- NSW fell to Queensland by just two points in nail-biting game two
- Blues have struggled badly in one important area in both matches
According to many Blues fans, their team lost Origin game two on Wednesday night because they couldn’t land conversions in the two-point loss – and the side’s shocking struggles in that area were foreshadowed in a TV ad featuring several NSW stars.
The Adidas commercial – which has been airing since the lead-up to the first match against Queensland on May 28 – shows halfback Nathan Cleary getting down on himself after missing a shot at goal during a training session.
His teammate Angus Crichton then embraces him and says, ‘You’ve got this, buddy,’ before Brian To’o does the same.
Cleary then takes another shot while the words ‘we all need someone to make us believe – you got this’ appear on the screen.
In an eerie piece of foreshadowing, the Blues have struggled mightily to convert tries in both matches this year.
Their 18-6 win in Brisbane in game one saw them miss all four conversions as Cleary and then winger Zac Lomax couldn’t land the extras.
Pictured: Blues half Nathan Cleary gets down on himself after missing a kick for goal in an Adidas State of Origin TV commercial
Fiction became reality for NSW in the first two games of the series as they made just two of their nine conversions (pictured, Cleary in game two)
Cleary’s leg injury meant he didn’t kick for goal at all in Perth on Wednesday night, so Lomax took over and could only land two conversions from five attempts in the 26-24 defeat.
Most of those misses came from difficult shots taken from the sideline, but they are the sorts of goals fans expect top stars to make – and some Blues tragics unfairly blamed Lomax for the defeat.
Former Canberra, Penrith and New Zealand Warriors coach Matthew Elliott gave a blunt assessment of the team’s kicking struggles.
‘We need to acknowledge that goal kicking played a significant role in that result,’ he said.
But the missed conversions were far from the Blues’ only problem.
Queensland great Cameron Smith summed up NSW half Nathan Cleary’s strange and uncharacteristic showing in the opening 40 minutes.
‘I don’t think he’s been right all night,’ Smith said.
Cleary was wearing a compression bandage on his upper right leg and did not attempt long kicks at the end of sets in the first half.
Zac Lomax (left) reacts after missing three shots on goal in the Blues’ two-point loss to Queensland on Wednesday night
While many fans pointed the finger of blame at Lomax (pictured) after the defeat, the Blues had plenty of other problems in addition to being wayward with the boot
In the second half the maestro found an extra leg and started to find the magic with his passes and long kicks.
But the Cockroaches also couldn’t overcome the lopsided penalty count, which favoured Queensland 8-0 at halftime and 10-2 after the final siren.
While fans would be hard-pressed to say referee Ashley Klein was wrong every time he blew the whistle, the big discrepancy led to many angry fans lashing out online and claiming the official had cost their side the game.
The Blues comeback had a heavy involvement from the ‘Penrith gang’ past and present, along with centre Latrell Mitchell who put Brian To’o over for two of his three tries.
Cleary, Jarome Luai and Dylan Edwards combined like old times to put Stephen Crichton over out wide.
Cleary and Luai got together again and it was the Wests Tigers five-eighth’s kick for Angus Crichton that got them within two points of the Maroons.
NSW’s greatest-ever coach Phil Gould said the Blues played ‘unintelligent’ footy in the first half. They scored the first try to the irrepressible To’o, who notched a hat-trick, but then clocked off as the Maroons found their momentum.
‘NSW didn’t see it coming,’ Gould said of the Maroons’ fightback in game two.
While the Blues will be fuming over their opening 40 minutes they showed in the second half that when they get their game on they have the Maroons’ measure.
With the decider at Homebush there is no need for coach Laurie Daley to panic.
Apart from injuries there are unlikely to be major changes but the Blues learnt a well-worn lesson that the Maroons are always at their most dangerous when written off.
