Origin 2021: How the Maroons can beat NSW in Brisbane
Premiership winning coach Shane Flanagan dissects what went wrong in Origin I and the changes Queensland need to make to get revenge.
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Queensland are in damage control after suffering the heaviest defeat in their Origin history with barely two weeks remaining for Paul Green’s side to salvage some pride and save the series.
After their humiliation in Townsville, the Maroons need to right the ship quick if they’re to turn things around in Game II at Suncorp Stadium on June 27th.
The Courier-Mail has teamed up with former Blues assistant and Sharks premiership-winning coach Shane Flanagan to discuss where it all went wrong for the Maroons, potential team changes for Game II and how they can turn the tide with the series on the line.
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WHAT CHANGES DO MAROONS MAKE?
The temptation after such a heavy loss for Queensland is wholesale, radical changes but that might not be the answer for Paul Green.
For one, the Maroons don’t boast the depth of talent for an entirely new side and the return of Josh Papalii’i, plus the possible inclusion of Kalyn Ponga at fullback, will make a serious difference on their own.
Papali’i will help Queensland’s strength in the middle of the field while Ponga’s inclusion would allow Valentine Holmes to switch to the wing, which would help Queensland in the yardage battle after their back five were overwhelmed on exit sets on Wednesday night.
If Ponga isn’t passed fit, Green may consider moving Holmes anyway with AJ Brimson more than capable of slotting in at fullback.
“I want Ponga to come back in and maybe add a little bit more size, they’ll have Papali’i come back in. They’ll have two or three positional changes at least,” Flanagan said.
“Once their spine get some games under their belt and get Ponga back and get into form you’ll see a different footy team. Those little, subtle changes will make a big difference.”
HOW DO QUEENSLAND TURN IT AROUND?
Picking up the pieces from the heaviest defeat in the state’s history is a tall order for Queensland but there’s plenty of reasons to be optimistic about their chances in Origin II.
With Cameron Munster and Harry Grant both entering the series opener without having played in almost a month and should Ponga return, the Maroons could boast a far more dynamic spine at Suncorp Stadium.
Neither Munster nor Grant were poor in Townsville, they were just a little short of a run and if they can string some good football together between now and June 27th they can try to save the series from a far stronger position.
“They’ll be a lot better because Cameron Munster hadn’t played and Harry Grant hadn’t played and they’ll get Kalyn Ponga back, so that’s almost an entirely new spine,” Flanagan said.
“Grant and Munster tried their butts off but they hadn’t played in a while so they can’t be in the same purple patch of form the New South Wales halves are in, so that had an effect.
“Grant, Munster and Ponga need to get together and get a plan with Daly (Cherry-Evans).
“You can’t write them off because we’ve seen them come back before, maybe not from this sort of defeat but they’ve definitely come back and if that spine gets back into form who knows what can happen?”
WHY BACKLINE DECIDED FORWARD BATTLE
The Queensland forwards have come under fire after they failed to fire a shot in Townsville.
Losing Christian Welch early didn’t help but apart from Moeaki Fotuaika there was little to like from the Maroons pack with Jai Arrow (eight runs for 50 metres), Tino Fa’asuamaleaui (12 runs for 84 metres) and Joe Ofahengaue (eight runs for 48 metres and two penalties conceded) especially struggling.
But according to Flanagan, the Maroons big men were undone by the speed and workrate of the Blues back five.
“I just didn’t think they caught up. The Blues back five were really fast and created a lot of momentum and the forwards just couldn’t catch them,” Flanagan said.
“If you lose tackle one, two and three it’s really, really hard to make it up when you defend the forwards on four and five.
“That’s where I feel Queensland struggled, they just lost tackles early in the set and couldn’t catch up. The Blues forwards were powerful and going over the ad-line because of how well the back five set them up.”
James Tedesco (21 runs for 208 metres, eight tackle busts) was typically industrious at the back, as was debutant Brian To’o (26 runs, 225 metres).
To’o was not as dynamic with his post-contact metres as he is week to week with Penrith, with Queensland doing what they could in terms of their first-up contact, but he overwhelmed the Maroons with the sheer volume of his carries.
“He didn’t make the post-contact metres he normally does in club footy, so they were hitting him well but he was still excellent in yardage,” Flanagan said.
“His numbers are high and his involvement was high and that takes a lot of pressure off everyone else.
“If he’s carrying it 17 to 20 times per game when he’s so powerful on plays one and two even if the contact is good on him, which it was on Wednesday night, he can still get the sets started.”
HOW DO YOU STOP THE WILD ROVER?
Allowing Tom Trbojevic to play all over the field was a masterstroke from Blues coach Brad Fittler with the Manly talisman playing more like a second fullback than a traditional right centre.
The unorthodox decision is almost impossible to counter tactically – all Queensland can do is try and handle Trbojevic one-on-one, a task which is far easier said than done.
“You can’t really plan for it, you just have to defend it wherever he pops up. He’ll show up on either side or in the middle in yardage and good ball,” Flanagan said.
“It’s hard to plan for it, you just have be ready one-on-one but he’s such a big man and he’s so hard to get down.
“It’s easy to say you have to be good in your tackle technique, but you have to get him down.
LEFT SIDE, STRONG SIDE
Latrell Mitchell played a far more conventional centre’s game with the Rabbitohs star paired with Luai on the left edge and the two of them looked like they’d played together all their lives.
The Panthers five-eighth didn’t do anything fancy – he just got the big fella the ball nice and early and let him do his thing, just as he does with Viliame Kikau at Penrith.
While Mitchell’s passing has made him one of the best fullbacks in the league, centre allows him to use his athleticism to more directly dominate his opposite number.
“Luai gave him heaps of early ball it let him get on the outside and get away down the sideline more than once,” Flanagan said.
“He doesn’t want it late, he’s one of those players who needs it early so he can go out there and get his fend up.
“I love him in the centres because he can get one-on-one with his opposition.
“At fullback he’s on kick returns and he’s got to beat two or three or four defenders, in the centres he just has to beat his opposite man and he’s away.”
Tariq Sims was a selection that raised plenty of eyebrows but his experience and aggression helped set the tone for the left edge.
When paired with Mitchell and To’o it’s an overwhelming physical trio and their speed and power will once again form the Blues deadliest weapon in Origin II.
“I thought he was fantastic. His experience came through, that pass for the try was excellent of course but his defence was really aggressive, he got into them and drove them back. It was fantastic,” Flanagan said.
MAROONS’ PLEA FOR GREEN TO STICK WITH THEM
Shattered Maroons stars have appealed for coach Paul Green not to wield the axe amid fears heads could roll in the wake of Queensland’s worst performance in Origin history.
Maroons superstar Cameron Munster has made the stunning claim that all 17 jumpers should be up for grabs and says he wouldn’t be surprised if Green wanted to usher in a new era following the 50-6 Origin I debacle in Townsville.
The 44-point mauling represented Queensland’s worst loss in Origin’s 41-year history, eclipsing a 56-16 rout in 2000, and Green will come under pressure to rip the side apart in a desperate bid to save the series.
In reality, NSW enjoy four times the playing depth of Queensland, prompting Maroons players to implore Green to give them a second chance to right the wrongs of the Townsville trouncing and save the series at Suncorp Stadium on June 27.
“I hope Greeny sticks with us,” Maroons fullback Valentine Holmes said.
“I don’t know which guys are available (for Origin II), but we’d like the chance to make up for it.
“It was just embarrassing what we dished up and we really need to turn up at Suncorp and keep the series alive.”
Green will put a number of positions under the microscope in the wake of the eight-try, half-century hatchet job.
Newcastle superstar Kalyn Ponga could return from a groin injury to replace Holmes at fullback, while Kurt Capewell could be in the firing line at centres after struggling to match the speed of NSW sensation Tom Trbojevic.
While Capewell tried his heart out, he is a back-rower playing centre. Before Game One, Green was privately concerned about Trbojevic’s speed out wide and he may look for more zip to counter the Blues’ hat-trick hero.
Key enforcer Josh Papalii will return from suspension for Origin II in a huge boost for the Maroons, meaning Joe Ofahengaue could be relegated, while Broncos winger Xavier Coates faces the axe after a nightmare display on the right wing.
Prop Christian Welch could also be in doubt for Game Two after his latest headknock in a defeat that has left Maroons players nervous about their futures.
“Everyone’s position is in doubt, for sure,” Munster said.
“Greeny could go for a fresh-blood team and blood some new players.
“No-one’s position in the team can be secure after a game like that, so we need to get back to club and play good footy to cement our positions.
“Every player that wore that Maroon jersey needs to have a good look at themselves, especially myself.
“There is no sugar-coating it, we were just terrible.”
When Queensland lost 56-16 two decades ago, the 3-0 series loss triggered a Maroons inquisition as Wayne Bennett returned to save the state by blooding 10 new faces.
This time, Green simply doesn’t have an army of Plan B replacements and he must hope the return of Ponga and Papalii can spark a Maroons revival for Origin II.
“Hopefully Greeny keeps the faith in us,” back-rower Jaydn Su’A said.
“There will be talk of changes, but all the boys would love another chance to make amends for this.
“It’s hard to process what happened. We weren’t expecting that, we’ve had a chat in the sheds and we won’t be letting that happen again.”
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