Men’s State of Origin Game 1 2026 - The Blues Vs The Maroons - 8:05pm Wednesday 27th May - Accor Stadium

Saifiti was always going to be in the mix with the way the Knights were going.

Even with the alleged Walsh ‘snub’ you can tell media outlets like Foxsports just haven’t been watching Ponga or the Knights play and even saw how good he was in the opening two weeks. It’s no surprise he’s hit the ground running.
 
mozza said:
Plenty of criticism going around about J Saf’s selection. The fat feeb on bloke in a bar has been especially vocal. Pretty strange considering he’s in better form than AFB, Barnett or ****ing Radley who shouldn’t be close to a representative side.

They also questioned his previous Origin performances which is absurd because he’s done well in his 2 games for NSW.
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Not surprising, people just don’t pay close attention to the Knights. They’d pay even less attention now to the likes of JSaf when KP, Sharpe, etc are killing it

Understand people being annoyed Ford wasn’t picked but JSaf is there to play a different role, it’s AFB that’s taken Ford’s spot for no apparent reason. The less said about Radley the better.

Weirdly, Billy’s selections are actually the more cooked ones. Not picking Walsh at all is mental. It’s almost hard not to think Billy took the Storm GF lost personally
 
Mr Goanna said:
so all's forgiven as far as Radley is concerned eh?
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It could be Jake Trbojevic…

You could make a reasonable argument for Radley being an “enforcer” type. You’d then have to realise it’s 2026 and not 2022 and see that the firebrand of player he once was, isn’t really at the forefront anymore. Plagued by suspensions and concussions - I’m not sure Origin is a good place to manage those.

Lucas, Terrel May, Jackson Ford, Preston 4 better options off the top of my head.
 
Not much cover for fullback or wing on the bench. Pretty sure the other McClean has played wing, but Casey has only been (or predominantly in his short NRL career) a centre.

And I agree Victor seems like a selection Daley should have made during his first stint as Origin coach.

If NSW don't blow them away early, I can see what Gus etc are saying, QLD look like they'll have the gas in the tank to finish over the top.
 
Another point why is Crichton in the team, I don’t care about his myth of him healing at rates you’d physically need to be super human to achieve, he had a reported horrific injury, came back much earlier than expected and has been average at the very best.

I honestly think he is still heavily injured and now going into the origin arena.

I mean I looked at his “AC Joint separation” at I’m seeing doctors say it takes 8-10 weeks just to start doing light tasks, I’m seeing months of recovery and yet he came back in round 9 after he got it in round 7.

So it was either a lie to make him look super tough, he did actually get it and is playing severely injured, or we have recorded proof of an actual super human that heals at rates that are just undoable by regular people.
 
KPGreatness said:
Another point why is Crichton in the team, I don’t care about his myth of him healing at rates you’d physically need to be super human to achieve, he had a reported horrific injury, came back much earlier than expected and has been average at the very best.

I honestly think he is still heavily injured and now going into the origin arena.

I mean I looked at his “AC Joint separation” at I’m seeing doctors say it takes 8-10 weeks just to start doing light tasks, I’m seeing months of recovery and yet he came back in round 9 after he got it in round 7.

So it was either a lie to make him look super tough, he did actually get it and is playing severely injured, or we have recorded proof of an actual super human that heals at rates that are just undoable by regular people.
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Yep! Reported as grade 5 ac joint. Displacement of 100-300% the normal distance. Essentially his clavicle (collar bone) is floating and only connected at his sternum.

Should result in significant loss of function, strength, flexibility and Stability.

Either bulldogs are being incredibly negligent, Crichton is somehow playing through a pretty bad injury or there’s some porkies.
 
Mclovin said:
Koula has played fullback so he can cover that easily if need be and McClean covers the wing spot.
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True. But Koula is already playing out of position to be covered by McClean, who hasn't played wing.

The lack of flexible players on the bench is likely to force these sorts of reshuffles if injuries occur, which could throw out Loz's game plans...such as they are.

There's very little redundancy built into this bench. Let's hope none of the props, wings or FB go down early. Remember, Daley lost an Origin in his first stint when Teddy went down early, and he didn't have adequate cover on his bench.
 
Think the general rule followed for most teams now with the 6 man bench is:
- Hooker
- Forward
- Forward
- Forward
- Backline
- Half

If you cop an injury in the first 5 minutes - there should be adequate options to allow you to adjust.

IMO, centre is more specialised than winger. Sure, great winger is a great finisher, bit of pace etc, But, centre is the one whose defence makes or breaks the defensive line. If your winger gets beaten 2 on 1, somebody else has usually botched the defence.

Queensland Bench is more
- Forward
- Forward
- Forward
- Forward
- Half
- Centre

But I guess Plath at 13 gives them their Hooker depth. I wouldn’t be surprised if Loeiro or Carrigan starts at 13, leaving Plath on the bench. If you need to give Grant a rest - you probably want somebody full of legs - not somebody that’s been out there for a similar amount of time.

Hammer can also easily fill Fullback (PLEASE DONT NEED TO) and Shiba into Centre. Which is probably another reason why Walsh doesn’t make the team.

Interesting speculation comments on why Ponga > Walsh. Aside from the usual Walsh must be carrying an injury. Some comments made it seem puzzling because “Ponga hasn’t been lighting up the comp” haha. I think Keary made some comments that it was largely due to Ponga’s defensive communication - he sets the line up really well - which is obvious when you watch him in defence, always scouting and organising.

I’m a little surprised it seems Strange is the next half up. Had a good year last year - maybe it’s reward for that.
 
I don't hate Strange being a break glass in case of emergency option. Combines well with Hudson Young. If you're going to play Young, you want a half who has a bit of a bush footy style support game with him.
 
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