State of Origin 2022: NSW Blues’ to target man with most missed tackles, Maroons hooker Ben Hunt
Ben Hunt may be leading the Dally M’s for 2022, but he’s also leading a highly unwanted stat and will no doubt be a target for the NSW Blues.
NRL
Don't miss out on the headlines from NRL. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Queensland hooker Ben Hunt leads the Dally M Medal halfway through this year’s NRL season but there’s another list the St George Illawarra star topped going into round 13 – and it’s a shocker.
Hunt missed more tackles than any other player in the NRL after 12 rounds – the worst record of all 480 players.
Given he will be the Maroons starting hooker, Dragons halfback Hunt can expect some heavy-duty traffic in State of Origin I this Wednesday night.
And his missed tackle reputation will jump out at NSW’s ferocious forwards with former NSW hooker and captain Max Krilich predicting Payne Haas, Junior Paulo and Reagan Campbell-Gillard – 357kg of raw Blues beef - would target and terrorise Hunt.
“They’ll know Hunt’s defensive inadequacies,” Krilich said. “If it’s going to be shown up it will be shown up in State of Origin.”
Stream every game of every round of the 2022 NRL Telstra Premiership Season Live & Ad-Break Free During Play on Kayo. New to Kayo? Try 14-days free now.
Ex-NSW skipper and dummy half Ben Elias added: “Hunt’s missed tackles – it’s the big elephant in the room.”
Hunt will be hunted.
He has missed 54 tackles this year. Hunt has completed 153 tackles, meaning his missed tackle ratio sits at a whopping 26 per cent – easily the highest in the NRL.
Hunt has missed eight more tackles than the Roosters’ Sam Walker, who has a vastly superior efficiency rating despite copping criticism for his defensive work this season.
There is no doubt Hunt has been impressive this season for the Dragons. He leads the Dally M Medal on 19 points, two clear of Penrith’s Isaah Yeo.
His defensive flaws however will be exposed in the high pressure and physically demanding Origin arena.
“The statistics are obvious - they don’t lie. You can’t defy the stats. You can’t run away from the stats and these are the stats … boom,” said Elias. “Hunt is a tough bugger but everyone can be ‘got at’.
“Hunt’s missed tackles is the big elephant in the room. NSW will take advantage of it, no doubt about it.
“Freddy Fittler is an astute coach and surrounded by a first class coaching staff. They will know about this. It’s obvious. We are the reigning champions – we won’t let our title go.”
Krilich added: “Our big props Payne Haas, Junior Paulo and Reagan Campbell-Gillard will be aiming straight at Hunt.
“Freddy will do his homework and know Hunt has missed this amount of tackles. That’s where they will be aiming.
“Hunt is a very good attacking player but if he has defensive problems then NSW will make sure he will be exposed. And I also think the speed of Damien Cook might also bring Hunt undone.
“If Cook can get out of there (dummy half) with his speed at the play-the-ball, he can show up an opposition defensive deficiency. They are such good players, they will work it out straight away.
“Nathan Cleary will be telling the guys where to run and what to do. If you have problems, you’ll be found out.”
NSW’s Liam Martin has the third most missed tackles (50) this season but has made 296 tackles from 367 attempts overall with an efficiency rating of 80.7 per cent.
Young Maroons and Cowboys backrower Jeremiah Nanai came into the round fifth overall for missed tackles (47), and is another Queenslander who is sure to be tested by the Blues.
Hunt will start and share the dummy half role with Melbourne’s Harry Grant, who may even end up playing more minutes than Hunt.
Manly’s Lachlan Croker, after his side played the Warriors on Saturday night, has moved past Hunt to become the NRL’s leader in missed tackles.
BLUES’ PROTECTION PLAN FOR TO’O AGAINST BOMBING BLITZ
NSW skipper James Tedesco concedes his teammate Brian To’o is set to cop a Queensland bomb barrage as the Maroons look to exploit the pint-sized Blues winger in Origin I.
At 174cm, the tiny To’o is just 9cm taller than Queensland Origin legend Allan Langer and statistics show the premiership-winning Panther possesses one of the worst bomb-defusal rates in the NRL this season.
The Blues have trained with To’o on the left wing and Daniel Tupou on the right, a tactical deployment that would see the Penrith star mark up against 190cm Maroons debutant Selwyn Cobbo at Sydney’s Accor Stadium this Wednesday night.
For all his tackle-busting brilliance, To’o is suspect under the high ball.
He has defused a paltry 33 per cent of high kicks this season — ranking him a lowly 39th in the NRL — and Tedesco urged his troops to provide protection for To’o against a Maroons aerial assault at Homebush.
“It is (a threat),” Tedesco said of Queensland’s wing height advantage over the Blues.
“It is only going to be a couple of occasions where there is that contested footy and we have to win that battle.
“Toops will win that 99 per cent of the time. Obviously they are going to probably kick to ‘Biz’ (To’o) most of the time.
“That’s all right. We have prepared for that. Biz cops that every week — we have two big centres to look after him.
“It’s all about game planning. If they (To’o or Tupou) are in a certain spot or a certain corner, that is probably going to be the target.
“It is not just on the wingers, it is on everyone playing a role there, getting our ‘escorts’ (kick blockers) on, moving towards the ball and getting as much protection as possible for both wingers.
“It is still a contest and you have to challenge for the ball. Most of the time these boys are going to be carrying the ball out of their own end and that is what their strength is.”
Queensland captain Daly Cherry-Evans said it’s crucial the Maroons win field position to apply end-of-set pressure on the Blues’ back five, particularly To’o.
“It’s definitely something we have to make sure we do, is play to our strengths and if that’s kicking to our wingers, then we will do that,” Cherry-Evans said.
“They have picked Tupou so they are looking to fight fire with fire in that area (highball contests). Tupou has been one of the best high-kick catchers in the game, so we will make sure we put our players in a position to show their strengths.
“Whether it’s Xavier Coates or Selwyn, that (bombing the NSW wingers) is something we will look at for sure.”
Maroons winger Coates, who stands 194cm, has been a revelation for the Storm in the air this season and is backing himself to outpoint Tupou.
“It is nice to know I have that height but everyone brings their own individual talents,” he said. “I pride myself on my ability in the air, but every single player in the Origin arena has something really unique to their ability.
“NSW might be scared of the height of me and Selwyn, but the Blues have assets that we have to handle, so it’s a two-way street.”
VOTE FOR NSW’S GREATEST ORIGIN MOMENT
Blues to test butterfingered Maroons rookie
Selwyn Cobbo has been a revelation for Brisbane this season, but he is expected to become a target for NSW on Wednesday night after it emerged that the rookie Queensland winger has suffered a bad case of butter-fingers in the NRL this year.
Cobbo has made 25 errors through the opening 12 rounds, by far the worst record of any player in the NRL. Of those, 23 have been handling errors.
The alarming statistics haven’t been lost on the eagle-eyed Blues as they prepare to hand the Maroons star a searching examination in his Origin debut at Accor Stadium.
NSW halfback Nathan Cleary, whose kicking game will likely zero in on Cobbo and test his dodgy hands, acknowledged there was a touch of risk-and-reward about testing the young winger.
The risk is that Cobbo, one of the most potent attacking players in the game, busts tackles, bursts into open pastures and torches the Blues.
VOTE FOR QUEEENSLAND’S GREATEST ORIGIN MOMENT
The reward is that Cobbo takes his bad case of the dropsies from the NRL into Origin, and NSW are able to capitalise on any mistakes.
In Cleary, NSW have a player capable of tormenting Cobbo both through the air and on the ground – the Blues halfback spent more than 30 minutes honing his kicking after NSW had finished training in Sydney’s eastern suburbs on Friday morning,
“We want to be testing out any back three we come up against, it just depends where you are on the field,” Cleary said.
“Selwyn is a great player and he has shown that on the big stage this year. We have to do our best to nullify that and if we can get an error out of him that would be great.”
Cobbo is expected to directly oppose Penrith winger Brian To’o on Wednesday night and he will carry a significant height advantage into that battle.
His greatest challenge may be the occasion. Origin has swamped young players in the past, turning their dreams into disasters before a national audience.
Few though have displayed as much confidence and flair as Cobbo, one of the breakout stars for a Broncos side entrenched in the top eight.
“A lot of young outside backs are probably like that – they come in with so much flair and they are not afraid to take risks,” Cleary said.
“Sometimes that ends in errors. On the other hand, you have seen how much good things he has done. It will either be great or sometimes an error. Usually players that are like that are some of the best players and some of the best to watch.”
Cobbo is certainly that. Most good judges expect Wednesday night to be the first of many appearances in a Queensland jersey.
He has already drawn comparisons with the likes of Greg Inglis and Latrell Mitchell because of his indigenous background and individual brilliance.
He concedes he had to work hard on his game after making errors earlier in the season.
“I had to pick my game up,” Cobbo said.
“I worked hard at training and I’m not making as many errors. I’m really happy with how far I’ve come from the start of the year to now. It’s given me some confidence.“
Sport Con: Joey’s shock take on Newcastle great
The Newcastle Knights lost the match but Kalyn Ponga won high praise from NRL Immortal Joey Johns who anointed the star fullback with an incredible honour.
Sport Confidential: Bennett’s Cobbo, RCG signing admission
South Sydney coach Wayne Bennett says the club “can’t afford” to make a play at the two hottest free agents in the NRL.