State of Origin 2020: How Jack Wighton can silence nemisis Dane Gagai
Jack Wighton has only played four Origin games but has already been made a fool of twice by his Maroons rival.
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Dane Gagai last week caused Jack Wighton a massive headache for a second consecutive Origin opener.
Wighton missed seven tackles playing opposite Gagai as the Maroons centre laid on a try in a complete performance.
Blues coach Brad Fittler said it was the best he had seen Gagai play during the Queenslander’s decade-long career.
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Wighton knows Gagai will again come for him on Wednesday but is adamant he can rebound after struggling to contain the centre last week.
“We gave him too much space,” Wighton said. “That’s footy sometimes. You miss those tackles but unfortunately it happened to be on the big stage. I’ll go again and get ready for game two.
“I’ll put it behind me and worry about game two. It’s already done and dusted. You can’t dwell on it.
“We have a three-week period where we have to move on quick. It’s what you’ve got to do.
“It’s not the end of the world. It’s just a missed tackle. That’s the way I look at it. It was a tough game.”
Wighton has bounced back quickly before. He did so in last year’s series after Gagai tormented him in his Origin debut in game one in Melbourne.
Wighton was injected into that match from off the bench and went for an all-or-nothing play with a pass that landed in the grasp of Gagai, who raced 95m to score a try in the 70th minute that turned the game.
The Blues lost 18-14 but Wighton was promoted to the starting side for the rest of a series that NSW won. He also started at centre for the Kangaroos last year.
Fittler has resisted the urge to make a change with Wighton, describing the decision to keep the Dally M Medal winner in the side as “easy”.
“He has played at five-eighth for a bit but he has played a lot of wing and fullback,” Fittler said. “It was one of those things.
“Dane Gagai had a really good game. Not only in attack where he got (Wighton) but defensively he was great.
“It was quite possibly the best game I’ve seen Dane Gagai play. It’s going to happen, he is a good player.”
The Blues’ left edge will be different on Wednesday with the inclusion of Cody Walker at five-eighth.
Fittler said Walker, Wighton and winger Daniel Tupou would have to work as a team to contain Gagai.
“We didn’t work together,” Fittler said. “That was the problem.
“It’s about Jack, Cody and Toops (Daniel Tupou) working together. Dane Gagai is going to beat heaps of people.”
HOW ROOKIE’S ORIGIN DREAM WAS BORN FROM BIFF
— Nick Campton
He’s the Blues rookie born for a State of Origin scrap.
NSW debutant Nathan Brown is one of the NRL’s true hardmen, so there are no prizes for guessing what he liked best about watching Origin growing up.
“I liked a bit of the biff, that was always cool watching it as a young kid,” Brown said.
“You always knew when you came home from school on the Wednesday night there was going to be a bit of a scuffle. You always looked forward to a bit of excitement.”
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On-field brawls have become extinct in Origin but Brown’s brand of controlled aggression could be just what the Blues need to turn the series around after last week’s shock loss in Game I.
The Parramatta tyro has been named for his first interstate clash and along with fellow debutant Isaah Yeo he’ll be looking to rip into the Maroons and make it a maiden voyage to remember.
“I need to be me. I need to be Nathan Brown, and trust myself and back myself and the rest will take care of itself,” Brown said.
“Being me solves everything. That aggression and what not, it comes off the back of being myself.
“You’re playing for your state so you have to play with that heart.”
Brown’s aggression and intensity shape as major weapons for the Blues with the Parramatta hardman tipped to cause havoc when he enters the fray on Wednesday.
Coach Brad Fittler believes Brown can give New South Wales the hard edge they need to turn the series around.
“That’s how he plays. It’s not as though we need to add that but it’s what he brings. We feel like we need some more in the middle,” Fittler said.
“I think Payne (Haas) and a few of the boys know how to play big minutes. So it allows you to maybe bring someone on for some impact.”
Yeo doesn’t play with the same rage as Brown but the Penrith lock’s footwork, mobility and skill can cause just as much trouble.
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The Dubbo product will also act as the Blues utility should injury strike.
“Isaah has played a lot of positions, I would love to give him a crack in the middle which he has done for Penrith and been incredible at that,” Fittler said.
“He’s a big mobile bloke and you don’t have to look much further than Kurt Capewell, who played a similar role and did a great job.”
THE FIVE BEST ORIGIN DEBUTS
Brett Hodgson, Game I, 2002
Most remember Hodgson for being corralled by Gorden Tallis but the Parramatta fullback played arguably the best debut in Origin history. Hodgson ran for an incredible 374 metres, broke 14 tackles, made six line breaks, scored a try and set up another in the Blues 32-4 belting of Queensland.
Michael O’Connor, Game I, 1985
Still the highest point scorer in New South Wales history, O’Connor set a Blues record on debut when he scored all his team’s points in an 18-2 victory in the series opener in 1985. At the time it was Queensland’s heaviest defeat and O’Connor’s 18-point haul (from two tries and five goals) is still the equal-second highest individual total for a single match.
Mark Gasnier, Game III, 2004
Gasnier was pitched into the decider, which doubled as Brad Fittler’s last game for New South Wales, and the Dragons centre was dynamic from the jump. Not only did Gasnier run for 132 metres form 14 runs he also scored twice and broke seven tackles in the Blues 36-14 win.
Damien Cook, Game I, 2018
Cook’s dashes from dummy half have become his trademark but when he first came into Origin he hit it like a bolt of lightning. As part of a host of Blues rookies in Fittler’s first game as coach Cook excelled, running for 91 metres and making 53 tackles in a 22-12 New South Wales victory at the MCG.
Anthony Minichiello, Game I, 2003
The Roosters custodian made his mark on Origin immediately after he scored two tries, broke 11 tackles and ran for 224 metres in a superlative display at Suncorp Stadium. Minichiello was unlucky not to win man of the match as the Blues surged to a 25-12 win.