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IT’S great to see some real animosity ahead of State of Origin II, with Eighth Immortal Andrew Johns, the latest NSW Blues champion, turning up the heat on Queensland.
Blues coach Michael Maguire fired the first salvo this time last week with his glass sledge aimed at Queensland coach Billy Slater and now Joey has doubled his winnings by suggesting Latrell Mitchell will give the Maroons nightmares on the right.
Hunting: Latrell not in the minds of the Maroons | 4:30 am
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Queensland have also played a brilliant hand in simply ignoring all the noise south of the border as they are quite well ahead in the series 1-0.
It will be fascinating to see how it plays out when Blues coach Maguire and Maroons counterpart Slater come face to face in Melbourne on Tuesday ahead of Origin II.
The relationship between Maguire and Slater is intriguing as Madge spent a lot of time under Craig Bellamy at the Melbourne Storm as an assistant coach when Slater was champion fullback.
Will it be business as usual when the Blues and Maroons coach come face to face?
Or has the sleigh of glass houses really offended the normally unflappable Slater?
Joey Johns also suggesting Daly Cherry-Evans pulled off a cheap shot at Angus Crichton during Origin I only adds to the genuine hatred simmering between the two states.
After the sanitized build-up of some of the more recent State of Origin series, it’s a welcome return to bad feeling between both camps.
Both coaches rightly defend their players.
On the NRL front, congratulations to the Wests Tigers on back-to-back wins after a torrid run of nine straight defeats.
Ricky had no words for what went wrong | 03:13
Wests Tigers coach Benji Marshall has now won four games this season, which is the same as the number of games the club won last year on their way to a second successive wooden spoon.
The expansive style of play that the Wests Tigers played was a credit to all involved at the club, with the win over Canberra being a highly entertaining watch.
It’s also great to hear young five-eighth Lachlan Galvin come out and commit to staying at the Wests Tigers long-term after being disgruntled just a few weeks ago.
Galvin wasn’t the only teenager to impress in Benji’s Babes’ win, with debutant Luke Laulilii scoring an early try on his debut and Samuela Fainu combining raw aggression, speed and power with brilliant, subtle ballplay.
It is also worth noting that the Wests Tigers’ back-to-back wins have come at Leichhardt Oval and Campelltown Stadium – the club’s two spiritual homes.
Will this cause CEO Shane Richardson and Chief PR Officer Brent Richardson (aka Brent Read) to reconsider the club’s long-term stadium strategy of having three home grounds next season?
Doueihi returns as Tigers crush Raiders | 3:30 am
Probably not, but it’s hardly a coincidence.
Wests Tigers captain Api Koroisau delivered another 11/10 performance in terms of his on-field actions. We’ve also heard that off the field, Koroisau has been exemplary when it comes to keeping the Wests Tigers dressing room together during tough times.
South Sydney scrapped to record a fourth straight win to continue the winning theme under interim coach Ben Hornby.
And Gold Coast Titans whiz kids Keano Kini and Jayden Campbell both put on clinics against the Warriors.
Kini’s lightning-fast acceleration and footwork is great to watch, as Campbell begins to grow in confidence in the No. 6 jumper on a weekly basis.
The upset wins for the Wests Tigers and Gold Coast Titans mean the Parramatta Eels now sit last on the NRL ladder since sacking Brad Arthur after Magic Round.
What did you like or dislike from round 16?
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