the definition of desparation

[Ken Gargett]

i enjoy state of origin as much as anyone - was even there at lang park for the very first one back in 1980. will be back there this year again when it retuirns to its spiritual home.

i saw big artie, one of queensland's greatest sons, run on in his maroon jersey. i was one of the crowd cheering madly for the great player. and we cheered again when he rushed in to belt mick cronin. i've drunk at artie's pub. talked to him as he served us beers and had a few himself. watched him coach queensland for many years.

for the sad, pathetic, beyond desparate barbarians from the south to have the gall to claim big artie as one of theirs is a disgrace beyond measure. and to do so not long after he died so he cannot tell them what grubs they are for this, is utterly appalling. trust me, if any qlder was getting a little complacent after years of complete domination then this will provide all the ammo the glorious qldrs need to spur them to yet another record win. ricky stuart must be furious with the moron behind it. this will fire up the entire team.

big artie is a qlder, through and through. it is why origin started - so blokes like him could play for their own states. it is why dills from nsw still don't properly understand origin and why, with less than 20% of the playing base from which to select, queensland is and has been so dominant. long may it remain so.

GO THOSE MIGHTY MAROONS!!

[Guest rob]

geez ken.... I'm glad I know you personally.... otherwise I'd think you were just like the rest of those crazy, outspoken qlders

[chr0nic]

I like your spirit Ken (and agree with a lot of what you've said) but I'll be keenly watching tomorrow night and be spurring the 'boys in Blue' on for a long awaited series win

The Maroons are a FANTASTIC team and have kept me nervous for years and years. The Blues have struggled due to a massive gap in experience and, to a large degree, talent. When you look at the quality players you guys have- many of which represent Australia- then look at who we have... well, it's kind of threatening. Hence the drought in trophies for us

All I really hope for (besides from a win) are 3 clean games. I remember a couple of years back in game two when the Blues came out and tried to basically rough-house Qld. It was a stupid tactic, which ended with a loss, and made me a little sad to watch. I know Origin can make the players a little 'pumped', but they were tackling over-aggressive from the first minute.

GO THOSE MIGHTY MAROONS BLUES!!

[Ken Gargett]

a tactic often used by teams that need to put the opposition off their game - and in all fairness, one which we might also have been guilty of at times - in the past. i think ricky will have them pumped for it and it could explode. i also think that he has picked a clever side, designed to score points of their own (on the sensible assumption that the qld backline is probably too good to keep to a minor score) and also a quick pack designed to run qld's big blokes ragged. it might work. i think that nsw will be desparate to slow the play-the-balls down (as bellamy did successfully a few years ago) to stop the big guys getting on a roll. will be hard to maintain all that for 80 minutes and players like thurston, smith, inglis, slater, hodges too good and smart not to counter.

t-rex a bit of a wild card. qld will be all over him but he could cause big problems. or, given he has been suspended for so long, his timing could be a smidge out. if it goes wrong in a tackle, it could be on, big time.

should be a cracking game.

ricky's manager is a good mate of mine. in most years, he puts up a good face and runs the party line but this year i know that he genuinely believes that nsw will win. we have lunch on it. i hope to claim it after two games and catch up for the third for a big lunch.

[chr0nic]

...this year i know that he genuinely believes that nsw will win. we have lunch on it. i hope to claim it after two games and catch up for the third for a big lunch.

I hope he gets a good feed...

In all seriousness I'm really looking forward to the first game. I usually like them the most because- despite it setting the tone for the series- I can relax the most during it. If they lose, there is always game 2. If they win?

[KurtE]

as an AFL fan, the reason why I haven't watched Origin for ages is because it's hardly even been a contest of late. It bores me. Hoping for a better series this year

[Ken Gargett]

as an AFL fan, the reason why I haven't watched Origin for ages is because it's hardly even been a contest of late. It bores me. Hoping for a better series this year

so last year was one all, going to a decider. not sure how much more of a contest you want. i think only one of the 6 qld wins have been a clean sweep - rest have all been 2-1.

perhaps, as an afl fan, it is simply that you don't like contact sports?

[Vinnyc]

Im with you ken can't get closer than a decider. I'm interested to know how the p,ayers going from the super league here down to you guys settle in. Also how do the Irish guys going from galic settle I to the AFL?

[chr0nic]

as an AFL fan, the reason why I haven't watched Origin for ages is because it's hardly even been a contest of late. It bores me. Hoping for a better series this year

As an AFL fan I would have thought the reason you wouldn't watch Origin is *because* you're an AFL fan...

Do AFL have a "rep" game? I mean, I don't mind watching it if it's on, but don't know a lot about it- is there an Eastcoast vs. Westcoast type deal?

The reason I love rep footy so much is down to one word- loyalty. I don't support an NRL team. I find it too difficult with players I love switching sides (not to mention codes!)... plus it affects my tipping scores lol. Though the beaut thing about being a rep player is that you can't just switch sides. You are who you are, and you play for your territories pride.

As Ken mentioned in his original post the Blues have "less than 20% of the playing base from which to select". Queensland has, in previous years, utilised the "Fab Four", Lockyer, Thurston, Thiday... ALL IN THE ONE GAME (not to mention some of their younger stunners). Their side smacks of talent- *yet* we seem to manage to claw up a victory and, on most occasions, bring it to a decider.

So yeah, I know that lately NSW have copped a lot. When you go through coaches at a rate only comparable to Parramatta, don't win a series in over half a decade, and have very few choices in the way of "star power" you are going to have sh*t put on you. Though the great thing about these times is that it separates the true fans from the groupies: if you can stick by your team through the worst you deserve to celebrate when they produce the best.

[Ken Gargett]

Im with you ken can't get closer than a decider. I'm interested to know how the p,ayers going from the super league here down to you guys settle in. Also how do the Irish guys going from galic settle I to the AFL?

i'm lost with the super league bit? that was back in the 90s? unless you mean the comp in the UK? if that is it, guys like the burgess brothers are doing very well. extremely talented players and they'd do well in any comp. a lot of the players coming down here are aussies returning so they know the comp - but i suspect that is not what you mean. good players will do well usually in any comp. and they are well received here. fans keen to see the best.

the gaellic footy switch a little different. jim stynes who sadly passed away very young just recently became one of the games' icons. others have had limited success. lions have a kid called hanley who took a few years and is now looking pretty good. but they don't come here and dominate. it was once seen as an untapped market for the afl but i don't think it is that simple. there'll be a few that succeed but many that won't.

and to my blues friend, it is the maroons that have less than 20% of the playing group from which to choose, not the blues.

[chr0nic]

and to my blues friend, it is the maroons that have less than 20% of the playing group from which to choose, not the blues.

Ah, well that *is* an interesting stat. All I can say is "what a 20%"!

I'd be content with 20 percent myself if I had the likes of those players

...though if I'm not mistaken- and I must admit I never really dug too hard into this fact- I believe Greg Inglis should be wearing a Blues jersey...

"Inglis made his NRL Premiership debut at eighteen years of age as a replacement to injured winger Jake Webster in Melbourne's match against the Parramatta Eels, scoring a try in a 14–26 loss.

Inglis would go on to play a month later at fullback, against the South Sydney Rabbitohs, scoring another try."

Not that it matters, but imagine a universe where GI was in a Blue jersey. With his Origin record and skill who knows what impact he could have made for us

[Ken Gargett]

Ah, well that *is* an interesting stat. All I can say is "what a 20%"!

I'd be content with 20 percent myself if I had the likes of those players

...though if I'm not mistaken- and I must admit I never really dug too hard into this fact- I believe Greg Inglis should be wearing a Blues jersey...

"Inglis made his NRL Premiership debut at eighteen years of age as a replacement to injured winger Jake Webster in Melbourne's match against the Parramatta Eels, scoring a try in a 14–26 loss.

Inglis would go on to play a month later at fullback, against the South Sydney Rabbitohs, scoring another try."

Not that it matters, but imagine a universe where GI was in a Blue jersey. With his Origin record and skill who knows what impact he could have made for us

the inglis debate is an interesting one. under the new guidelines, he'd be deemed a blue. back then, he played some footy for wavell heights in brizzy at 16 and so was a qlder, even though from kempsey. odd rules and they needed to be sorted. peter sterling, steve rogers and a number of other blues were born in qld. and plenty vice versa.

but the inglis impact would not have been as big as many think. for quite a few of his early years, nsw had gasnier and cooper and he probably would not have made the side for quite a few of those years, but ultimately, yes, any side that has ever played the game would be better off with inglis in it.

a good mate of mine from nsw, can't bear this debate. he blames his brother, a teacher, for not picking inglis in a schoolboy side which apparently would have sealed it for them.

and an aside, i had a long chat not so long ago with one of the afl's leading managers (no names but he was involved with the greatest side of the last 50 years and may also have been involved with israel flying the coop). he told me that he was convinced that the only reason that the storm picked inglis so early for that game in the nrl was because they got wind of the fact that he was trying extremely hard to sign him across to afl - saw him as a potential superstar of the afl. so the storm quickly promoted him. worked out well.

[Ken Gargett]

i would also add, and you'd like to think that it would play a role, apparently inglis very much wanted to play for qld and not nsw. apparently he'd copped a lot of racist crap in nsw that he did not get at all in qld.

[ARRV]

Sorry, I missed the bit about NSW claiming Artie - when and/or how exactly? Pretty sure he's a Qlder and always thought of as so down here. Talk about trying to find an issue Ken ... I mean I understand it's difficult for Qld to claim underdog status with a straight face nowadays but surely this has to be the biggest manufactured issue since spin began.

Go the blues

[Ken Gargett]

Sorry, I missed the bit about NSW claiming Artie - when and/or how exactly? Pretty sure he's a Qlder and always thought of as so down here. Talk about trying to find an issue Ken ... I mean I understand it's difficult for Qld to claim underdog status with a straight face nowadays but surely this has to be the biggest manufactured issue since spin began.

Go the blues

no, nothing to do with me. an article in the southern press by a nsw writer. quite a prominent article so can't imagine it would be hard to find. and i agree about it being manufactured but all done by one of your own.

technically, because of the inequities of the day, all the great qlders ended up playing for nsw - it was why origin was brought in. so he was basically claiming big artie as a nsw-man because he did play quite a lot for nsw. none of them had any option. but this idiot was claiming him as a son of nsw who basically learnt his trade there etc etc.

it was a bit of a low act to wait until artie passed away before writing it. he clearly didn't have the balls to try it while artie was alive. but we'd expect nothing less.

[chr0nic]

i would also add, and you'd like to think that it would play a role, apparently inglis very much wanted to play for qld and not nsw. apparently he'd copped a lot of racist crap in nsw that he did not get at all in qld.

Yeah that's a fair call... no one should have to put up with that sh*t. Last years (?) incident with Tahu is an embarrassing realisation that things haven't changed completely. There is no place for racism anywhere IMO, let alone on the field. I'd imagine the better you are, the worse it would get too.

Regardless of players I always wished NSW managed to win a series just once when you guys were at full strength with Folau and Lockyer. Maroons with that much fire-power were epic.

[ARRV]

no, nothing to do with me. an article in the southern press by a nsw writer. quite a prominent article so can't imagine it would be hard to find. and i agree about it being manufactured but all done by one of your own.

technically, because of the inequities of the day, all the great qlders ended up playing for nsw - it was why origin was brought in. so he was basically claiming big artie as a nsw-man because he did play quite a lot for nsw. none of them had any option. but this idiot was claiming him as a son of nsw who basically learnt his trade there etc etc.

it was a bit of a low act to wait until artie passed away before writing it. he clearly didn't have the balls to try it while artie was alive. but we'd expect nothing less.

I see.

No doubt a plant by Qld to fire them up.

I see where in the lead up Qld is saying that they are concentrating on their own game and not about the starting side of NSW - not an unusual statement in modern sport - which apparently is now being used as ammo by Sticky for his team saying Qld is so arrogant they are not even worried about who NSW is putting on the field - gotta love it.

Reminiscent of Eddie Jones v Jake White mind games

Speaking of White - doing very good things with a pretty ordinary (on paper) team. Must be one hell of a coach. I read somewhere that he just adopted a Sth African approach of getting the biggest pack he could find and taking things from there - not a bad plan especially at S12 (S15?) level if not at every level

[Ken Gargett]

No doubt a plant by Qld to fire them up.

or actually just what it is. a dill from nsw.

Reminiscent of Eddie Jones v Jake White mind games

that would assume eddie jones is capable of that and not the complete dopey self-obsessed insane nutcase coach he is (tho i'm sure he is kind to small animals). and don't forget that i say that as someone from qld that he coached!! we are not always one-eyed about everything.

Speaking of White - doing very good things with a pretty ordinary (on paper) team. Must be one hell of a coach.

on this we agree. a very very good coach. shame he wasn't in charge of the wallabies instead of the disaster we have now. if we must have a coach from offshore.

[Wil]

Do AFL have a "rep" game? I mean, I don't mind watching it if it's on, but don't know a lot about it- is there an Eastcoast vs. Westcoast type deal?

They used to play State of Origin. The big rivalry was between Victoria and South Australia. But it died. There has been some talk about starting it up again, but it won't happen because clubs are unlikely to allow their players to play (due to the risk of injury).

Popped out in my lunchbreak today and there are QLD and NSW rugby fans everywhere! Can't understand why its in Melbourne Are they expecting a big crowd?

[chr0nic]

Popped out in my lunchbreak today and there are QLD and NSW rugby fans everywhere! Can't understand why its in Melbourne Are they expecting a big crowd?

Game one of Origin is in Melbourne this year... I imagine there would be a pilgrimage of some description from North-and-Norther

[Ken Gargett]

it was sold out nearly two months ago - at etihad i think so that should be 50-60,000 i would guess.

melb trying "to buy" one of the games for each year. lot of opposition up here. did not help when the victorian minister of sports introduced an origin function, proclaiming how great it was to have the queensland and new zealand teams in melb for origin.

mind you, after nsw did the dirty pinching tamou from nz, perhaps there was more to it than appeared.

[chr0nic]

mind you, after nsw did the dirty pinching tamou from nz, perhaps there was more to it than appeared.

Can't recall; is Tamou still active for NZ? Hell, if they're going to start signing rep players who are supposed to be ineligible I'd rather snipe for Benji

[Ken Gargett]

no, tamou now out for nz. he'd lived something like 18 of his 20 years in auckland. landed in nsw and played about three minutes and then went to north qld but nsw convinced him to ditch nz. shows how silly the "guidelines" are. they need to sort something out real quick but it makes the inglis thing look moderate. needs fixing all round.

as for benji, you blokes would have no chance. came to qld as a youngster and played all "qualifying" games etc in qld. then picked up by the tigers. there was some talk about allowing kiwis - i am opposed, it is origin for christ's sake - a few years ago. nsw were keen to get sonny bill playing for them. less keen when it was pointed out that we'd have benji. glad none of them are playing. mind you, would benji have even made the side in recent years - lockyer/thurston and now thurston/cronk? perhaps a bench spot.

[ARRV]

Joke. A corrupt joke. If you have to win this way then have it. Origin is dead.

[chr0nic]

On mobile, so I'll keep it short; sin-binning Jennings was IMO a gross over reaction.

I'm not even going to touch on "that" try.