Matty Johns: How Dylan Edwards’ bounced back from a horror form slump

Dylan Edwards is a very easy person to admire, because every piece of praise he’s received he’s had to work for, MATTY JOHNS reveals how the NSW fullback bounced back from a horror form slump.

It’s nothing to do with a lowering of effectiveness, Dylan Edwards has replaced James Tedesco as NSW fullback because the Blues need a change of formula.

If you continue to pick the same players in the same key positions, then the same style will develop and most probably the same result.

Edwards is a very easy person to admire, because every piece of praise he’s received, he’s had to work hard for.

Too often, praise is given on potential.

There are players in the game who have built a career on a couple of strong performances.

Dylan Edwards has more than earned his Blues jersey. Picture: Matt King/Getty Images

They keep finding new clubs because their new coach remembers a game they played a few seasons earlier, and believes he will be the coach to unlock that potential.

Potential gets coaches sacked and fans frustrated.

There’s not a thing flaky about Edwards; his class and consistency are the result of having the mental fortitude to work his way back from the brink.

THE FALL OF 2019

It’s hard to imagine now, but in 2019 Edwards looked a broken young man. It began in Penrith’s Round 3 game against the Melbourne Storm in Bathurst, in conditions which all fullbacks hate: cold, wet and slippery.

All night, the Storm peppered Edwards with high swirling kicks and, all night, Edwards put them down.

Edwards Error 2

He finished the night with six errors, twice as many as any other player on the field as the Storm ran rampant in a 32-2 thrashing.

It kickstarted an immensely challenging period in Edwards’ career.

His following performances showed that his confidence had been shattered into a 1000 tiny pieces.

He struggled the next round, was moved to the wing a week after that, and was dropped altogether by Round 6.

Dyl Edwards error 1

THE MOMENT THAT ENDS CAREERS

The following week I travelled to Penrith to watch the Panthers play South Sydney, and Edwards was still in reserve grade — playing alongside current Origin teammates Brian To’o, Jarome Luai and Spencer Leniu.

It was tough to watch such a talented player endure such an awful lack of confidence.

Edwards had developed the yips. Each time the ball went in the air, you just knew it was going to hit the ground, either from a drop or from Edwards not even having the confidence to make an attempt to catch it.

Late in the game, Edwards actually ran in a different direction as to not be in the vicinity of the spiralling Steeden.

These type of experiences end careers. Players are unable to muster the mental fortitude to overcome the pain and embarrassment.

But Edwards is different.

Edwards was forced to rebuild his game five years ago. Picture: AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts

REBUILDING A SHATTERED GAME

Watching him closely after that night, I saw him strip his game back completely and rebuild it, bit by bit.

And here he is, thanks to intelligence and toughness. These are the type of players you want in your team, the players you trust, because through the rebuilding process they learn everything about themselves and the type of footballer they are.

Edwards is acutely aware of his strengths and his shortcomings.

In his personal rebuild, Edwards understood what type of football he had to play. In the years where most coaches wanted their fullback to be Billy Slater — lightning-fast sweeping runs to the edge with perfect pass precision — Edwards went the other way.

He dominates the centre field. For the big middle defenders, Edwards is the pain that won’t go away. He is relentless.

He bobs, steps, twists, turns and destroys the opposition big men stationed in the centre.

Nothing fatigues a big man more than a little man making him miss, and Edwards makes them miss in every set of six.

When Edwards starts making metres through the middle, you know the bleeding has begun. And trust me, there’s gonna be plenty of bleeding in State of Origin I at Accor Stadium on Wednesday night.

MADGE’S GAME PLAN REVEALED

Edwards has been in the top-three players for the past three seasons in the NRL. His selection is overdue. and symbolic of new Blues coach Michael Maguire’s mission to reset the New South Wales compass.

In previous series, the Blues have been too sideways, always looking for space on the edge, rather than through the middle. Too pass-centric.

Edwards’ style goes a way to correcting that.

Moving Isaah Yeo to the bench is a smart move for the Blues. Picture: Brendon Thorne/Getty Images

It’s also astute coaching to select Isaah Yeo on the bench. He and Jake Trbojevic play a very similar game, looking for short or sweep passes to find space towards the edges.

Starting Cameron McInnes at 13 will simplify the attack early, with a run, rather than a pass threat.

Maguire has selected a team with a defensive bias, which suits the tricky, slippery conditions of Origin in Sydney and its tendency to be a tough, low-scoring affair.

I’m very confident in this side.

Prediction: NSW by 4

AND ANOTHER THING …

Billy Slater‘s surprise non-selection of David Fifita in the Queensland Origin team has a lot to do with the astute coaching of Michael Maguire.

From their time together at the Storm, Slater and Maguire know each other very well.

Slater knows that one of Maguire’s strengths is designing plays and sequences to expose a team’s — or an individual’s — shortcomings.

Fifita’s attacking ability is second to none, but his defensive application is the reason he’ll be watching game one on the box.