State of Origin 2020: Andrew Johns calls for Nathan Cleary to be dropped for Origin II
Andrew Johns has reversed his call for Luke Keary to be dropped for Origin II, but the eighth immortal still wants the selection axe to swing.
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Andrew Johns has made a sensational backflip on his call for Luke Keary to be dropped from the NSW State of Origin team for next Wednesday’s return showdown at ANZ Stadium.
Instead, the game’s eighth Immortal has made the stunning call that Nathan Cleary should be the man who makes way for Cody Walker’s promotion into the starting team.
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“Emotionally he probably needs a rest,” Johns said of the young Penrith playmaker on brother Matty’s SEN radio show on Friday.
With Brad Fittler set to name his 21-man squad for game two at 4pm on Friday, the brothers discussed at length where the Blues went wrong in Adelaide and what must be done to turn around the result in Sydney.
Matthew also declared Melbourne’s flying fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen was “a must” to be included on the bench after he missed the opening game because of injury.
Andrew Johns said the NSW halves didn’t understand how to play with influential dummy half Damien Cook and that is where it all went wrong for the Blues in Adelaide.
“I think Cody Walker has to come in,” Andrew Johns said.
“He knows how to play with Cook.
“In the second half Queensland did not let NSW get over the advantage line until Cody Walker came on.
“And he rescued the team with some attacking footy and used the ball and took some risks.”
Asked directly if it should be Keary or Cleary removed, Joey explained: “Well, after the game initially I thought Keary … that Cody would come in for Luke.
“But the more I think about it I think I would put Keary to halfback and rest Nathan and put Cody to five-eighth.
“Now Keary wears number six at the Roosters but plays like a halfback.
“Nathan has had a huge year physically but also emotionally.
“Think at the start of the year he had that bit of drama on scandal with the TikTok dancing … then all the stuff leading into the Dally M. That sort of wears you down.
“Then emotionally a two-week build up to the grand final. Losing the grand final. He was shattered after that. Then losing the first Origin.
“So I think emotionally he probably needs a rest.
“Look, no one works harder on his game than Nathan.”
Matty also said Papenhuyzen’s was a no-brainer.
“As soon as NSW start to win the yardage game I’d put him on and put him in the middle,” Matthew said.
“There is a risk, I get that, defending him in the middle.
“But he will cause them more problems than they will cause him.”
TEDDY READY TO SKIPPER BLUES IF BOYD RESTS
James Tedesco is on standby to captain NSW for the first time in his career, if Boyd Cordner is ruled out of Origin II.
The Blues hierarchy are faced with one of their most important decisions by 4pm Friday afternoon.
There is increasing pressure on the NSWRL to rest Cordner from Origin II on Wednesday night after the fearless Blues captain suffered another head knock in Adelaide on Wednesday night.
Cordner passed his HIA to return to the field and finish the match, but there is heartfelt concern from within the NSW camp about the Roosters leader’s ongoing welfare.
NSW coach Brad Fittler will select his 21-man squad on Friday afternoon.
Tedesco was announced as the vice-captain of the Blues ahead of last year’s series and would be elevated to lead the team in the must-win clash at ANZ Stadium should Cordner be rested.
FIVE SPOTS ON LINE AS BLUES WEIGH UP CHANGES
As the Blues look to rebound from Wednesday’s shock loss to Queensland, New South Wales coach Brad Fittler must grapple with the classic Origin temptation — pick and stick, or chop and change?
With the Maroons in the box seat after their upset 18-14 win in Adelaide, Fittler must decide whether to shuffle the deck for Wednesday’s rematch in Sydney.
It was a winning strategy for Fittler in 2019 — he made seven changes after the Blues’ Game One loss en route to a comeback series win — and the spotlight has fallen squarely on halves Luke Keary and Nathan Cleary, especially given Cody Walker’s strong cameo in the final quarter of the match.
Former Blues assistant Andrew Johns said on commentary Walker must be elevated to the starting side for next week’s clash in Sydney but Fittler backed his underwire duo despite the loss.
“I think we got it right. I’m very comfortable with the team we chose,” Fittler said.
“Everyone is disappointed obviously that it didn’t happen on the night, but we got beat in game one last year (and won the series).
“We’re quite comfortable, we’re on our home ground. I’m looking forward to it.
“We’ve still got time to start naming teams and 21s, so we’ll use all of that.”
Fittler was critical of his side’s inability to turn the screws on Queensland during their dominant first half.
“We didn’t use the wind at all, we didn’t use the conditions at all. They’ve got a rookie fullback, a rookie winger, their back three were rookies,” Fittler said.
“We did nothing, we didn’t test them at all. That was so disappointing.”
“We’re looking at different things, shapes around the halves and if you want to get really technical, it’s not just the halves.
“At the end of the day they play in those pressure positions where they end up kicking the ball and directing us around. At some stage we’ve got to improve that part of it.”
The New South Wales attack looked more confident and expansive when Walker came on for his late cameo, but sticking with Keary and Cleary may allow their combination to improve and it’s worth remembering that for all his accomplishments the match still marked Keary’s Origin debut.
For his part, Keary did not take offence to Johns’ suggestion despite the two having worked together at the Roosters in the past.
“He’s paid to give his opinion and I know it comes from a good place — he cares about this team and this state and footy, so I don’t take it personally at all,” Keary said.
“That’s footy, that’s Origin and it comes from a good place from him. It’s about the team winning, not individuals trying to get games or anything like that.
“Every game you go through you’ll benefit more from playing with different people.
“It was funny, that first half. We felt so dominant and we could feel that space, but we pushed a few passes and made some errors which came back on us at the end of the game there when we ran out of steam.
“We weren’t making errors from playing, it was from the offloads and things like that. We could just feel it and when you feel it you just want to take advantage of it.”
MORE ORIGIN NEWS
The Blues will be forced into at least one change with Fittler confirming South Sydney backrower Cameron Murray is out for the rest of the series with a hamstring injury.
Parramatta’s Nathan Brown, Melbourne’s Dale Finucane and Penrith’s Isaah Yeo will all come into contention for Murray’s bench spot.
“He’s gone for the series,” Fittler said.
“This is the beauty of Origin at this time. Kurt Capewell did a great job in the centres, is he a centre or backrower? It’s hard to say, sometimes you throw the balls in the air and hope they land in the right space.
“I learnt some wonderful things out of the Lebanon World Cup thing, we were pulling bricklayers out from Bankstown and they did a great job.”
Skipper Boyd Cordner is also no guarantee to play after his head knock in the first half of Wednesday’s match.
Cordner passed his HIA but given his concussion history the Blues may well err on the side of caution.
Angus Crichton is the only other specialist second-rower in the squad with Yeo also capable of filling in on an edge if required.
POSSIBLE BLUES TEAM
1. James Tedesco
2. Daniel Tupou
3. Jack Wighton
4. Clint Gutherson
5. Josh Addo-Carr
6. Luke Keary/Cody Walker
7. Nathan Cleary
8. Daniel Saifiti
9. Damien Cook
10. Junior Paulo
11. Boyd Cordner/Angus Crichton/Isaah Yeo
12. Tyson Frizell
13. Jake Trbojevic
14. Cody Walker/Ryan Papenhuyzen
15. Nathan Brown/Dale Finucane/Reagan Campbell-Gillard
16. Payne Haas
17. Angus Crichton/Isaah Yeo/Cam McInnes