NSW: Who should be our Five Eighth for SOO

[Titanium_BD1103]

Hey all

Well with the announcement that Trent Barrett is stepping down from all representative duties after signing with Wigan for 2007... the question has to be asked.. who is the ideal person to fill the Number 6 for the NSW State of Origin team in 2006.

I look forward to your responses and ideas... and to start I have posted in the poll who I reckon might get the job... give your ideas and opinions and if you have another suggestion, vote other and put that suggestion down here.. :)

Well for me it is these who are in the running.. :)

- Preston Campbell
- Michael Monaghan
- Matt Orford (play him at 6 and Gower at 7)
- Braith Anasta

Those are the options, I am sure there are more, I just can't remember them ATM.. but would love to hear what you think.. ;)

EDIT: Sorry for putting Michael Monaghan on there.. I was still thinking he played regular FG... I am putting up Kurt Gidley as the 3rd option.. ;)

[Gee]

I hope Anasta Then Q L D will win the S.O.O :]

[shavenjas]

Is that the pick of the crop NSW may struggle this year (I HOPE) they are good players but i don't think they will match the QLD halfs.

[[BroncosGirl]]

QLD do have much more options than NSW this year, well more good options anyways ;)

Out of those, I have no idea, Anasta hasn't shown much, but he is adjusting to a new club, maybe he'll step up come S.O.O.

[Blunt_Beno]

preston with out a doubt

[DeeGan]

Have I missed something - where is Trent Barrett? Did he stand down from rep footy after signing for Wigan?

[Queenslander]

Have I missed something - where is Trent Barrett? Did he stand down from rep footy after signing for Wigan?

Yes :D Which is a good thing IMO.

[DeeGan]

Found it: "

“I am really focused and my commitment to the Dragons will be such that I will be requesting to be excused from any representative football this year,” added Barrett.

Interesting - of all three options, I select neither of the three.

We need to look at the halfback which will give us a much clearer picture on the five-eight. There is a chance Gower will go to 6 bringing Orford into contention for the 7 jersey. The halves for NSW will be not be stronger than Queenslands, this is a good thing :D

I believe we will see a make shift five-eight in the role now Gower is gone.

Preston Campbell will not get a start there IMO though if Gower is halfback, who knows? Braith Anasta will contend for a spot on reputation only. Kurt Gidley? Hell no.

Graham Murray has a selection headache here it has to be said. Could we see a bolter?

Is Jamie Lyon an option? ;)

[Coaster]

I thought it was a done deal.

Anasta to join the roosters to allmost guarentee his SOO spot.

I bet he is shaking in his boots now Ricky has no more controll

[Titanium_BD1103]

Yes I know Coaster.. now that Murray is in control.. :)

Sorry about that to anyone who didn't know.. I thought you would have read it in the 2 threads about Barrett leaving for Wigan...

But yes he has stood down from Rep duty... and it poses an interesting question for NSW, I didn't realise we were so lacking in five-eighth options, I remember the days when there were 3 or 4 backups... but now there are only options...

There is another one.. but it is highly unlikely... but like in the past... put Wing at 6 and a halfback and play someone else at 9...but with the fact that Wing plays 9 as a regular for the Roosters... that is unlikely... :)

Oh and I reckon Brett Finch at Halfback with Gower at Hooker is another option, but I think of it the same way as Deegan thinks of Kurt Gidley at number 6.. - NO... :D :D

I reckon Preston has to get it... we don't have many other choices... oh unless Anasta starts wowing everyone in the next 2 games.. :)

[The Original Idiot]

Presto should get it, but Anasta probably will.

[Super Cronk]

I think Anasta will be the selectors fave for the spot. But honestly i dont think any of the above players have been in excellent form...i guess it will come down to the next few weeks and hopefully a player steps up to prove he is worthy of selection in SOO.

[Supergoose]

Preston should be but won't be. Probably will be Anasta although I'd like to see some other options like Reni Maitua, Paul Gallen, Craig Gower, Dean Young, Adam Dykes, John Sutton thrown in the mix - you may even see Gasnier there although the Dragons have reverted back to their previous formula with Greenshields at the back and Hornby in the 7. Hornby is anther option for the 6. Show some imagination NSW and send Anasta packing.

[Coaster]

The more i think about it, the more certain i become.

Anasta will be the number 6.

There is no question apart from injury, they have given him the spot allready.

[Queenslander]

Anasta for Origin as Barrett quits
By Jeff Dunne and Josh Massoud
May 5, 2006

UNDER pressure Sydney Roosters playmaker Braith Anasta has been thrown a representative lifeline and could land the New South Wales five-eighth's job in nine days' time.

Anasta is now the leading contender for the Blues No.6 jersey after Trent Barrett announced yesterday he was leaving St George-Illawarra for Wigan at the end of the season and was stepping down from representative commitments this year.

That leaves Blues selectors, who will announce the team on Monday week, with a halves crisis with no Andrew Johns and no Barrett.

Matt Orford and Craig Gower (assuming he's fit) are the halfback contenders while Anasta heads a skinny field of candidates at five-eighth, with Melbourne's Scott Hill in Premier League and Souths rookie John Sutton not ready yet.

Anasta, who has been under intense scrutiny since his move to the Roosters this season, has just run into some form and must step up against his former club the Bulldogs on Sunday.

"It's going to be interesting. I'm treating it as any normal game," Anasta said. "I just want to continue from last week. I don't really want to get too caught up in playing the old club."

Barrett's announcement came as no surprise after he confirmed a three-year-deal with Wigan.

It was the Dragons who initiated the move for Barrett to step down from representative football in what is now his last season at the club.

"Trent's had an illustrious representative career but from our mutual point of view we agreed he would put his heart and soul into the club this year," Dragons chief executive Peter Doust said.

Barrett said the reason for heading to England was for a lifestyle change.

"I signed with this club when I was 15 and I'm turning 29 and I always wanted to play in England while I'm still playing well," the Dragons skipper said.

Doust denied Barrett's departure would free up more funds for centre Mark Gasnier.

"We were working on the basis that we would be trying to keep Gaz and Trent," he said.

The Daily Telegraph

[Townsville Titan]

I picked Presto but im not confident he'll get the job due to his poor defence. If his defence is to lift marginally then i couldn't imagine selectors over-looking him... though i never saw Nathan Blacklock represent NSW...

[DeeGan]

Braith Anasta is running on one good leg and barring an improved effort vs the Cowboys (where I don't think he deserves the raps he is getting from that game) he looks ordinary this season. If he is the best option for NSW, I would be praying that our halves are in all sorts of injury trouble come Origin time if I was a Blues fan.

I think we could see Orford in the 7 and either Gower or Wing in the 6. The depth for NSW is at it's lowest point in some time, it has to be a concern when an out of form star player in Anasta is the leading contender.

[Titanium_BD1103]

Anasta is the lead contender, but the Papers threw up a real wildcard which I reckon might just work... and that is Adam Dykes... :)

Dykes is in form, playing like he use to play at the start of his career and could be the bolter for selection, if Anasta doesn't show enough... and I reckon I'd rather see Dykes than Anasta in there.. ;)

[Steelers]

I saw someone mention Dean Young in this thread..... that could work well... It worked well when Timmo played in the 6.

[Super Cronk]

Im not being biased here....but if Hill was chosen at 5/8 you could put kimmorley at half and because of their past and how well they work together that wouldnt be a bad halves combo.

NOW with that being said...Both Hill and Noddy havent been in great form, but if they were to pick it up over the next few weeks then i think that combo would be worth a go.

[Dakink]

Geez we are looking a little light at 6 without Barrett and with Anasta playing like an old cow...

[titans_fanatic]

It will be a joke if anasta gets in on his current form how good would it be if presto got in!

[Dakink]

It will be a joke if anasta gets in on his current form how good would it be if presto got in!


No offence but I dont think I'd like to see Presto there just yet. I think SOO would find him out a little, mainly defensively. If he does get in I hope he makes me eat my hat!

[Steelers]

Taken from another thread created by LukeBlues send SOS for Jamie
By Greg Davis
May 7, 2006

NEW South Wales is poised to produce an Allan Langer-style selection shock by sending an SOS to English-based Jamie Lyon to play five-eighth in this year's State of Origin series.

The Blues' stocks at No.6 are limited following Trent Barrett's retirement from representative football after the Dragons captain announced last week he is moving to Wigan.

NSW selectors face a giant headache filling the pivotal position with the skinny list of contenders, including the out-of-form Braith Anasta, raw Rabbitoh John Sutton, Newcastle's Kurt Gidley and Scott Hill, who is playing for Storm feeder club North Sydney in Premier League.

The Blues are investigating the possibility of luring Lyon to Australia for a hit-and-run mission.

NSW coach Graham Murray was tight-lipped when asked about the Lyon option, but said the Blues had to "investigate all options to come up with the best possible side".

Lyon has been a superstar for St Helens in the English Super League since leaving Parramatta in 2004 after a falling out with coach Brian Smith.

The 24-year-old won the 2005 "Man of Steel" award for the Super League's best player and is tipped to re-join the Eels in 2006 with Smith heading to Newcastle.

Lyon played five Tests and five Origin games for NSW as a centre between 2001 and 2003, but has spent a lot of time at five-eighth in the UK with considerable success.

He also won a Group 4 premiership at five-eighth during his time with the Wee Waa Panthers before he left for England.


Advertisement:
Former St Helens coach Ian Millward switched Lyon to pivot during his time at Knowsley Road, and urged the Blues to follow suit.
Millward said Lyon reminded him of a young Brad Fittler.

"The way he comes on to the ball takes you back to Freddy Fittler in his prime," Millward said.

"I honestly think it would be a fool-proof plan for the Blues to get him back for the Origin series.

"He is such a talented natural footballer with all the skills imaginable, and he would be a real X-factor for NSW because with the ball in his hands anything could happen.

"I would regard him as equal to Trent Barrett and NSW should definitely look at him as a serious option because the cupboard is pretty bare for five-eighths.

"He won't be fazed by the occasion and he won't have any troubles adjusting to the speed and intensity of the game.

"I know Australian league fans know him just as a centre, but in the last two years over here in England he has matured and shown he has all the tools to be a brilliant five-eighth.

"It is a bit out there to get someone from England for the Origin series. But Queensland got Alfie back and it would be an outstanding choice for the Blues to do the same with Jamie."

The Sunday Telegraph

Source: Foxsports.news.com.au

[Titanium_BD1103]

Ah yes... so now Jamie is in the picture... :)

I would like to see Lyon back if it is possible... but whether it is right to bring a player back from England when the boys in the NRL are working hard to get this position, I am not sure... still I would love to see Lyon play for NSW in 2006.. :D :D

[Steelers]

Ah yes... so now Jamie is in the picture... :)

I would like to see Lyon back if it is possible... but whether it is right to bring a player back from England when the boys in the NRL are working hard to get this position, I am not sure... still I would love to see Lyon play for NSW in 2006.. :D :D

I don't mind people getting picked from the ESL for SOO and for Australia... in fact I am a big supporter of it when it comes to being selected for Australia.

[shavenjas]

How hard up is NSW for a 5/8, only the great man Allan Langer can come back from the UK and do what he did in 2001, Jamie Lyon would not have that effect on a NSW team.

[~Wild Child~]

How hard up is NSW for a 5/8, only the great man Allan Langer can come back from the UK and do what he did in 2001, Jamie Lyon would not have that effect on a NSW team.Alan Langer has made it difficult for anyone to "come back" so sensationally.Langer has set the standard...can't wait to see someone challenge it.That would be some pretty hot football

[Teegy]

From NRL.com

NSW coach Graham Murray has thrown up Test centre Mark Gasnier as a possible solution to the Blues' five-eighth woes following the representative retirement of St George Illawarra teammate Trent Barrett.

Barrett's decision to pull the plug on his representative career has left the Blues with a dearth of in-form options at No.6, his absence more pronounced given first-choice halfback Andrew Johns is also unavailable.

Sydney Roosters pivot Braith Anasta, who starred in last year's State of Origin series but has had a mixed start to life at Bondi Junction, is believed to be the frontrunner to retain the NSW five-eighth jumper, but Murray said selectors may think outside the square and turn to someone like Gasnier or former Parramatta centre Jamie Lyons, who has been a revelation at No.6 for English Super League side St Helens.

"I guess Anasta's in the front of everyone's minds and someone like Kurt Gidley and I'm also still a very big fan of Scott Hill. I still think he has plenty to offer, so I wouldn't discount him," Murray told ABC radio.

"But maybe it's a Gasnier at five-eighth or a Lyon at five-eighth.

"(In 2004), Shaun Timmins played five-eighth, no-one baulked at that because he wasn't a traditional five-eighth, but maybe that's one of the trains of thought.

"I think you've got to look at all possibilities."

While NSW selectors have been loath to bring players back from Super League to play State of Origin in the past, Murray said selectors could be forced to look abroad, especially if they lose the series opener on May 24.

"I'm still very good friends with (former St Helens coach) Ian Millward. I spoke to Ian during the week and he just said to me 'Muzza, at five-eighth he's outstanding," Murray said.

"I'm not saying we'd probably do it in the first one, but who knows. But I'm not against the Gasnier one either."

While Lyon would be a tantalising proposition St Helens would not be keen to see their star pivot play in the series opener at Telstra Stadium given they have a Challenge Cup clash against fellow heavyweights Bradford on May 20.

The fight for the halfback spot appears to be a race in two between Penrith's Craig Gower and Manly's red-hot playmaker Matt Orford, but Murray also gave under-fire Roosters halfback Brett Finch some hope of a NSW recall.

"I wouldn't rule out Brett Finch. I reckon he's going pretty good since he's moved back to halfback from hooker," Murray said.

The selection of Anasta at five-eighth could aid Finch's chances of a call-up given their club combination at the Roosters.

Source: AAP