Round 15 talking points: Origins of new duo shine, Moses wins battle of the blues, NRL sides rock mid-year

Jeremiah Nanay could make a difference for the Maroons after getting him back, while another cowboy in Rhys Robson won’t be missed in the Blues camp, but they will use him in Origin II.

I wasn’t surprised Nanai was brought back into the Queensland team as they had a couple of injuries and his form for the Cowboys last week and how he played his first three games at Origin level last year.

He wasn’t at his best at the start of the season and there’s still debate over how much NRL form plays into Origin selection.

Some guys are Origin-type players and Nanay has a real Origin status about him, especially considering he’s only just turned 20 but has shown his quality for the Cowboys, Queensland and Kangaroos.

Not many guys step up to this stage to start in the back row without a little X-factor in their make-up and Billy Slater is trusting him to do the job.

He’s not just an attacking player, I thought his defense was very strong against Melbourne last week.

With a second game in Origin, you have to pick a team that can score points, especially after losing the first game to NSW, because the surface at Suncorp Stadium is so good that it suits a wide style of play.

Nanay and David Fifita offer a bit more in the attacking arsenal than defensively, so I think that’s part of the Queensland approach.

It’s been confirmed that Robson is being picked to make his debut by the Blues and I think that’s a timely introduction.

He has toughness in his game and defense. He’s among the best players in the NRL, played every minute for the Cowboys this year and you know he won’t let you down.

Robson has a strong running game and provides good skill at dummy-half. His kicking is not his strong suit, but he is developing and as he plays 80 minutes every week at club level, he could play long stretches for the Blues due to the role Api Koroisau has given him with a broken jaw.

A lot has been said about the incident with Tino Faasuamalaui, but I think the match review committee was fair not to charge him because he didn’t raise his wrist when Koroisau came to tackle.

All the props put their bumper bars up when going forward with the ball, and Koroisau was not in the right position. Perhaps the impact of the Origin workload meant his footwork wasn’t as quick as usual, but unfortunately such accidents happen in a contact sport like rugby league.

Moses wins Origin audition

Mitchell Moses will start at halfback for the Blues in Game II after another impressive performance against the Bulldogs on Monday. He played with confidence, defended strongly and his kicking game is what is needed to win the Origin battle.

Freddie Fittler has a good relationship with Moses and he gives him the confidence he needs to lead the team. I think Freddie will also pick his front row colleague Regan Campbell-Gillard, who also played hard for the Eels when he was out a month ago.

If I were him, I’d pick a host of big players to lead the Suncorp boiler, including Latrell Mitchell, Liam Martin, Damien Cook, Cam Murray, Daniel Saiftiti and Cody Walker to give the Blues the best chance to square off. series.

Tino stands for Titans

Focusing solely on club football, Tino led his team to a win over the Tigers earlier in the round for the Titans.

He’s still 23 years old, but he’s grown into that leadership role and he’s in the middle of an intimidating role for them. Tino has made great strides on the World Cup Tour and is starting to develop into a quality front rower.

It was great to see AJ Brimson back in full flight.

I think fullback is his natural position and Gold Coast should go with him because Jayden Campbell is also doing well at five-eighth.

Brimson’s running game is his strength, and he can do it from quarterback, anywhere. When you play at five or eight you have to worry about organizing others and he’s good at picking and choosing his moments like he did against the Tigers.

The mid-season blues affect more than one team

It’s a time of year when the cumulative effect of injuries and the rigors of life in the NRL make it difficult for teams to battle it out week after week.

Lately, we’ve seen some batting averages from teams like the Dolphins, Bunnies and Sharks showing signs of fatigue.

They were without several key players and Origin’s workload also took its toll.

This can lead to wild variations in shape. The Hurricanes conceded 45 points against North Queensland the week before and then put 56 points on the Sharks. It’s a mighty swing.

It’s hard to be ready for every game, and some teams have benefited from multiple byes, but Brisbane and Parramatta played 15 rounds.

The Broncos will be delighted to have won Saturday night’s match against Newcastle as they had a tough leg and the Knights have a bye.

Brisbane have done well against the Warriors and Sharks and now the Knights since Origin began. Having a classy veteran halfback like Adam Reynolds on deck makes a world of difference at this time of year, especially for a team like Brisbane with a top five player.

Newcastle were back to full strength but the Broncos still had enough quality.

The bye has an advantage in the time of appearance, because you have at least 10 days of training, preparing for the game as a coach and feeling good.

But for the rest of the season, you can do five to six days off between games and your players won’t experience more than 75-85% performance.

In this game, it’s the residual fatigue that makes the game. Some of the young players playing for NSW and Queensland clubs find it difficult to stay in good physical and mental shape, and sometimes the coach or medical staff have to intervene to give them rest or things will get worse. sausages.

Walsh and Ponga battle Miss

Rhys Walsh took over the Queensland No.1 jersey from Kalin Ponga and you could see there was a bit more of them trying to outdo each other when Brisbane played Newcastle on Saturday night.

The duel between the two lived up to the pre-game hype.

Both were great – Ponga hit Walsh and it was a game like Origin. He scored and made a save against Ezra Mam when the game was in the balance.

But Walsh got the last laugh and I’d say with Dally M’s vote he’d come out on top, but Ponga wouldn’t be far behind.

Adam Reynolds kept Brisbane alive as much as possible with his kicking game and helped them take the lead when Coby Hetherington made a break, found Reynolds and sent it to Mama, who then returned to the wily old half.

It was one of the most impressive tests of the year.

It looks like the Warriors will make it to the finals

From where they stand in the table, this is where the Warriors need to start to make it to the finals.

They played the part of the party popper against the Raiders in Canberra on Friday night, with the locals visibly emotional and all the build-up to Jarrod Crocker’s 300th game getting to them.

This can sometimes set a team back.

Trailing 8-6 at halftime, the Warriors’ second half was as good as I’ve seen them play this year.

Their dominance took the Raiders by surprise. They play a straight style and it’s very effective.

I wrote a few weeks ago that the Warriors haven’t traditionally taken advantage of the Origin stage, but it’s two good wins in a row against the Dolphins and Raiders after going through to Brisbane.

They are at the top of the top four and from here they should reach the final.