Gould: Maloney the key to rise of Blues
When Phil Gould was asked on Twitter this week which player had been the most inspirational for the Blues this series, he praised Damien Cook and James Tedesco, but declared: ‘‘James Maloney has been key.’’
There have been no shortage of heroes for the NSW Blues, with Tedesco the man of the match in the State of Origin opener at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, and a tough Boyd Cordner claiming the award in Origin II in Sydney.
The Brad Fittler Medal – the best Blues player of the series – could have as many as 17 genuine contenders for the first time. So it was quite the rap for Maloney when given the tick by New South Wales’ most successful coach.
‘‘Tell him I said he is the key man. He will tell you why,’’ Penrith general manager Gould said when asked to elaborate on his choice.
Maloney on Thursday took the comments with good humour.
‘‘It’s nice to get compliments rather than get bagged . . . although he is my boss [at Penrith]. I don’t know, maybe
Maloney said.
‘‘I know my role in this side, I’ve tried to do it, and I think I’ve done it pretty well.
‘‘Being the senior playmaker in this side, with that comes a lot of extra responsibility in key moments, and overall we’ve performed pretty well in those moments. Maybe that’s what he’s on about.
‘‘He’s a guy who knows footy really well. I do enjoy having him out there [at Penrith] talking about footy.
‘‘He gives a different perspective I am the key,’’ to other people I’ve heard. I’ve enjoyed talking to different people and understanding different mindsets around footy, so when he’s around, you’d be stupid not to pick his brain.’’
If Maloney was not the most influential in the opening two matches, he said there were no shortage of players who had starred.
Tedesco was brilliant in attack and defence, he said, while captain ‘‘Boydo leads by example and that’s why he’s our skipper’’.
‘‘It’s hard to nail someone down. ‘‘The more I think about it, I think of all these different blokes,’’ Maloney said.
The oldest member of the side, Maloney was not guaranteed his No 6 jersey before the series because of coach Fittler’s concerns over his defence in the weeks leading up to team selection.
But the larrikin playmaker has done a tremendous job taking the heat off his Penrith team-mate and 20-year-old rookie halfback Nathan Cleary, especially late in both games.
He has done most of the kicking and defensively botched just seven tackles in two games, four less than his Queensland opposite Cameron Munster.
Maloney is the big reason his new team Penrith is so far up the ladder, especially taking into account that Cleary broke down with a knee injury in round three.
While no stranger to Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium, Maloney, now 32, has no interest in making Origin III his swansong, and if all goes to script he will have two years in the NRL – and Blues – before he retires or entertains Britain’s Super League.
A possible seven more Origin games alongside Cleary had a nice ring to it, said Maloney.