State of Origin 2018: James Roberts wants the freedom to tear into Queensland
THIS is your captain speaking. Please take your seat and secure your beer. Make sure your Blatchy’s Blues wig is in its full upright position. Jimmy the Jet is ready for take-off in Origin II.
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THIS is your captain speaking.
Please take your seat and fasten your seatbelt. Make sure your seat back and folding trays are in their full upright position.
Jimmy the Jet is ready for take-off.
If you are seated next to an emergency exit, please read carefully the special instructions card located by your seat.
NSW centre James Roberts requires more ball, more room and more opportunity.
Then sit back and enjoy the flight.
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The Blues coaching staff met this week to specifically discuss getting additional ball to Roberts in State of Origin II on Sunday, as he declared: “I want to do my thing.”
The 25-year-old made a successful, if not showstopping Origin debut in Melbourne in game one, unable to display his raw speed.
The Broncos flyer and South Sydney junior ran the ball nine times for 60 metres with just one tackle bust at the MCG.
“Just to get a bit of early ball and do my thing — the carries I do, the speed and the strength that I bring, I guess,” Roberts told The Daily Telegraph.
“I do that best when I get early ball. That would be ideal.
“You only need a couple of good carries and I’ll be buzzing. That’s all it takes really.”
While fellow backs James Tedesco, Latrell Mitchell, Josh Addo-Carr and Tom Trbojevic all scored, Roberts didn’t have the same impact.
“I just need to try and find a way to get in the game early and inject myself into the match in different ways,” Roberts said.
“We have been working on that this week and hopefully I get a bit more ball and we get the win.
“Just going through our plays really, making sure they are more on-time and being in the right spot. I am looking to get into it. But it will depend on how the game is going. No one knows until we get there. You just have to roll with it.
“We just defended more than we attacked on our side (in Melbourne). That’s how the game went.”
Roberts said he wasn’t as nervous as he anticipated before game one but admitted it was a massive occasion.
“It was a bit of the unknown,” he said. “I know what to expect now. My head is a bit better than what it was last week.
“Whatever happens, we have to keep turning up for each other like we did in Melbourne. We will do whatever it takes the get the win. We just have to get the job done now.”
Roberts and Latrell Mitchell will form a lethal centre combination for a NSW side heavy favourite ahead of Sunday night’s big game.
The Blues had a short but sharp training session at Coogee Oval on Wednesday, their preparation taking shape nicely.
“It’s going good, it was a light day but we had a good session (on Tuesday) and there’ll be a big session Thursday,” Roberts said.
“The match will be a good opportunity for us to seal the series.
“All the boys are pretty excited, all the boys know what to expect now, especially all the debutants.
“Matty Prior is an experienced player and I can’t wait to play with him as well. He has won two premierships and has been around for a long time.”
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