Whats your thoughts on Junior being axed from the blues?
Ive a feeling Freddy asked for, and wanted more aggression and leadership up front from him, and didnt get it, thats why he's been dropped.
Fittler may have a fair point.
Juniors a great player, im a big fan, but he doesnt get fired up enough, he's not an enforcer type, hes not playing with the hunger expected from an origin front rower imo, and i dont know if this lack of intensity fits into NSW origin anymore, especially when we are getting beaten..
Junior needs to find the next level, hopefully this axing will be a wake up call for him.
Taking the eels glasses off, he didnt deserve to hold his NSW spot imo.
Should junior have been axed?
Why do you think he was dropped?
Replies
Iv never seen junior step up in origin I think he's fair
The use of middle forwards in SOO have changed. Big, fast, mobile metre eaters allowing quick plays that create space for outside backs. Also line speed in defence.
Junior doesn't fit any of those criteria. Sure he may have his offloading ability but in this arena, it's too risky. He's too big and too slow. IMO, Junior was lucky to be picked in the first place.
I just think Freddy has never used him properly. Uses him mostly as just a battering ram, rarely offloads in Origin. They do all middle ball playing through Yeo. Junior is so much more than a battering ram.
That and mostly he's played off the bench. I think he's only started 2 Origin games. He's a starting prop.
He's at his best when he's able to combine running with ball playing, where he can tip a teammate into a gap or onto a smaller defender. Or he himself can be isolated onto a single defender.
But you watch NSW play and they just send their props head long into set defensive lines then try to play sideways.
Freddy should drop himself because his coaching has been horrendous and he's only maintained his job for so long due to mostly some brilliance from Latrell Mitchell and Tom Trbojevic.
fair points super, he's definitely not used properly.
Freddies time is up.
yep
Yep yep
That's what origin is. Bash up the middle, fast aggressive play. Back to back efforts
Well, if you watch how Queensland play, they shift the ball when working it out your own end. If you keep the ball in the middle and run one out, you make it easy to defend, increase your chances of making a mistake and limit the the amount of fatigue you're putting into the defensive line.
Yes, but it's also about what you do with it after you bash it up. In Origin you have 34 of the best defensive players in the game, repeated sweep plays just isn't gonna cut it, you need players who can create something either by busting tackles, or little bits of magic like Munster or through offloading. That's where Junior comes into the game.
100% Super. I said it another blog last week, its especially important in the final third, instead of running the attack through Yeo, run it through Junior, or have him running wider like an edge forward.
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