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Message: [QUOTE="Morkel, post: 3420905, member: 8215"] [IMG alt="NSWRL Digest"]https://broncoshq.com/attachments/nswrl_digest-png.17885/[/IMG] ------------------------------------- [B]NSWRL 004: Clearing a path [SIZE=6]Stars aren't born, they are made.[/SIZE] [/B] With Origin III fast approaching, we delve in to the machinations on how the NSWRL is shaping the next Immortal, and this one is definitely going to be a blue. Long have NSW fans suffered as the Maroons have pumped out potential Immortals for the last decade and a half. Since Andrew Johns' career and subsequent inclusion (despite off-field behavior that would land most plebs unemployable), the NSWRL have watched on as Lockyer, Thurston, and Smith have torn up League paddocks across the country, highlighting just how poor the development of key NSW players have been in comparison. Loathe to induct future certainty and now-eligible Darren Lockyer, the NSWRL have instead gone back through the history books to induct players from the game's previous chapters instead of celebrate the best modern players who just happened to tear NSW to shreds. Recent NSW player ranks look even worse when you look back on the next level down from Queensland's dominant three, and land on players like Inglis, Slater, and Cronk. All great players, and all Queenslanders. So if they aren't good enough to make the "potential" immortal list, what chance do the pick of the NSW players have? Paul Gallen? Please. James Tedesco? Unlikely. Tom Turbo may be in with a chance but he can't string more than 5 games together without copping another season-ender. So how in the world is a NSW player going to reach such heights? The answer is easy. Manufacture one. [ATTACH type="full"]19134[/ATTACH] NSW have been trying to talk up the "Next Andrew Johns" since... Andrew Johns, and none have come close. In fact it's almost been a career killer, with young creative players like Jarrod Mullen, Todd Carney and (cough) Luke Brooks all falling victim to the curse. While Queensland staked their dominance on picking and sticking, with Lockyer & Thurston evolving to Cronk, DCE and now Munster, NSW's wealth of choices led to a cluttered mish-mash including Pearce, Maloney, Keary, Wighton, Walker, Reynolds, Reynolds, Soward, Campese, Finch, and who could forget Peter Wallace and he testicle rupturing glory??? The time eventually came where the NSWRL powerbrokers needed to settle on a long term NSW half, and do everything in their power to keep their position in the team safe. When emerging "talent" Nathan Cleary arrived, with the possibility of him being coached by his father, the opportunity was too good to pass up. [ATTACH type="full"]19135[/ATTACH] By this point there was an alignment of stars. With the NRL desperately trying to keep junior development going, and huge dollars being thrown in to the Western Sydney area by the AFL, there was a critical need to have a team like the Panthers performing. When you throw in a certain Ex Head Of The Most Corrupt "Sport" In The Country, the pieces of the puzzle were all falling in to place. When the NRL returned post Covid lockdown, there were already new rules in place that were designed to give more time and space to the NRL's creative players, the most effective being the 6-again rule. Where previously it took some of the best halves to unlock the NRL's choking defence, it became super easy to tire out defensive lines and allow even mediocre halves to look like world-beaters. The Panthers were carried to the 2020 grand final, and though they ultimately lost on the big day, it was already clear what the NSWRL had in stall for the comp. With the increasing involvement of the video ref, manipulating things like line speed and calling players off-side made it easy to control the flow-on effects like kick pressure, and with no pressure and unlimited time and space, Cleary's kicking game was as easy as a training drill. On the other side of the ball, in order to frustrate and wear down opposition resilience, the 6-again rule was able to be manipulated cynically, giving away a "fresh set" on the first or second tackle but with the benefit of being able to jump off the mark early and swarm the opposition in order to destroy their exit sets. 6 tackles, 8 tackles, 10 tackles, it didn't matter if the opposition couldn't get 3 metres before hitting a wall. Eventually, the refs just gave up with the 6-agains, and let the Panthers smother their opposition without penalty. The 2021 grand final was a testament to how easy it is to absolutely suffocate another team out of a game when allowed, with the Panthers rarely on-side, and the Rabbitohs enduring almost zero field position or opportunities to score. [ATTACH type="full"]19136[/ATTACH] Fast forward to 2022 Origin Game I, and the more open officiating exposed Cleary for what he was - without the time and space afforded in club land, his kicking and playmaking game suffered tremendously. He couldn't get kicks away cleanly, he couldn't create opportunities when in attacking position, and he looked every part one of the pedestrian halves that NSW had endured for the last 15 years. The Blues coach dropped his bundle on the referees, the refs publicly agreed to Fittler's suggestions, and Game II became everything we had seen from Panthers club games. Queensland were held back in defence, were punished incessantly with 6-agains called against them, and eventually a player was binned for having the gall to actually try to prevent the Blues from crossing the line. Queensland quickly fatigued, and wouldn't you know it, Cleary once again looked like the Future Immortal all of NSW had been hoping for, with a pinpoint kicking game and ability to tear the defensive line apart with slick passing and incisive running. It was gobsmacking how effectively it worked. Everyone, from the fans, to the commentators, to the most NSW-centric journalists, saw the manipulation at play. The NSWRL have their man now, and good luck to any team that intends to stand in his way. [/QUOTE]

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