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Queensland great Darius Boyd has mocked the Blues heading into the State of Origin decider after a “mind-blowing” bid from Laurie Daly.
All the pressure was on New South Wales heading into game three, with a successful run early in the series followed by a disastrous defeat in Melbourne.
Blues coach Laurie Daly. Getty Images
Daly’s selection process came under scrutiny as the likes of Haumole Olakauatu and Brian To’o lost their lives during the Origin campaign.
The beleaguered manager has made a number of changes at crunch time but Boyd, who has scored 17 tries in 28 games for the Maroons, believes it will not solve their problems.
“I’m interested in that – personally, I would make other changes in terms of the whole look of the team,” he said on Wide World of Sports. KLDER.
“For me it’s just trying to fill in some gaps. (The problem was) the first 20 minutes of the first game and the second half of the second game, and it usually means you didn’t build enough of a platform in the middle.
“Not changing a single midfielder and starting to change wingers and centers is not what I expected… but that’s their problem.”
One of the most talked about issues was Daly’s use of his bench in the first two games, and his decision to leave Cameron Murray on the bench despite everyone calling for him to come on drew a lot of criticism.
Olacauatu’s situation also came under the spotlight after he cleared Manly’s breaking ball only to be brought back to the bench in the third game.
But the most puzzling call, according to Boyd, came from one of NSW’s winning heroes at Accor Stadium.
“If you think about Olakauatu and try to instill faith and confidence, maybe that’s what NSW is missing,” he said.
“He started in the first game, he’s in the 20-man lineup for the second game and then you bring him back for the third game. What does that mean for anyone’s confidence?”
“It’s like if I don’t play well in this game I might never play for NSW again.”
“Then I think about Ethan Strange – probably their best player in the first game – we need to find a place somewhere and get him to play 80 minutes.
Ethan Strange celebrates his State of Origin debut. NRL Images
“He may not make Game Three and that’s absolutely amazing considering what he did in Game 1 and what he’s done for Canberra the last two years.
“Again, that’s their problem – hopefully they continue to make the same mistakes.”
Strange scored a crucial try in the first game at five-eighth but has since been overlooked by the returning Mitchell Moses.
The decisive game is scheduled for July 8 at Suncorp Stadium.