Can Brad Fittler leave Origin on a high second time round?

Brad Fittler’s return to the origin arena has me thinking Phil Gould is really a Queenslander. New South Wales have never had such intrigue in the ranks. Queensland has a long tradition of it. Arthur Beetson pulled from Parramatta reserve grade to captain the inaugural Origin side. Papua New Guinean halfback Adrian Lam was picked to play for the Maroons when the elite ranks ran thin up north. And the crème de la crème – Alan Langer’s recall from England to pull on the historic Queensland jersey in game three of the 2001 series. Langer went out a hero after engineering most of the cane toad’s points in that match and giving them a series victory.

Looking at this weekend’s teams, there aren’t many logical candidates that could have filled the number six jersey for the Blues. Trent Barrett is only just back from injury and would almost certainly be underdone. Scott Hill had an injury cloud hanging over him after last week’s match tainting his selection. Canberra stalwart Jason Croker could probably have stepped up to the mark but at the end of the day Fittler was the best choice to combat the return of Darren Lockyer. And another leader on the park and cool head under pressure is exactly what the Cockroaches will need if they hope to overcome “The Caxton” and “Lang Park” legends. Another close tussle with better ball movement and more points would seem to be the likely outcome … but Origin never fails to surprise. The next question is, will Fittler play in the third game if NSW win on Wednesday?

The Panthers and Dragons open round 14 of the Telstra Premiership but the teams are anything but what we expect of the Friday night standard. Only one of Penrith’s starting backline from round one will take the field, and Amos Roberts, the man in question, will be playing at full back. The forward pack is still impressive but will be matched against a similarly performed Dragons’ six. The return of Trent Barrett has the pundits crowing, but the joint venture’s fortunes have been remarkably poor with Barrett on deck. The battle between Ben Hornby and Roberts coming out from their own line will be superb. Prediction: Dragons by 12.

Cronulla travels to the nation’s capital missing two of their biggest guns. Brett Kimmorley and Jason Stevens will watch from the stands as they are quarantined for Origin II. Canberra has no such impediment putting their strongest side on the park for the Saturday afternoon encounter. Michael Sullivan will take his solid bench form into the starting line up while Chris Beattie moves into the front row. It’s put up or shut up time for the Raiders who lost to the Warriors in their last start. The Sharks are certainly on a roll but will have a hard time overcoming the loss of Kimmorley who has been outstanding so far. Prediction: Raiders by 8.

North Queensland and Newcastle are both hit hard by injury and Origin. The Cowboys have lost important back line players in Matt Sing, Paul Bowman and Matt Bowen. The Knights will be without Timana Tahu, Matt Gidley and most importantly Danny Buderus. A forward domination would normally keep the score low in a game like this, but both sides will look to go wide where the experience is a little thinner. The Cowboys have a dismal home record this season which is unlikely to improve against a Novocastrian outfit that is playing better without their big guns. Both sides are missing key players but the Knights have better replacements. Prediction: Knights by 6

Arthur Katinis takes the first step in what is hoped to be the rebuilding of the Rabbitohs when they meet the Melbourne Storm on Saturday night. Owen Craigie has been named to play at five-eighth outside junior Kangaroo Joe Williams. The two will have their hands full having to cope with an almost full strength Storm back line. Spurned Melbourne number six Scott Hill will be at his devastating best in the lead up to Origin III. Class across the park will win it for the southern most team in the competition as the beleaguered Bunnies try to salvage some pride on the scoreboard. Prediction: Storm by 28

The Tigers have followed a recent trend to take home games to NZ when tackling the Warriors. Jade Stadium is the venue for the clash between the ever improving Wests and the underachieving Kiwis. New coach Tony Kemp managed to clock up a win with his first start in the shaky isles but will be without Jerry Seu Seu for this match. The Tigers regular halves pairing of Benji Marshall and Scott Prince are unavailable bringing Keiran Kerr and Daniel Fitzhenry in to fill seven and six respectively. The pair were at the helm when they beat the Bulldogs three weeks ago. Prediction: Tigers by 2

Three words spring to mind when looking at the Parramatta v Manly game. No Nathan Hindmarsh. The tireless back rower brings plenty to the Eels game day and will be sorely missed. The Eagles are going from strength to strength and after beating the undermanned Panthers a week ago will be ready to continue on their winning ways. Daniel Wagon will most likely move to the back line in place of the suspended Michael Witt who failed in his suspension appeal and got an extra week on the sidelines for his trouble. Prediction: Eagles by 12.

After the unpredictability of last weekend, most tippers will be hoping for a return to normality this weekend. But with Origin and injury playing a part, plus the nature of the match ups provided over coming three days, it could be a long weekend of a different kind for the punters. Go the Blues in Origin too!

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source: MasterTips