KEY POINTS:
Wednesday night's State of Origin contest provided the usual entertaining and physical game.
I don't think though that the 18-10 result was the dominant blow-out that the New South Wales commentators - particularly Ray Warren, Phil Gould and Peter Sterling - declared that it was.
Queensland competed for
the whole of the 80 minutes. Where they fell down was in making stupid errors at critical times in the game and in crucial positions, as in fullback Billy Slater being thrown over the sideline on tackle one, or Queensland forwards trying to force impossible passes when hot on attack and achieving nothing other than turning the ball over.
Now these simple mistakes were nowhere near the frequency that we see week-in and week-out from the Warriors but they were more than enough to give the Blues the edge. Back that up with the fact that Queensland five-eighth Karmichael Hunt did so much tackling he ended up nullifying his ability on attack.
The New South Wales media and supporters tend to get carried away when talking about their players and team.
Even Blues and Australian great Bob Fulton got caught up in the hysteria after the game, boldly stating that Blues five-eighth Greg Bird put in a Wally Lewis-like performance.
Predictably, the Sydney media picked up on that and anointed Bird as the next Wally Lewis in the making. That's one of the most over-hyped pieces of rubbish I've heard in my life.
Wally Lewis fashioned his incredible career at all levels over 12 years, consistently bringing his best to the park, especially when it counted. While Bird has managed to pick up two Man of the Match awards in his two Origin games so far, that is a long way from being the next man labelled "The King".
I also take issue with the fact that many in the media had hyped the Queensland backline as the state's best-ever. I can only assume that those people pushing that line are young or have short memories.
If you talk about the greatest Queensland backline ever surely the names mentioned would be Alfie Langer, Wally Lewis, Gene Miles, Michael Hancock, Mal Meninga, Kerry Boustead and Gary Belcher - players who built the Origin legend and set it in concrete over a long period of time.
The new mob - Thurston, Hunt, Tate, Inglis and Folau - are all yet to attain the greatness of the previously mentioned players in their respective positions and they are not just short of that, they are short by a long shot. This type of bull just shows that the Australian media bosses are keen to create big headlines to fill papers and drive ratings because it is hyperbole in the extreme.
The Warriors stuck religiously to the script last week as they lost to a mediocre Penrith side. This week, however, I definitely see them breaking their pattern of winning at home and losing away because there is no way this Warriors squad can beat the in-form Roosters.
The visitors will come to Mt Smart Stadium on Sunday intending to give them a spanking and I just cannot see the Warriors avoiding one against a side playing like these top-four contenders.
If they do, while there might be some initial relief for head coach Ivan Cleary and his assistant, John Ackland, it will be brief because they will again be reaching for the grow-more-hair pills next week as the team prepares to go to Newcastle. They must be tearing out chunks in frustration at the way the side veers from good performances at home to completely losing the plot when away.
They have proved they can perform at NRL level. So it comes down to each individual's mental preparation.