As Origin 2 awaits, Monday Night Footy is ready for Action!

22nd June 2009, by Daniel Hillege

Tonight at Toyota Stadium the revitalised Sharks are after their fourth win on the trot and the Broncos are hoping to bounce back from big losses…

Tonight at Toyota Stadium the revitalised Sharks are after their fourth win on the trot and the Broncos are hoping to bounce back from big losses…

The Sharks have picked up their act in recent weeks playing some tough, hard fought footy. They have been in the limelight for all the wrong reasons and now the players are stepping up and showing that they can play and more importantly that they want to. The Sharks were hopeless at the start of the year and will be hoping for a strong seasons-end to put a tumultuous year behind them.

The Sharks will be without two of their stars in Trent Barrett and Paul Gallen, however the Broncos will be without a backline and playing two debutants in game-breaking positions; Dale Copley will play at fullback and Ben Hunt will start as halfback. The Broncos even without their origin stars still have quality in players Corey parker and Joel Clinton to win what should be a tight game.

There are players absent from both sides, will the Sharks be complacent and fall back on their three wins or will they add another loss to the under-strength Broncos squad?

Origin 2 is just around the corner (Wednesday 24th) and once again the NSW selectors have changed their line-up with hope of saving the series.

Queensland are favourites for the series and rightly so. In game 1 they didn’t play the best footy and still came away with a 28 -18 point win. There was controversy surrounding the match but Queensland played a more dominant game and was hungry right until the final whistle.

Centrebet media chief Neil Evans said NSW was “right in the hunt” opening as a $2.20 outsider (now at $2.40)! “Finally, the Blues have a near-perfect blend of youth and experience, and this is one of the best back-rows NSW has had since the Phil Gould-coached days of the early 90’s,” he said. “Two super-confident hard-running second-rowers (O’Donnell and Creagh), with a real hard-head (Gallen) at the back of the scrum. If Brent Kite and fellow new prop Michael Weyman can square the ledger up front, NSW has a ‘live’ hope of equalling the series at 1-1!”

Will the NSW fresh faces have the confidence to come back firing and tie up the series, or will Queensland's experienced line-up cancel out the chance of a decider? Game 2, ANZ Stadium, 24th June should be another bone jarring instalment.

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last update : 22nd June 2009 17:05