Whenever New South Wales lose an Origin match as they lost on Wednesday – like three-quarters of the matches played since 1980 – the entire state embarks on a blame game of Cluedo. There is a criminal here. What remains is to bring him to justice.
So, in the last three days, suspects have been lined up:
Colonel Cleary, in the Conservatory, with a candlestick.
Reverend Tedesco, in the Ballroom, with a revolver.
Professor Pangai jnr, in the Billiard Room, with the lead pipe.
And so on.
The usual NSW blame game started right after full-time of Wednesday night’s loss.Credit: Getty
When Queensland lose, I can only imagine what they do, but it probably involves a late night piss-up and a lot of ‘Let’s get the %@$*s next time.’ (They probably also do this when they win.)
In NSW, on the other hand, there has to be an individual whose fault it was. Hudson Young shouldn’t have been there, Jarome Luai’s out of his depth, Turbo’s half-fit. We end up having too many inadequate individuals to sack, so then our eyes turn to the criminal mastermind. Brad Fittler in the role of Dr Black, found lifeless at the bottom of the staircase.
Is this the right way to go about things? If the purpose is to prove Queenslanders’ idea about NSW, which is that we are the undisputed champions at eating our own, then yes. For 43 years of Origin defeats, NSW have had far more success at in-fighting than at fighting.
The orthodox theory of Origin is pretty simple. Queenslanders hate us more than we can ever hope to hate them. So when the teams are evenly matched, the Maroons’ edge in hatred brings them through. This could be an explanation for Wednesday night’s events in Adelaide. When Queensland were down to 12 men, trailing on the scoreboard with 12 minutes remaining, they channelled, as usual, their inner pirate Yellowbeard – they’re never more dangerous than when they are dead. Hate got them through.
Maroons coach Billy Slater once again out-thought NSW rival Brad Fittler.Credit: Getty
What propelled Lindsay Collins into the skies above Tedesco? Hatred. How did Reuben Cotter and Pat Carrigan lift their legs to race up and make yet another tackle? Hatred. What gave Cameron Munster the energy to run around three defenders to isolate the weak link in Nicho Hynes? Hatred. What caused Tedesco to slip over instead of tackling Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow? A heart insufficiently filled with hatred.
Hatred lifts them to superhuman endurance and unites them in a single purpose. We can never match it. Moreover, NSW also hate NSW, which can’t help.
But there’s another side to the Queensland magic which doesn’t get as much airtime. And this is – hold your breath – that they’re smarter. They think more clearly. They choose better options while fatigued, while angry, whether leading or trailing. It’s not an easy thing to accept, but Queensland leads NSW in rugby league IQ.
Currently, their intellectual edge starts with the coach. When Melbourne and Queensland had all those great players, few would have tipped Billy Slater to be the brainy one. Cameron Smith was so smart he was going to run the NRL. Cooper Cronk was headed for a Harvard doctorate in business. Billy? Probably running a nice little stable at a country racetrack.
Credit: Illustration: Simon Letch
Instead, television commentary gives us a weekly understanding of Slater’s insight and ability to detach himself from his emotions. While Smith is in the studio guffawing, and over on Fox Cronk is struggling to get his breathing in time with his syllables, Slater is the brains of the operation, taking apart each play with surgical precision. And that’s flattering surgeons. Fittler, meanwhile, seems a genuinely good person with a big heart and a refusal to take rugby league too seriously. Top bloke to have a beer with, no question. But in the rugby league IQ test, it’s all Billy. Nobody saw that coming.
In Origin, Slater is equipped with Munster and Daly Cherry-Evans, two footballers who have repeatedly demonstrated an uncanny mental clarity at club and representative levels. Cherry-Evans might not achieve as much as Cleary week after week, but he possesses higher Origin IQ (an elite subset of rugby league IQ). His kicking and passing game, his leadership and his thinking repeatedly teach Cleary a lesson. It’s no accident that when NSW did enjoy sustained success in the 1990s and early 2000s, they were orchestrated by Ricky Stuart and Andrew Johns, smart Origin cookies.
While the Maroons jumper has always caused Queenslanders to grow extra lungs – or in Michael Hancock’s case, an extra leg – it also enlarges their playmakers’ brains. The King and Alfie were never more intelligent than when wearing Maroon.
Conversely, players pull on the Blues jersey and lose their minds. They rush out of the line at the wrong moment. They kick down Queensland throats. They whack the wrong heads and pass to the wrong guys, self-defeating decisions. Tedesco is being called the heir to Paul Gallen, a fine player who, in a Blues jersey, hogged the ball and tried to win games single-handedly. Cleary is filling the boots left by Mitchell Pearce, another playmaker who, in blue, became less than the sum of his parts. Isaah Yeo is a rugby league polymath but only when wearing black or pink. Meanwhile, at the bottom of the class, Young and the Pangai fils are being compared to previous Fittler thought-bubbles such as Nathan Brown and Ryan Matterson. Unfair to pick on individuals? We have a long tradition to uphold.
Paul Gallen tried to do it all for NSW.Credit: Getty
Where to now for NSW? Er, Brisbane. Best not to overcomplicate this.
NSW have to win game two to stay in the series, and their best ally in the past has been the modicum of complacency that slips into all Origin teams following a win. That seems a dumb thing to hope for, but no dumber than the standard the Blues have habitually set. They will also have Latrell Mitchell, the best high-speed decision-maker in the game.
Dropping and blaming everyone in sight is more dumb Blueness. Since the beginning of Origin, NSW have used 307 players. Queensland have used 228. The Maroons pick and stick, the Blues back but sack. It’s never been about individuals, it’s clearly about (gulp) culture. NSW can dump players, they can dump their coach, but nobody, not even the Blues, have found a way of dumping a culture. All they can do is work with what they’ve got. It doesn’t seem much, and it’s probably even less than it seems. But the footballer’s brain is the most underrated piece of Origin equipment. All the more reason to protect it.
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