The Offseason Octopus
As you can imagine, NRL news is pretty hard to come by at this time of year but there's still stuff sneaking through the sand. One of the more interesting stories to keep tabs on during the off season is who will play fullback for the Brisbane Broncos? Everything was all good about a month ago, until Darius Boyd did his achilles at training and now we're left wondering how the Bronco's are going to maintain the same threat from the back.
Justin Hodges ruled himself out of contention and rightfully so as there's not much point putting the old fella at the back. That's despite Hodges doing a pretty good job there last season but that was for a few weeks to fill a hole, it's much more beneficial to give a younger lad the opportunity to impress before Boyd is welcomed back in to the fold. The confusing thing is just how many options there are - Anthony Milford, Dale Copley, Lachlan Maranta, Jordan Kahu, Kodi Nikorima, Jayden Nikorima and any other names that you Broncos fans can conjure up. There's a fair few options headlined by Milford, but the Broncos were pretty quick to label the Milf as a long term #6 so he should be given time to settle in there. Jordan Kahu seems to have some interest, he's had a ruthless history of injuries so he'll have to stay healthy first of all while both Nikorima boys go good. It's gonna be bloody interesting to see what Wayne Bennett has up his sleeve here.
Another story that caught my attention was Ivan Cleary coming out and saying that he hopes newbie Api Koroisau has higher ambitions than chilling behind James Segeyaro. First of all, it's a great sign from Cleary that he has higher ambitions than being the dark horse of the NRL each season. He wants some high level competition between these two to keep the bar high and go to a new level. At the very least, the Panthers will have one of the best dummy half combinations in the NRL as both of these lads are quick out of the ruck and will trouble many teams, especially those with many a big boy in the middle.
It looks like Trent Merrin is definitely leaving the Dragons as well. I don't know how or why things went down such a negative road, but there doesn't appear to be much goodwill here. The Dragons didn't offer what Merrin wanted, so Merrin straight away is on the open market and there's the possibility that the Dragons could be without Merrin for 2015 if they agree to let him go early. I don't know how this got so dramatic, but I know that if I were the Dragons I'd be letting Merrin walk as he clearly doesn't want to stick around.
This Luke Keary issue about who he will play State of Origin for continues to linger. It appears as though all parties involved have come to the conclusion that Keary simply has to play for New South Wales, because that's the rules. While you would expect Keary to be a professional and appreciate the opportunity of an Origin jersey, what's if he just doesn't want to play for NSW? What happens then? Would NSW fans want someone who doesn't have a sky blue heart representing them? These black and white 'rules' do a decent job of putting some parameters in place, but I reckon the decision rests with the player. And if a player wants to play for which ever State is the best at the time, it would be pretty transparent and fans and officials would definitely let them know how they feel. Say for example that Keary wants to play for NSW just because they're winning...
Lastly, check out both of these emerging Origin squads. They go by slightly different names but serve the same purpose and they're awesome and State Of Origin is in great hands, as is rugby league.
Here's Queensland's crew
Gavin Cooper – North Queensland Cowboys
Dale Copley – Brisbane Broncos
Jake Friend – Sydney Roosters
Dane Gagai – Newcastle Knights
Tim Glasby – Melbourne Storm / Easts Tigers
Valentine Holmes – Cronulla Sharks
Ben Hunt – Brisbane Broncos
Brenton Lawrence – Manly Sea Eagles
Edrick Lee – Canberra Raiders
Josh McGuire – Brisbane Broncos
Anthony Milford – Brisbane Broncos
Tautau Moga – North Queensland Cowboys
Michael Morgan – North Queensland Cowboys
Dylan Napa – Sydney Roosters
James Segeyaro – Penrith Panthers
Korbin Sims – Newcastle Knights
Corey Thompson – Canterbury Bulldogs
David Tyrrell – South Sydney Rabbitohs
Here's the NSW crew
Jack Wighton, Canberra Raiders
Paul Vaughan, Canberra Raiders
David Klemmer, Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
Josh Jackson, Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
Ryan James, Gold Coast Titans
Aidan Sezer, Gold Coast Titans
Dale Finucane, Melbourne Storm
Sione Mata'utia, Newcastle Knights
Nathan Peats, Parramatta Eels
Tepai Moeroa, Parramatta Eels
Matt Moylan, Penrith Panthers
Josh Mansour, Penrith Panthers
Bryce Cartwright, Penrith Panthers
Adam Docker, Penrith Panthers
Alex Johnston, South Sydney Rabbitohs
Dylan Walker, South Sydney Rabbitohs
Adam Reynolds, South Sydney Rabbitohs
Luke Keary, South Sydney Rabbitohs
Cameron McInnes, South Sydney Rabbitohs
Kyle Turner, South Sydney Rabbitohs
Luke Brooks, Wests Tigers
Curtis Sironen, Wests Tigers