The suspense is over and we now know the makeup of the NSW Blues who will be sacrificed to the Queensland Maroon in the next State of Origin series.
Blues Coach Brad Fittler set a new precedent by naming 11 players without previous Origin experience and as is the case every year, many of his selections were not universally acclaimed.
Thing is, Fittler picked a nice crop and the fact that some of them do not have Origin experience does not detract from the fact that it is not hard to find good rugby players in Australia, even if the serach is restricted to those players possession the proper credentials to represent NSW.
Players such as Angus Crichton, Tom Trbojevic, Josh Addo-Carr, Nathan Cleary and Latrell Mitchell have clearly demonstrated their abilities.
Canberra Coach Ricky Stuart felt compelled to weigh in on the picks, mentioning that a spot should have been found for a couple of others whose names were omitted.
One of those was Nick Cotric, described by Stuart as “the best winger in the competition,” by which we assume he was referring to the NRL
Stuart told NRL 360, “I know I’m his (Cotric’s) head coach, but it’s out there for everyone to see what that young bloke has done over the past season and a half. I definitely believe he’s done enough.If you’re ever going to blood — which Brad’s doing — some youth and kids who are going to be in that team for the next six or eight seasons, I think it was Nick’s time.
Stuart does not disagree with Trbojevic getting the call, but he would have played him at fullback over the incumbent James Tedesco.
“I would’ve picked young Trbojevic at fullback and that’s got nothing to do with Tedesco. I think Tedesco’s a wonderful player.”
Apparently, in Stuart’s view, not so wonderful as to be slotted in at fullback.
