Beware The Sleeping Warhorse
Sydney Morning Herald
Saturday June 9, 2001
State of Origin debuts can turn into nightmares for the nervous newcomers, especially in the front row, writes Roy Masters.
State of Origin football rewards the warhorse. While young front-rowers fuss and fidget, the old prop sits calmly in a corner of the dressing-room, arms folded, eyes closed, his mind locked in private thought. The fledgling forward changes everything boots, studs, pads, even his mind.
The long wait in Origin football makes it tougher on the rookie.
Because the game does not start till 8pm and follows a week of camp, the debut is more stressful than club football, in which kick-off is normally in the early afternoon and the player wakes up in his own bed.
During tomorrow's long afternoon, NSW front-rower Mark O'Meley will attempt an hour's sleep in the team motel.
He will toss and turn, switch pillows, throw off a blanket, even climb out of bed and check the contents of the bag he will carry to the Olympic stadium.
Queensland prop Shane Webcke will lower his battle-scarred head onto the pillow at his Bondi hotel and fall asleep.
In club football, the veteran prop would probably prefer an experienced opponent to a rookie, human comfort with the known being preferable to human anxiety over the new.
But in Origin football, the warhorse would rather pack down against a colt untested in the fury of the coming stampede.
Therefore, while experienced Webcke won't waste a bit of nervous energy in the build-up, O'Meley has the double disadvantage of the long wait and the uncertainty of the speed and aggression of the coming contest.
It's like going to a place where people give you directions, even tell you the number of the house and the orientation of the street, but you can't be certain you are there until you're standing on the doorstep.
As former Blues stalwart Steve ``Blocker" Roach said: ``It's catch and kill your own. In my debut match, my front-row partner Craig Young a bloke who I'd modelled my game on was hit on the head by an elbow from [Queensland prop] Dave Brown.
``Craig was gone and I'm thinking, `What happens now'?"
The contrast between O'Meley and Webcke was evident early this week when the young bull began talking the talk, promising to test the referee out with aggressive play. Webcke responded with calm, saying he thought O'Meley was a good player.
Still, these are only two players among 34 who will play a role in the outcome of a contest NSW need to win. In fact, the NSW pack is more experienced because, if you take out Webcke, the other five Queenslanders have a total of 21/2 games of Origin football experience.
Petero Civoniceva and Kevin Campion debuted in Origin I, and Bradley Meyers did not return for the second half. Dane Carlaw and Nathan Fien are making their debuts in Origin II.
But Origin games are often won in the opening minutes and, if Webcke dominates O'Meley in the early exchanges, it will inspire the young Queensland pack and throw doubt into the Blues.
Furthermore, O'Meley is a one-dimensional player. If he finds himself shut down at the advantage line, he has neither the confidence nor the capacity to switch across to the other side of the ruck or organise a support to take a short pass.
NSW can always be rescued from the bench, as they were last year when Andrew Johns came on just before half-time in OriginII, replacing Geoff Toovey.
NSW half/hooker Craig Gower is dangerous from dummy half and on the left-hand side of the field, linking with his Penrith teammate Ryan Girdler.
However, both have just returned from long lay-offs and their fitness must be questioned, particularly for Origin football.
This year's 12-man ceiling on substitutions is making an impact in club football, but it is magnified at Origin level. There are other intriguing aspects to Origin II for example, whether NSW's Trent Barrett will fail as a halfback. But in essence the 2001 series comes down to this: Queensland can win with an ordinary team.
With Gorden Tallis out and Wendell Sailor losing his edge, the Maroons have only two world-class players: fullback Darren Lockyer and Webcke. But they have passion and two games at home.
NSW can level the series if they draw emotion from the big crowd tomorrow night. Blues coach Wayne Pearce says support for NSW has been boosted by the Super League war, arguing that club closures and joint ventures have destroyed tribalism in Sydney.
``The only good thing to come out of the Super League war is people investing more emotion in their State because they haven't got a club to cheer for," he said recently.
This is evident in the words of injured forward Robbie Kearns, the lightweight NSW prop who took on Queensland singlehandedly in Origin I when his teammates all chose to play wide.
Kearns, who will watch the game from Melbourne, where he captains the Storm, said: ``When I ran out onto Lang Park, I literally did get goose bumps. It's a cliche but the hair on the back of my neck did stand up. I had tears in my eyes and I could feel this big angry noise all around me.
``I always like to run to the opposite grandstand when I come out on the
field. I ran to about 20m from the fence on the other side of the field and
looked up to see this big zone of people spitting and yelling at me. I'll really
miss not being able to run out in front of my own people."
HOW THEY LINE UP FOR ORIGIN II New South Wales v Queensland at Olympic stadium (8pm, tomorrow) NEW SOUTH WALES Player Club Age P (Orig) T G Fg Pts M Hughes Newcastle 24 1 (1) 0 0 0 0 J Ainscough St Geo Ill 28 10 (10) 1 0 0 4 R Girdler Penrith 28 8 (6) 5 28 0 76 M Gidley Newcastle 23 2 (2) 3 0 0 12 A MacDougall Newcastle 26 9 (9) 4 0 0 16 B Fittler (c) Sydney 29 27 (27) 5 0 2 22 T Barrett St Geo Ill 23 2 (2) 1 0 0 4 L Ricketson Sydney 28 3 (3) 0 0 0 0 A Muir Eagles 29 11 (11) 2 0 0 8 B Fletcher Sydney 27 7 (7) 1 0 0 4 M O'Meley Eagles 20 0 (0) 0 0 0 0 L Priddis Brisbane 24 3 (1) 0 0 0 0 J Stevens Sharks 28 5 (5) 0 0 0 0 Reserves C Gower Penrith 23 3 (1) 0 0 0 0 M Vella Parramatta 23 5 (5) 0 0 0 0 M Adamson Penrith 28 1 (0) 0 0 0 0 A Ryan Parramatta 22 0 (0) 0 0 0 0 QUEENSLAND Player Club Age P (Orig) T G Fg Pts D Lockyer (c) Brisbane 24 10 (8) 2 14 0 36 L Tuqiri Brisbane 21 1 (1) 0 0 0 0 D Smith Bulldogs 32 20 (17) 2 0 0 8 P Bowman North Qld 25 4 (4) 0 0 0 0 W Sailor Brisbane 26 15 (12) 2 0 0 8 D Wagon Parramatta 25 1 (1) 0 0 0 0 P Green Sydney 28 8 (5) 1 0 0 4 K Campion Warriors 29 3 (1) 0 0 0 0 B Meyers Brisbane 21 1 (1) 0 0 0 0 D Carlaw Brisbane 21 0 (0) 0 0 0 0 P Civoniceva Brisbane 25 1 (1) 0 0 0 0 N Fien North Qld 21 0 (0) 0 0 0 0 S Webcke Brisbane 26 13 (10) 1 0 0 4 Reserves C Walker Brisbane 21 1 (1) 1 0 0 4 C Beattie Sharks 25 1 (1) 0 0 0 0 C Webb Brisbane 20 1 (1) 1 0 0 4 R Bawden Melbourne 27 2 (2) 0 0 0 0 * P= played; (Orig)= Origin games played; T= tries; G= goals; Fg= field goals; Pts= total points scored.
© 2001 Sydney Morning Herald
