Monday Buzz: Nathan Cleary, James Maloney can lead Blues State of Origin revival
THIS year will be the first time since 2005 that NSW will go into a State of Origin series with the superior playmakers.
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AT long last the NSW Blues have a halves combination to dominate State of Origin for years.
Nathan Cleary and James Maloney secured their Blues jerseys with magnificent performances in Penrith’s demolition of St George Illawarra on Saturday night.
Ever since Joey Johns, Freddy Fittler and Laurie Daley retired, the Maroons have dominated in the halves through Darren Lockyer, Johnathan Thurston and Cooper Cronk.
Every year it was the same. We matched them everywhere but game management.
Not anymore.
This year will be the first time since Johns retired in 2005 that the Blues will go into an Origin series with the superior playmakers.
Not that Ben Hunt and Cameron Munster are mugs.
It’s the way Cleary and Maloney so stylishly combined on Saturday night to engineer a mighty 28-2 victory over the Dragons to end 12 rounds of fierce debate over the Blues’ six and seven jerseys.
MORE MONDAY BUZZ: Weekend highlights, lowlights
Ever since we lost Mitchell Pearce with his pectoral injury, it’s an issue that has had more newspaper space than the form guides.
Should it be Luke Brooks at the Wests Tigers? Luke Keary or Blake Green? Even Mitchell Moses.
Finally, it’s been settled.
Maloney has been there before but Cleary will launch his Origin career at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Wednesday week. What a player.
To come back so strongly and so positively after a long knee injury break is the sign of a young footballer who is ready for the biggest stage.
Cleary has the lot. At 20 years of age he performs like a halfback with years more experience.
He has the football brain to organise a team and its structure plus the individual skill, speed and vision to create havoc on his own.
Like the first try against the Dragons. Just pure football brilliance.
Where he played what was in front of him without being shackled to a game plan. Ten runs for 62 metres and three tackle busts. You look at other halves over the weekend.
Adam Reynolds. Two runs. Kodi Nikorima. Two runs for a miserable five metres. Even Cooper Cronk. Just three runs.
Cleary is the complete package.
The sort of playmaker who could dominate Origin football for the next 10 years.
Maloney has also taken his game to a new level this year.
The ill-disciplined five-eighth who gave away more penalties than any other player in the previous two seasons now has his act together.
The phone call from Fittler a couple of weeks ago was a timely warning.
Lift your game or you’ll miss out. It has worked wonders.
In the end, Cleary and Maloney made the job for Fittler and his selection advisers easy.
No one deserves their NSW jerseys more than the Panthers duo.