Maroons sniff ruse as Blues resurrect injured Farah
QUEENSLAND power-brokers have taunted NSW hooker Robbie Farah as a relative of Jesus Christ if he believes he can make a miraculous resurrection from a broken hand to play the Origin decider.
As Maroons coach Mal Meninga insisted Farah was unlikely to recover in time to play at Suncorp Stadium next Wednesday, chairman Peter Betros scoffed at the thought the NSW No. 9 would be fit.
“I see they’ve named Robbie Farah in the side and he is having surgery,” Betros said.
“Robbie Farah might be related to Jesus Christ if he is going to make a miraculous recovery from surgery to play.”
Maroons assistant coach Jason Hetherington warned Farah he would face a serious examination of any injury if he takes the risk to play only eight days after surgery.
“It is hard ( to play with a broken hand) if someone steps on it,” Hetherington said.
“The passing I think will be affected, more so with a broken hand trying to catch passes would be the harder part.
“If someone shows a weakness you try to exploit it.”
Farah was named by the Blues in an unchanged Origin III side, the first time in NSW coach Laurie Daley’s Origin coaching career he has shown full loyalty by retaining the same team.
But the Maroons detect a ruse, with Michael Ennis tipped to be the man rushed in next week de
spite Farah under- going emergency hand surgery in Sydney yesterday.
Asked if he expected Farah to play, Meninga conceded he didn’t think he’d play next week.
“Probably not, no,” Meninga said.
The Blues added Josh Reynolds, Ryan Hinchcliffe, Tariq Sims and Sione Mata’utia to their extended squad, but it’s the likely addition of Ennis that has the Maroons on high alert.
Ennis will try to fight a grade one high tackle charge at the judiciary tonight, but even if he is banned he can serve his suspension for Cronulla on Sunday then be a late ad- dition to the Blues next week when Farah is officially ruled out.
The Maroons are adamant the Blues will exploit the loophole in the NRL rules to rush Ennis into the NSW team.
It is the same tactic Queensland used with Lote Tuqiri in 2002.
And while many thought the loophole was closed a decade ago, Betros has no problem with the Blues replicating another Maroons tactic this week.
“They copy everything we do,” Betros said.
Meninga said the prospect of noted niggler Reynolds in the Blues camp “doesn’t worry us”.