Crawley Files: damning statistics expose NSW Blues in State of Origin loyalty debate

Brad Fittler can spin it how he wants but NSW has not shown its players the same loyalty as Queensland. PAUL CRAWLEY reveals the statistics which end the debate.

NSW have used 84 more players than Queensland since State of Origin’s inception in 1980.

So Brad Fittler is apparently angry at calls for James Tedesco’s head.

But here are the stats that perfectly sum up why the Blues’ outrage at anyone who dared question Tedesco’s ongoing place in the team reeks of double standards.

The simple fact is NSW has not shown its players the same loyalty as Queensland over the entire course of State of Origin history.

And yet again the Blues are showing their true colours here.

On one hand Fittler is filthy about criticism of Tedesco’s performance in Adelaide. Yet in the next instance the underfire coach has made Origin rookies Nicho Hynes and Tevita Pangai his latest scapegoats.

Fittler will now gamble on two more NSW debutants in Reece Robson and Stefano Utoikamanu for a must-win game at Suncorp Stadium.

NSW have used 84 more players than Queensland since State of Origin’s inception in 1980.

But if Fittler is fair dinkum about calling out the Blues’ harshest critics he should be looking directly in the mirror, because it is Fittler and his chief advisor Greg Alexander who pick the team, not the media or the fans.

And they just can’t hide from the reality that they have hung Hynes and Pangai out to dry in what has been a blatant attempt to cover up their own selection errors from game one.

If we want to take it a step further, Fittler could also line up the past NSW coaches and selectors to carry their portion of the blame in the loyalty debate - given collectively they have been responsible for an extraordinary 35 per cent higher turnover of players than Queensland over the 44-year Origin period.

THE PRICE OF LOYALTY

Fox Sports Stats show the inclusion of Robson and Utoikamanu will take the total count of NSW Origin players to 308 as opposed to just 228 who have pulled on the Queensland jumper dating all the way back to the very first game in 1980.

Of course new Blues No.7 Mitchell Moses doesn’t add to the tally because he previously made his Origin debut in 2021 when filling in for the injured Nathan Cleary.

But then you go back to why Hynes and Pangai were picked in the first place, given Fittler had months to deliberate over his squad for game one?

Take into account that the Blues have now taken a tip from Billy Slater’s play book and gone for two dummy halves to replace the injured Api Koroisau, even though Damien Cook is more than capable of playing 80 minutes, which he does every week for the Rabbitohs.

Nicho Hynes was left out of Brad Fittler’s Game II squad. Picture: Mark Kolbe/Getty

But by dropping Hynes to bring in Robson, it certainly reads like Fittler is effectively saying he got his selections wrong in game one. That he should have gone for two hookers first up, given Hynes was basically limited to 10 minutes playing in the centres where he had virtually no chance to prove himself.

While in respect to Pangai, everyone knew he was always going to be a huge risk given his rocks or diamonds history.

But, again, it was Fittler who made the decision, saying he was prepared to throw in all his chips and back the Bulldogs’ enforcer.

Yet when it backfired, Pangai was thrown to the kerb to make way for another Blues debutant in Utoikamanu.

MOUNTING SCAPEGOATS

It just adds to the list of players who have been thrown under the bus in recent years including Luke Keary, Cody Walker, Kotoni Staggs, Nick Cotric, Matt Burton, Sifa Talakai, Ryan Matterson and Jacob Saifiti - just to name some of the victims of what has been an erratic selection policy to say the least.

Then you look at a bloke like Jack Wighton who was overlooked last year for the decider after a standout game one because he got Covid. And this was in the same series Fittler snubbed Josh Addo-Carr before bringing him back this year.

PROVEN HISTORY OF SUCCESS

It brings us back to the age old debate that seems to come up every year when the Blues hit a bit of trouble.

Yes, there is certainly a case that the Blues have a far greater pool of players to pick from, which means they are often spoiled for choice.

But even with fewer players, the Maroons have been rewarded for their loyalty by the fact they have won a staggering 23 series to the Blues 16 (with two drawn series).

Queensland also holds the advantage of 68 match victories in total as opposed to NSW’s 57, with two draws.

And breaking down the player churn rate by position, fullback is the only spot where the Blues have used fewer players (21 to 23) over the course of Origin history.

Because then we go to 57 wingers against 48, 45 centres to 39. In the key halves positions NSW has used 28 five-eighths to just 19, and 21 halfbacks to Queensland’s 13.

In the forwards it’s a similar scenario, with the Blues using 63 props to 49, 23 hookers to 18, 60 second rowers to 51 and 32 locks to 26. The Blues’ have also used 148 bench players to Queensland’s 126.

Depending on which state you cheer for, you will read into all that what you will.

But the stats simply can’t be ignored.

FREDDY’S MOMENT OF TRUTH

The fact is Fittler is now staring down the barrel of losing his third series in four years at a time when the Blues were supposed to be coming into a golden age after a decade of Origin misery.

And given Fittler is off contract at the end of this series, it is impossible to see how he will survive unless the Blues come home from Suncorp with a shock win.

So this is his final throw at the stumps that will ultimately come down to the team Fittler has chosen, and the tactics he sends them out to play with.

Yet despite what we all saw in Adelaide, it seems the Blues hierarchy want the media carrying pompoms and writing what they want to hear, instead of telling it for what it is.

Originally published as Crawley Files: damning statistics expose NSW Blues in State of Origin loyalty debate