State of Origin 2023: The changes Brad Fittler must make to save his coaching job
Out: James Tedesco, Jarome Luai, Nathan Cleary and Api Koroisau. In: a completely new spine. Here’s how Brad Fittler can save the State of Origin series for the Blues.
NRL
Don't miss out on the headlines from NRL. Followed categories will be added to My News.
If Brad Fittler is fair dinkum about sending a NSW team to Suncorp Stadium capable of saving the Origin series he has to forget about finding a few sacrificial lambs and go straight for the jugular.
And it should start with a complete shake-up of the Blues spine to bring in Adam Reynolds at halfback, Cody Walker at five-eighth, Damien Cook at hooker and Latrell Mitchell at fullback.
We all know there’s a snowflake’s chance in hell that Fittler will make these changes because of his propensity to pick a team stacked with Panthers, but that doesn’t make him right.
Surely the time for picking favourites is over.
Look at how Billy Slater ditched loyalty to make the tough calls to bring in Reece Walsh and Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow over Kalyn Ponga and Dane Gagai, and how that worked out for Queensland.
And it’s no use pinning what went wrong for the Blues on a couple of questionable selections like Hudson Young and Tevita Pangai Junior and think that is going to fix the bigger problem.
No question, Young and Pangai will be lucky to keep their spots, but shuffling the deck chairs won’t stop the Titanic from sinking at Suncorp.
It was embarrassing how badly the Blues lost their way with a mountain of possession that should have resulted in a landslide victory.
And while Reynolds coming in over Cleary would create huge controversy, if you want a halfback who can orchestrate the overhaul, the veteran Bronco is the best man for the job.
Nicho Hynes is the other option but it would be completely unfair throwing him to the wolves at Suncorp for his run-on debut as the starting halfback in a must-win game. Hynes’ time will come, but it is not now.
But with Reynolds, Suncorp is now his home and he has the experience and composure to handle it, especially if you surround him with his old Rabbitohs spine of Walker, Mitchell and Cook, who know each others’ games inside out.
We all know Cleary is the game’s premier halfback at club level but at Origin he has struggled aside from a few standout performances, and surely it is time for someone else to get a shot.
The Blues always bang on about the advantage of having so many Panthers because of the combinations that come with it, but it’s clearly not working.
Reynolds gets applauded every week for what he does at the Broncos but he can’t get a look in for NSW because everyone seems too preoccupied about his age.
Do Queensland worry about Ben Hunt’s age?
Reynolds (32) is actually a year younger than Hunt but hasn’t played Origin since 2016, where he got two cracks against the greatest Queensland team ever assembled before getting thrown under the bus.
Yet they have lost two series in the last three years where the Blues have supposedly had the best team on paper.
Now they are heading towards another series defeat against the odds and if it is not time for change, when is?
Walker is also in exceptional club form and would create mayhem with Mitchell playing out the back, especially if he had Reynolds pulling the strings.
And as good a player as James Tedesco has been, he is no longer anywhere near the attacking threat Mitchell is.
Recalling Cook as starting dummy half would complete the spine overhaul, with Api Koroisau playing off the bench to do a job like Harry Grant does for Queensland.
On that front, there is also a case to make Cameron Murray the starting lock ahead of Isaah Yeo, although Murray could just as easily start as one edge backrower and Liam Martin the other.
It was ridiculous playing both off the bench in Adelaide.
You only have to look at the huge impact they both had when they entered the game to know it was a mistake.
NSW SELECTION MICROSCOPE: STARS FACE CHOP AS BOLTERS EMERGE
By Fatima Kdouh
Winners celebrate but losers begin a postmortem.
That’s exactly the predicament NSW coach Brad Fittler and selector Greg Alexander are now faced with after the Blues’ 26-18 loss in Origin one at Adelaide Oval.
Already, assistant coach Andrew Johns has admitted the decision to go with Api Koroisau as the solo hooker did not work.
“It’s something Freddy will have to chat through with the coaching staff,” Johns conceded.
The decision to start debutants Hudson Young and Tevita Pangai Jr to rough up and intimidate the Queenslanders, rather than go with the more experienced Liam Martin and Junior Paulo, was also a questionable move.
We take a look at NSW’s dubious game one selections and the calls that should be made ahead of the must-win clash at Suncorp Stadium on June 21.
UNDER PRESSURE
James Tedesco went into game one low on club form for the Sydney Roosters, and more worryingly low on confidence.
The Blues will show Tedesco loyalty, but will it be to a fault?
Even the Maroons, where loyalty has been a trademark of their success, were willing to drop Kalyn Ponga despite him producing one of the best individual Origin performances ever in last year’s series decider.
Tedesco, who has been the benchmark for the Blues, has delivered enough times to keep his spot. But how long can he hold onto it with Latrell Mitchell lurking and Penrith’s Dylan Edwards rising to elite fullback status.
Halfback Nathan Cleary knows wearing the No.7 jumper means he will be forced to cop some of the blame.
Cleary admitted his game wasn’t up to scratch, that he “hesitated” and “didn’t attack the game”, failing to capitalise on field position with the Blues tackled 39 times in the attacking 20 metres.
His short kicking game was also muted.
With back-to-back titles to his name, Cleary is arguably the best player in the game and deserves to be in the Origin arena. But the 25-year-old will be feeling the heat with Dally M medallist and Cronulla halfback Nicho Hynes in the mix.
Like Tedesco, Cleary will keep his spot.
The mandatory 11-day stand down means centre Tom Trbojevic won’t play a club game before game two. The only form line Fittler has to go on is a below par game one performance that was dotted with some strong carries but not the flair Trbojevic has a reputation for.
THE CHOP
It’s fair to say that hints on who faces the axe are in the numbers, specifically in game time.
Tevita Pangai Jr’s second stint lasted eight minutes before the Canterbury enforcer was hooked for an unnecessary offload that led to a Selwyn Cobbo try.
He didn’t return to the field and is now facing the chop.
It’s a similar scenario for Hudson Young. His debut only lasted 31 minutes on the left edge. Fittler didn’t use Young in the second half with Liam Martin’s impact enough to shut Young out of the game entirely.
With his job on the line, Fittler can’t afford to take the same gamble with Pangai Jr and Young in game two.
BENCH/TEAM MAKE-UP
Fittler started Young and Pangai Jr for the aggression factor but it was experienced campaigners Martin and Junior Paulo that provided what the debutants couldn’t.
Fittler will have to rethink his forward rotation.
Martin and Paulo should start in the back-row and up front, respectively.
South Sydney captain Murray also proved he is too good to start from the bench and should push Isaah Yeo for the starting No.13 jumper. Murray helped the Blues look sharper and more energised.
Koroisau tried hard and did enough to keep his spot but without a second specialist hooker the Blues missed out on attacking opportunities from dummy half, where Damien Cook could have been injected to exploit a tiring defence.
Johns has admitted dropping Cook was the wrong call, paving the way for the Rabbitohs No.9 to earn a recall.
Rabbitohs fullback Mitchell is expected to return from a calf injury in time for game two, taking his place at centre, with Fittler unlikely to drop Tedesco at the back.
Stephen Crichton, who replaced Mitchell, showed enough to deserve another chance but that will only come if Fittler believes Trbojevic’s patchy form and head knock makes him too much of a liability.
CONTENDERS
If Fittler is prepared to drop Trbojevic from right centre, Crichton will battle to keep his spot with Campbell Graham to push for selection.
Had the South Sydney star not picked up a sternum injury, he and not Crichton would have played on Wednesday night.
Graham has dominated at right centre for the Rabbitohs at club level and the 23-year-old deserves to finally make his debut.
When Fittler picked three fullbacks – Tedesco, Mitchell and Trbojevic – the motto was simple.
Pick the best players and find a spot for them in the side. So far, Fittler has resisted taking the same approach with Penrith fullback Edwards.
Even Maroons selector Darren Lockyer admitted if Fittler were picking on form, Edwards would be the Blues fullback.
Keaon Koloamatangi is one of the best strike edge forwards in the game and has also shown he can play big minutes at prop, like he did in South Sydney’s golden point win against Manly.
With Young’s position in the side hanging on by a thread, Koloamatangi’s upcoming clashes against the Titans and the Dragons are the perfect Origin auditions.
BOLTERS
Panthers forward Spencer Leniu had come into selection calculations but a ruptured testicle robbed him of the chance to play his way into an Origin debut.
But with bench spots up for grabs, and Leniu named on the reserves list to return from injury this weekend, the former NSW under-20s prop has two games to make selectors take notice.
With Moses Leota and James Fisher-Harris ahead of him at Penrith, Leniu has transformed into a specialist bench forward, adding punch to the Panthers’ rotation.
South Sydney’s Tevita Tatola has gone from strength to strength to emerge as a linchpin in the Rabbitohs forward pack.
Now that Pangai Jr’s spot under threat, Tatola provides a proven replacement who would not be out of place in the Blues pack.
More Coverage
Stars snubbed in wild Kangaroos bombshell
Mal Meninga has dropped bombs on three of the biggest stars in the game as the Kangaroos coach announced his squad.
NRL fans crash Brockmann run, told off
After fans finished up at Accor Stadium, some ventured next door to pay Nedd Brockmann a visit, with one fan being told to quiet down.