KEY POINTS:
This week my comments should be about what is the biggest story of the week, and that is State of Origin II.
The Queensland turnaround from an 18-10 loss in game one to a 30-0 victory in game two should guarantee a massive turnout at Sydney's Olympic Stadium for game three.
I can't talk with any great authority about Wednesday night's game because I missed it so I could take my son Liam to see the WWE Spectacular at the Vector Arena on what was the biggest night of the year for him.
What I can say about Wednesday night's game is this: After all the commentary from New South Wales media who crowed long and hard about the domination of the Blues in game one, I think this result shows those commentators how dominant the Blues weren't in game one.
I've heard many NSW commentators - the likes of Phil Gould, Ray Warren and Peter Sterling - talk about the complete dominance of the Blues in State of Origin I and how the scoreline did not reflect how that game really went.
To this I say, "Bollocks".
Queensland made a few errors at critical times in that game but they competed all the way through. If you want to talk about capitulation, about turning it up when your back is to the wall as Willie Mason said Queensland had after game one, just look to game two, where the Queensland backline delivered on its promise to become one of the best of all time.
The 30-0 scoreline equalled the record points spread for contests between NSW and Queensland and hopefully has shut up those NSW commentators. Statistics over 25 years show that the two teams are very even and it really bugs me that the NSW media always talk in terms of their side's dominance, which is not backed up by the long-term results.
I guess I have to talk about the Warriors' capitulation to South Sydney last weekend.
Much has been made of the fact that if the Warriors start well they tend to get on a roll and end up winning the game.
One of the major issues was that when playing away in Australia they always start poorly and this had a flow-on effect.
Last Friday night's effort at Mt Smart turned this theory on its head.
The Warriors dominated the Rabbitohs from the start, quickly getting 14-0 up. That they allowed the Rabbitohs, who are without doubt the worst team in the NRL right now and possibly the worst team in the NRL for the past 10 years, back into the game shows that without Steve Price and Brent Tate, who were away with Queensland, they lack backbone and the mental fortitude.
The Cronulla match tomorrow night sees the return of Price and Tate, who hopefully will add some steel to the side. But quite frankly I am quickly getting over watching the Warriors now they have returned to the bad old days of inexplicable collapses and unacceptable results.
I believe this comes 100 per cent down to the mental preparation of the individual players and quite clearly this facet of the game, which is so important, is applied erratically. Because on a number of occasions this team have shown they can play exhilarating, exciting and winning football. For whatever reason, this tap is continually turned on and off.
