Will NSW Blues dump James Tedesco for Origin II in Brisbane?
Could New South Wales drop Australia captain James Tedesco for game two of the 2023 State of Origin series?
That is the $64,000 question.
NSW must win at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium on June 21, but can they do it with the same 17-man squad that blew its chance in Adelaide on Wednesday night?
Could Blues coach Brad Fittler drop Tedesco?
Probably not, because the captain must go down with the ship, or at least be the last to abandon it.
The reality is that Tedesco’s star, like a few of his Blues teammates — Tom Trbojevic, Nathan Cleary, and James Luai — failed to shine in Origin 1, so do there need to be changes?
READ: Fittler to ponder NSW changes after dropping Origin I
While only a few will be brave enough to say it publicly or even suggest it, a few of those star players did not deliver and are under pressure to keep their jumpers.
Game two in Brisbane is one of NSW’s greatest Origin challenges in 43 years, and given Queensland’s domination at home, it will require those players picked to not only bring a better attitude but to also perform to the highest level.
Anything less will not be good enough to save the series.
Tedesco’s performance in Origin I was below-par in the Blues’ 26-18 loss.
NSW did all the hard work to get back from 10-0 down early in the first half to lead 18-16 when Queensland forward Tom Flegler was sin-binned, leaving the Maroons with just 12 men for most of the last 12 minutes.
This was one Origin that should have been in the bag.
With a one-man advantage and fatigue a huge factor, that’s when Tedesco or star half Cleary or even Luai should have gone to work and iced the win.
Instead, there was no direction from any of the big three — no connection, no big plays, no moments of magic, just poor decisions.
The performance was also riddled with poor defensive efforts, like letting Queensland forward Lindsey Collins stroll through the defensive line to grab a bomb from Tedesco’s grasp and send Cameron Munster over for a game-turning try.
At that point of the game, despite Queensland being behind and a man down, the NSW players showed no urgency or desperation and had no tactics left to throw at the Maroons.
Tedesco, as he always does, filled up his stat sheet, but too many times plays broke down and too many times he died with the ball instead of passing to his supports.
His 217 metres run look impressive and he had seven tackle breaks, both the highest in the game, but they didn’t convert into points.
It would be very interesting to be a fly on the wall when Fittler and Greg Alexander meet to discuss their team for Brisbane.
It’s not like they don’t have a lot of options if they want to make changes, and quality options at that.
Depending on fitness, Latrell Mitchell, Tom Trbojevic, Dylan Edwards, and Tedesco are all quality fullback options.
Likewise, Mitchell, Trbojevic, Campbell Graham, and Stephen Crichton can play in the centres, while Adam Reynolds, Cody Walker, and Mitchell Moses are quality halves worth considering — along with Nicho Hynes, who made his Origin debut off the bench on Wednesday.
It’s crunch time for Fittler, whose Origin record is now 4-4.
Does he trust the players who failed to rise to the occasion in Adelaide to lift and take on the enormous challenge in Brisbane, or does he give some other players a chance to write some Origin history?
Now that’s another $64,000 question.
