Sea Eagles Cherry Ripe as second half swoop downs Eels
5 hours ago | Sam Bourke
vs
07-07-2010 08:00PM at ANZ Stadium, Sydney
Referee: Tony Archer and Shayne Hayne
Touch Judges: Paul Holland and David Abood
Referee: Bill Harrigan and Tim Mander
The dead rubber for 2010 will be anything but dead after tackle 1 of the first set at ANZ stadium tonight. Players are fully aware of what is at stake with Australian selectors watching and the realisation by NSW players that one dropped ball or one missed tackle and they will never play origin again. Interesting to see how they react to this pressure though. Mitchell Pearce will be better for the two origin games he has under his belt and Jarryd Hayne will want to convince his critics, as well as himself that his struggles this year can be quickly forgotten.
Unfortunately for Hayne and NSW, this Queensland squad is motivated, confident and still angry. It could spell disaster for the blues and probably will. As far as predictions go.... Jason King and Kade Snowden get completely out muscled by the QLD pack, Cameron Smith leads the way up front in attack and a Queensland backline that will go down in history as the best ever will prove too classy for the likes of Beau Scott and Michael Gordon. For blues fans, tonight is about proving that we can one day win a series. For the Maroons it is simply a celebration, which they will carry out in style.
My Man of the Match Prediction: Cameron Smith (QLD)
My Tip: I still can't type the words... NSW 14-12
New South Wales Queensland | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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2010 | State of Origin Game 2 2010 | Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane | Queensland | 34-6 |
2010 | State of Origin Game 1 2010 | ANZ Stadium | Queensland | 28-24 |
2009 | State of Origin 3 | Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane | New South Wales | 28-16 |
2009 | State of Origin 2 | ANZ Stadium, Homebush Bay | Queensland | 24-14 |
2009 | State of Origin 1 | Etihad Stadium, Melbourne | Queensland | 28-18 |