State of Origin: NSW stars vow to repay faith shown by coach Brad Fittler
NSW players have rallied behind under-pressure coach Brad Fittler, who can trigger a one-year extension should the Blues come back to win this year’s State of Origin series.
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NSW players have vowed to repay the faith shown in them by Brad Fittler as they look to save not only the State of Origin series in Brisbane, but also the future of the embattled Blues coach.
Fittler is in the last year of his contract with the NSW Rugby League but can trigger an automatic one-year extension should he lead the Blues to a series win.
To do that, he needs to coach NSW to victory on rugby league’s most hostile turf, a feat he has achieved only once since taking the reins of the Blues in 2018.
Dig a little deeper and you find that NSW have lost eight of their past 10 games at the ground. Another loss next week would leave Fittler’s coaching future in jeopardy and Blues players have vowed to do it for their coach as they look to keep the series alive.
“Absolutely, he has shown faith in us (by) picking pretty much the same side,” second rower Liam Martin said.
“He sort of said, ‘I believed in you in game one’. We want to repay him and repay that faith he has had in us.”
Fellow back rower Hudson Young added: “You always want to repay the faith that people show in you.
“I am a loyal person as well and for him to be loyal to me is really special to me. It gives you that extra motivation when you get along good with your coach and you want to play well for your coach.”
Fittler’s NSW coaching career began with a bang but it threatens to end with a whimper. He won four of his opening six games in charge as the Blues clinched series wins in 2018 and 2019 under his unique and left-field style of coaching.
Fittler introduced earthing to Origin camps. He had players remove their shoes and wander around Coogee Oval with bare feet, soaking up the minerals.
He brought in breathing expert Nam Baldwin, had them do yoga and introduced meditation and salsa dancing. He opened his sessions to the media and made the entire squad accessible on the eve of the game.
Fittler’s view was that if they couldn’t handle the media, how could they expect to thrive in the furnace of Origin. It worked a charm to begin with but pickings have been slim since - NSW have won four of their past 10 games and lost two of their past three series.
Media access has been tightened as a result. The wagons have been circled as they prepare to head to Brisbane.
Centre Stephen Crichton attempted to take some heat off the coach as he insisted it was the players who would dictate the result at Suncorp Stadium.
“That’s the thing, it’s us boys out there and yet if we don’t perform well, it falls straight on the coaches head,” Crichton said.
“We can help him with that by preparing the best we can to play our best footy. Because he is an excellent coach.
“Not everything should fall on him, it’s our responsibility on the field as well.”
It was a message echoed by Young.
“At the end of the day it is up to us to go out there and perform,” Young said.
“He is not the one who is playing - he can only give us the tools and messages before the game.
“It is up to us to go out there and deliver it. I think if you don’t win everyone will be feeling that pressure.
“It (Fittler’s future) is not something we have spoken about because we plan to go up there and win.”
‘WE LET TEDDY DOWN’: BLUES OWN UP OVER HORROR GAME 1 MOMENT
On the first day NSW players arrived in camp in Sydney’s eastern suburbs this week to begin preparing for a must-win match at Suncorp Stadium, they addressed the elephant in the room.
The moment in Origin I when captain James Tedesco was outjumped by Lindsay Collins, sealing a famous win for Queensland and gifting the Maroons the chance to wrap up the series on home turf.
Queensland were leading by four points but a man down when Collins produced his heroics. Tedesco largely wore the blame afterwards but earlier this week, the Blues players who were in the picture and stopped in their tracks absolved their captain of any responsibility.
They also learned a valuable Origin lesson that they will take to Suncorp Stadium next week — when you stop in Origin, you lose.
The moment
Queensland were in front but on the ropes with five minutes remaining at Adelaide Oval. They were down to 12 men when Daly Cherry-Evans sent the ball high into the air.
Collins was long odds to get there but he raced past a sea of navy blue, flew above Tedesco and off-loaded for Cameron Munster to seal the result.
Afterwards, NSW assistant coach Andrew Johns was scathing in his criticism of the players who were motionless while their captain was left to fend for himself.
“The big one for me is when Lindsay Collins takes that ball and passes inside to Cameron Munster, he runs past five New South Wales players who didn‘t turn and chase,“ Johns said on Channel 9. ”The game was on the line. Collins runs past New South Wales defenders and Munster is there. You can’t do with the game on the line. You cannot stop your legs moving. “You have to keep moving just in case.”
Blues centre Steven Crichton: “As a fullback, it‘s not just his job. If any one of us stood in front of one of their players, that wouldn’t have happened and no one would’ve spoken about anything. That was a big call in the context of the game. It definitely wasn’t Teddy’s fault. It was basically our whole left edge who could’ve helped and got around the ball.”
The review
NSW players fidgeted nervously in their seats when they sat down this week to watch a replay of the decisive moments in Origin I.
Collins play on Tedesco was arguably the most significant. Crichton, Isaah Yeo, Liam Martin, Jarome Luai and Api Koroisau were all in the vicinity when Tedesco was left to fend for himself.
While Koroisau will miss Origin II with a broken jaw, Crichton, Yeo, Martin and Luai will all get the chance to atone.
Coach Brad Fittler made it very clear it could not happen again.
Martin: “We had a video session (on Tuesday) sort of addressing it and said that can never happen again. Obviously Teddy put his hand up and was like I need to be better there. I think there was maybe five of us that stood still. We lost the moment. (You’re just) frustrated just with yourself. You one you could have done better and if you just dug a little bit deeper, you could have made the stop. It is frustrating but you will be a batter player for it, watching it back. We did him (Tedesco) no favours. It is a whole team thing. He is under enough pressure as it is. We should have had his back a bit more.”
Luai: “It came from Freddy (Fittler) but you felt the energy and accountability coming from the team as well, which is what you want. It’s a good sign for the boys. We know what we can do better for Teddy.”
Keep moving
The one key message to emerge from the video session earlier this week was that you can’t stop in Origin. The moment you stop, you die. A handful of Blues players learned a hard lesson in Adelaide. They insist they won’t make the same mistake again.
Crichton: ”It‘s hard to watch. They’re the little moments that can win an Origin game. It’s the biggest game and you think nothing is going to happen for two seconds. And then the next thing you know, they have the ball back. That’s what Origin footy is. You just can’t stop.”
Martin: “(Fittler) just said you need to keep moving, keep moving towards the ball. As soon as you stop, that is when something bad happens. We can’t let that happen again.”
Yeo: “We need to be moving instead of standing there trying to block. We have to help Ted out as much as we can. That was obviously disappointing. That last little bit cemented it for them.”
Luai: “We let each other down. We let Teddy down. That’s not Teddy’s job to catch a bomb by himself. We have to keep moving. We have to keep moving. You can’t ever stop. We relaxed. That’s the reality of it. We had a great opportunity to win the game but we didn’t. We have to be better when the game is on the line and win moments.”
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