Rally With Rookies Salvages Murray's Self-respect

Sydney Morning Herald

Friday July 6, 2007

Roy Masters

A CRUMPLED note, listing the Origin games played by each of his players, was all NSW coach Graham Murray retained from the 2007 series, other than the self-respect he salvaged with Wednesday night's 18-4 partial redemption.

The single page of notepaper, written before the Suncorp Stadium match, was headed by Hazem El Masri with zero matches, Greg Bird with one, ditto Paul Gallen, Kurt Gidley, Ryan Hoffman and Brett Stewart before proceeding to Jarryd Hayne with two and the big leap to Matt Cooper on seven, through to Danny Buderus on 17.

It was both a reminder to himself of the inexperience of nearly half his team and an effective rebuttal to the many journalists who have questioned his ability. "Keep it, if you want," Murray said, extracting the note from his pocket, knowing it would form the basis of this column and offer some balance to a media he believes got it horribly wrong when assessing the three-game series.

NSW were vulnerable at both ends of the age-experience spectrum, with six players having played 0-1 games and five 27- to 29-year-olds playing 11-17 games.

The middle group, the men with 7-9 games' experience, the usual core of a successful premiership or representative team - men who are still keen to make sacrifices but wise enough to minimise the risk - included centre Matt Cooper, who was in the team because NSW doesn't have any centres, Brett Kimmorley because we have no halves, Brent Kite via a dearth of good props, Matt King, who is leaving for England, and Willie Mason, whom the Maroons don't rate.

While Queensland players were talking up a coming dynasty - hooker Cameron Smith, only 24 and playing his 13th Origin match, is more experienced than all but three of the Blues - Murray knew age, inexperience and injury were conspiring against him.

Plus the media.

For most of this series Murray wore the scowl of the man he is not supposed to be. It hung like a dark and wrinkled curtain over a genial, decent face. He searched for hidden meanings in innocent sentences.

Coaching does that to you.

And why wouldn't you, with almost every media outlet clamouring for your dismissal?

Wednesday night's win, and the certainty Murray will be replaced as NSW Origin coach by Melbourne's Craig Bellamy, has caused the volume to be turned down a little but he can limp back to Townsville, taking comfort in a legacy.

Although the NSW selectors had most influence on the make-up of the NSW team, Murray may well be remembered for the birth of the Blues. Other than El Masri, six of the NSW players with two or three games' experience, are aged 22 to 25. They are the NSW young veterans of tomorrow.

Much has been said of Queensland's youth but half their pack are over 30. The Maroons admit their "succession planning" for the retirement of props Petero Civoniceva and Steve Price - the go-to men in this series - has snagged. Fortunes change quickly in Origin football.

After Queensland's narrow loss in the first game in 2006, people were saying the Maroons' lack of competitiveness spelt the end of the interstate series.

Four games later, the Maroons were building a dynasty. Now, the impending retirement of captain Darren Lockyer (30), centre Steve Bell (31) and half the pack, together with the youth of a third of the NSW team, has people talking up NSW. Origin football cackles back at everyone.

Queensland coach Mal Meninga raised eyebrows when he chose only two forwards, rather than the standard three, on the bench for Wednesday night's match.

When lock Dallas Johnson wobbled to the sideline after the first tackle, it seemed his critics were right.

But then followed injuries to wingers Greg Inglis and Brent Tate and suddenly Mal was right choosing fullback Matt Bowen and part-time centre Shaun Berrigan as reserves.

In the final analysis, NSW won because Queensland was down to a one man bench for most of the game.

"I told the players at half-time to attack their weakness," Murray said. "I said to keep going at them because they didn't have anyone left. It's the old story of the wildebeest at the back of the pack and the leopard on the hunt. If you're wounded, you're going to get exploited."

Rugby league, at the very top, is now a 17-man game.

But sometimes, you have to reach back to the past for inspiration. Murray chose former NSW and Australian centre Chris Johns, a Brisbane resident for most of the past 20 years, as his motivator for the final match.

Maybe the NSW management were saving on airfares but there was a touch of wisdom in choosing a man who had spent most of his playing career as a rare Bronco playing for the Blues. Murray raved about Johns's address in his final press conference.

Johns, a fine judge of a schooner, had been to a six hour "lunch" before he spoke to the NSW team.

"Whatever he said worked," NSWRL chief executive Geoff Carr said of what came from the mouth of a man known for his lunchless luncheons.