between positions he’s endured this season is finally catching up with him.
But no player has been more disappointing than Ash Taylor, who has totally failed to improve since his breakout season in 2016. Taylor has more talent than most halves dare dream of, the kind of talent that could make him one of the best halfbacks in the league, but he just doesn’t control his side or dominate matches in that kind of fashion.
The Titans were a trendy pick to contend for the top eight which was fair enough – they have the players to challenge for the finals and their combinations are reasonably entrenched. Their failures early this season make a trip to the playoffs extremely unlikely and the drums will be beating for Garth Brennan before long.
DRAGONS FALL DOWN AGAIN
For the second week in a row the Dragons held a two-score lead at halftime but collapsed down the stretch. Last week it was Parramatta and this week the Warriors and the Red V are now staring down a three-match losing streak and a tricky trip to Mudgee to take on the resurgent Knights. With the representative period on the horizon, and the club is sure to have many players involved, they can’t afford to drop many more games from winning positions.
Paul McGregor’s use of his forwards at Suncorp was quite the headscratcher. James Graham, the definition of a warhorse, played 66 minutes straight, Paul Vaughan was off for what seemed an enormous stretch of the second half, Luciano Leilua played a huge 52 minutes off the bench while the reliable and underrated Jeremy Latimore played just 12.
Even without Jack de Belin, who may well return in the coming weeks, the Dragon’s forward pack is their strength and it’s strong because it’s deep. In Graham, Vaughan, Frizell, Tariq Sims, Blake Lawrie and Leilua they have power, speed, toughness, skill, aggression, the whole deal. Juggling those players to get the best out of them is a delicate dance but some decisions are self-evident.
Vaughan is the team’s most important yardage man – he needs to be on the field for as long as possible. Graham is still a very good player and is undoubtedly opposed to the very idea of ever leaving the field but the club has the depth to make his game more about quality than quantity at this stage of his career. Leilua is promising but can make bad decisions when fatigued while Latimore is a consummate pro with a great offload and can be trusted to play longer stints.
This is to say nothing of Euan Aitken, who was catapulted in at centre for Zac Lomax in the final 20 minutes and watched on helplessly as the Warriors had a saloon passage down the Dragons right hand side.
It’s easy to blame Ben Hunt after he grassed a drop out in the closing stages but the Dragons scored 18 points in the first 22 minutes and didn’t trouble the scoreboard again.
McGregor is blessed with plenty of talent upfront, enough for the Dragons to hold their own with any pack in the league, but he has to find a finder balance or risk watching the late fades continue.
RUN UP THE SCORE
And now, to celebrate Melbourne’s absolute horsewhipping of Parramatta, here’s some of rugby league’s most ridiculously large wins and the things I know about them.
St George 91 def Canterbury 6
The biggest win in premiership history, the only time a team has cracked 90 points in a match and if it were played under four point tries it would have been 110-6. The Dragons scored 19 tries in all and put on 68 points in the second half with Les Griffin scoring 36 points on his own from 15 goals, still a premiership record, and two tries.
It was Canterbury’s fifth first grade game but things did improve the next week – they went down in an 87-7 nailbiter against the Roosters.
Australia 110 def Russia 4
Ryan Girdler kicked 17 goals from 19 attempts and scored three tries for a total of 36 points and the Australians gave Russia the mother of all hidings in the 2000 World Cup. The Russians got on the scoresheet through winger Matt Donovan, who dove in behind Wendell Sailor to claim a Robert Campbell kick in the 18th minute and score. The finest moment in Russian rugby league? Given Campbell was a prop I’m prepared to say yes.
Made up mostly of part timers the Russians were down 50-4 at halftime and despite coach Eugene Klebanov’s best efforts things didn’t get much better in the second half. Russia have yet to return to the World Cup.
Huddersfield 142 def Blackpool Gladiators 4
For a time, Huddersfield victory over Blackpool in the 1994 Regal Trophy was a top flight rugby league record. Former Manly centre Greg Austin was playing for the Giants and crossed for nine tries. Phil Hewell and Laurent Lucchese could only manage 19 goals between them from 26 attempts, which means it could have been 156-4 if they brought their kicking boots.
GOLDEN HOMBRE
Is there anything more thrilling than when a big man gets into the clear and attempts an ill-advised dummy, or perhaps a chip kick?
Is there anything greater than when a large lad decides the time has come for him to show the world the ball skills he knows lurk deep within?
Is there anything that lifts the spirit more than a hefty fellow crashing across the stripe for his second NRL try in his 179th first grade match?
I say no, and to honour these big fellas each and every week of the year, which many have dubbed #BigManSeason, we hand out The Golden Hombre, named after Todd Payten, the biggest halfback God ever created.
The only real failing of Magic Weekend, which I reviewed in full earlier this week, was the lack of Golden Hombre related activities. #BigManSeason continues unabated however and this week’s winner is Paul Gallen, who took the final shot at goal in Cronulla’s 26-18 win over the Titans, shooshing the Suncorp Stadium crowd as he did so.
As Gallen desperately tries to stave off his inevitable ascension past Scott Prince as the all time leader in first grade losses he can rest easy knowing he’s gotten farewell kicks for City, New South Wales and at least one for Cronulla and nailed them all. You have to respect it.
A GUY YOU SHOULD KNOW
Moeaki Fotuaika made his NRL debut at 18 last year and acquitted himself well in his 16 matches and the Titans youngster has continued to improve this season, showing himself to be one of the best up and coming props in the league.
Fotuaika has been named to start this week over big money recruit Shannon Boyd, a deserved reward for his form. A powerful runner with good footwork, Fotuaika should be a long-term player for the Titans and has been one of their few bright spots so far this year.
Originally published as Campo’s Corner: Why Payne Haas shouldn’t play Origin I
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