Men’s State of Origin Game 2 2026 - The Blues Vs The Maroons - 8:05pm Wednesday 17th June - MCG

jamesgould

jamesgould

Danny 'Bedsy' Buderus
Staff member
Admin
Just over two weeks until Game 2, so it's time to fire up the thread!

Our flashback game 2 is of course Joey's comeback in 2005 ... an absolutely iconic moment for any fans who were around at the time. After a tough start to 2005 in club land, it was so good to see Johns back to his absolute peak on a huge stage:

 
The Artist Formerly Known as Aku'd said:
Can’t see anyone backing up against the Dragons unless JSaf and Lucas play very limited or no minutes.
Click to expand...
With the players back from injuries from other teams like Hass and Liam Martin I wouldn’t be surprised if only player we will miss will be Kalyn, Lucas deserves a chance but feel they would go back to experienced Martin for a potential series winning game
 
Payne Haas definitely the lock to come in, Api Koroisau covers Brailey I assume. Casey McLean up for consideration, was solid again against the Warriors.
Big one will be does Strange fill a bench spot or start, and NSW go with him since they are up 1-0 without their backs to the wall. If Moses doesn't end up being quite ready.
Would consider Ford too.

In regards to Game 3, 2005....It was equally as impressive. Just dominated them from start to finish, in QLD. Just a shame to lose Joey and Fittler in Back to Back years which leads to 8 in a row...but even those first few before their spine became really dominant were 50/50 games where things were decided with a few key plays.
 
From Danny Weidler today:

"Stephen Crichton’s fitness is a real concern for the Blues. The back-up plan if the Bulldogs centre is unable to play in Origin II is no secret – Casey McLean is an excellent cover and proved his credentials when replacing Tolu Koula in the series opener.

But the identity of McLean’s replacement on the bench is of interest. Knights young gun Fletcher Sharpe is getting plenty of attention from those picking the side. He would be a real weapon off the bench."
 
He should definitely be the conversation. It’s not a question of if he will play origin but when. Casey McClean btw is an absolute gun. What is he 19? Ridiculous.
The only disappointment is I feel for Bradman. Not only he gets these injuries but gets them around origin time. He would have already played a lot more games if it wasn’t for his injuries. And now I worry he might fall down the pecking knowing how good McClean is.

If all fit I would rate the best centres for NSW in order are:
Trell
Best
Critter
Staggs
McClean
 
Funny how the only junior rep game Sharpe played was in the Country v City under 18s in 2022.
He was always behind Canberra fullback Chevy Stewart - who has played a total of 5 firstgrade games since - and has only got on the field for 17 minutes this year.
It was actually fair at the time - Stewart was a lot bigger and had a similar skillset - but since then Sharpe has had a growth spurt, got a lot stronger and shown he can play anywhere, while Stewart has pretty much stayed the same level since he was killing it in juniors.
 
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