Calls to change State of Origin 18th man rule as Reece Walsh, Bulldogs dudded

Footy greats are calling for a State of Origin rule to be changed after one team was dudded by the curse for a crucial NRL clash.

It’s Canterbury’s curse they can’t escape, and the Broncos might be catching it.

The highly controversial 18th man rule in State of Origin has once more cost the Bulldogs a star for this week’s important Round 18 clash against the Brisbane Broncos this Friday.

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The side have been constantly burned by the problem, losing key players like Matt Burton and Kurt Mann previously without them even getting a run of rep footy.

Mann was the Maroons Reserve in Game 1, while Burton was the same for NSW in Game 2 and other occasions in past years.

This time, its metre-eating winger Jacob Kiraz whose selection by coach Laurie Daley as a precautionary back-up for Brian To’o will cost the Dogs significant yardage carries and a pair of safe hands.

The Penrith winger played through a knee injury in his sides tight win over Canterbury last week, but scan results have cleared To’o of any concern, meaning it is highly unlikely Kiraz will take to the field come Wednesday.

Brisbane find themselves in a similar problem, running out against the Bulldogs without superstar Reece Walsh who fills the Maroons 18th man slot and has been in great form since returning from injury.

Jacob Kiraz has been named as the NSW Blues 18th man in in the event Brian To’o can’t take to the field. Photo: Darrian Traynor/Getty Images.

To'o is carrying a knee injury but has been cleared to play in Game 3. Photo: Colin Murty/AFP.

“It’s ridiculous...Jacob Kiraz and Reece Walsh, they should be allowed to play in their club teams,” Mark Geyer said on 2GB.

“We don’t play (Origin) until next Wednesday. In fact, I think it’s time in Origin for us to bring in an 18th and 19th man to sit on the bench — a forward and a back.

“Come on, we’ve outgrown that ‘18th man can’t play’ thing.

“It’s just a bit of a bug bear of mine. The 18th man should be allowed to play for his club team.

Coach Billy Slater’s decision to shift Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow to fullback to replace the injured Kalyn Ponga leaves Michael Maguire with their own equally devastating Origin casualty list.

In Game 2 it was Ezra Mam.

“It’s interesting the 18th man rule, I don’t think anyone agrees with the way it is,” Daley said on the Sky Sports radio on Monday.

Reece Walsh was expected to be named in the fullback role after Kalyn Ponga’s injury but Maroons coach Slater instead shifted Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow to the position, leaving the Broncos full in limbo as 18th man. Photo: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images.

“Matt (Burton) I think has been selected as 18th man five times, missed club games and hasn’t played a part in the Origin games themselves.

“The reason why I picked Jacob, we’ve got one bloke who is in a bit of doubt and that’s Brian To’o.

“We want to give him every chance to play and because the Bulldogs are playing on the Friday night we want to make sure if Brian is ruled out than Jacob has had a full 11 days preparation with us.”

Team performance manager Frank Ponissi on Triple M weighed in on the topic, suggesting on Wednesday that picking an 18th man solely from a team with the bye isn’t solution for picking the optimal player.

The ultimate losers from the situation are the Bulldogs and the Broncos, who will lose both stars ahead of their clash at Accor Stadium on Friday. Photo: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images.

“What makes it difficult is the draw is unbalanced, so you don’t know who’s going to play. Some weeks that situation … it may favour NSW more than QLD because there’s more NSW players not playing that weekend compared to QLD,” he said.

“We’ve got to get the draw right before we get this particular issue correct.

“Origin has to be played in the middle of the season, it’s so big and massive for our game. It’s what we do with the NRL around the Origin period, we’ve got to get that right. So when we can sort that out, I think the 18th man and everything else will fall in line.”

Whether the NRL makes any changes to the 18th man rule following the series is yet to be seen as the discussion grows.

“If the clubs come to me about it, we’ll put it in the end of year review,” NRL’s CEO Andrew Abdo said.

Originally published as Calls to change State of Origin 18th man rule as Reece Walsh, Bulldogs dudded