Brisbane centre James Roberts’ strike power neutralised by Storm
BASED on Friday night’s performance against the Storm, Blues coach Laurie Daley will be content with the decision he made not to go with James Roberts for the Blues.
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BRONCOS coach Wayne Bennett this week called for strike centre James Roberts to be handed his Origin debut for NSW.
But based off Friday night’s performance against the Storm, Blues coach Laurie Daley will be content with the decisions he has made so far this series.
And it was not so much because of Roberts doing anything wrong, but more because of his tough opponent.
Roberts tried to find a way to spark Brisbane’s attack, but the Jet was grounded by opposition number and Maroons centre, Will Chambers.
If the two were to meet in the Origin decider, it is clear who has the upper hand. Unfortunately, it is not Roberts.
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If the Brisbane star knew that current NSW centre Josh Dugan had injured his knee down the M1 while playing for the Dragons just hours earlier, he certainly did not show enough desperation to stake a claim for Dugan’s Origin spot.
There is no doubt Roberts is a brilliant player.
But Chambers’ defensive performance against Brisbane’s danger man would be enough to convince Daley to stick to his guns — unless Dugan’s injury does rule him out of Origin III in a week and a half.
Roberts churned out 88m from 10 runs but barely looked to be the usual threat that he is, as Chambers and Josh Addo-Carr combined well to keep Brisbane’s right side out of the game.
Brisbane’s only tries came from left winger David Mead and from a barnstorming Ben Hunt.
Roberts’ most promising moment came in the 46th minute, when he raced through to score, only for the referees to rule a knock-on against Brisbane. He was also held back in the attempt, with Tohu Harris sin-binned for the incident.
And not even a last-ditch dart to the line in the 75th minute could fool Chambers, who wrapped him up neatly.
With Jarryd Hayne and Dugan doing little to harm their chances in their showdown at Cbus Super Stadium, it seems Bennett’s pleas may fall on deaf ears.
Roberts may just have to wait another 12 months for his shot at Origin glory.
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