NO, YOU DIDN’T IMAGINE IT
Titans star and his Blues buddies turn our Suncorp into ...
TO Queensland fans waking up feeling groggy, bleary-eyed and a little dazed this morning, we have some bad news – your nightmare was all too real. To New South Wales fans waking up feeling groggy, bleary-eyed and a little dazed – we hope you enjoyed the party.
NSW monstered Queensland last night in Game One of the State of Origin series. Jarryd Hayne celebrated with Blues fans after scoring during their 28-4 win.
DYLAN Napa’s very first taste of State of Origin football was enough to prove it’s not all doom and gloom for Queensland.
In an ultra-aggressive 22minute opening stint, the firebrand debutant firmly stuck his hand up to be the man to lead the pack of upand-coming Maroons enforcers who will protect their state’s era of success in the face of NSW’S clinical 28-4 win last night.
The 24-year-old frontrower wasted no time in making an impact, taking the first hit-up of the series with his trademark ferocity.
A second charge in the same set preceded his first tackle in the Origin arena, made with yet another dose of venom as he crunched Blues winger Blake Ferguson into the Suncorp Stadium turf.
The statisticians may tell you Napa’s maiden outing in Maroons colours was littered with a number of missed tackles but more than anything, those “misses” were a mere byproduct of his sheer aggression where he bounced off the ball carrier.
Napa later staved off an injury scare to return to the field for a final 17-minute burst.
He made the last tackle of the match, again with strong contact, and finished with 109m gained from 11 runs.
By no means was Napa alone in the young brigade’s efforts to take the fight to a revered Blues pack inspired by Andrew Fifita.
Josh Papalii, 25, proved hard to handle with the ball in hand while sixth-gamer Josh McGuire worked industriously for much of the night.
But Napa, being the highly anticipated debutant after being barred from likely selection last year for breaking curfew in an Emerging Origin camp, was the one whose performance can offer most hope.
To think props generally don’t reach their best footy until their mid-20s is a scary prospect, considering Napa has already been a force to be reckoned with for several seasons.
At the other end of the scale, the efforts of old dog Nate Myles – selected on loyalty rather than form – provided a telling story.
Myles at one point produced a covering tackle on Brett Morris but, for the most part, every one of the 31 years in his legs was plain to see.
He was often the last to get back into an onside position and was the first requiring a rest.
In contrast to Napa’s maiden carry, Myles’ first opportunity with the footy last night ended with him being dominated by the Blues defence and forced into a slow play the ball – costly at this level.
While the Maroons engine room appears wellplaced to take the fight to NSW for years to come, as young forwards Jarrod Wallace and Coen Hess lay waiting in the wings, the side’s future in the playmaking department is of more concern.
In Johnathan Thurston’s absence, ageing stars Cameron Smith and Cooper Cronk had to carry the load from start to finish.
Anthony Milford, representing the fresh new wave of playmakers, showed glimmers of exciting talent but dropped in and out of the contest.
What’s more is he may not get another audition this year should Thurston, as expected, make a welcome return for Game Two in Sydney on June 21 in what is the Cowboys legend’s last season of representative football.