Tough Wins and Possible Clean Sweeps

On the weekend we witnessed something that hasn't been done by a Broncos side all season. The side headed into the weekend on the back of a loss to an impressive Penrith side. The loss to Penrith was a combination of good play from the Panthers and the Broncos shooting themselves in the foot constantly. Handling errors and conceding penalties meant that the Broncos didn't stand a chance. The performance that the lads put on can be described as laborious, efficient and tradesman-like. You can tell more about a side winning in that sort of scenario than you can from when we flogged Souths. A sign of a good team is that they can turn on the razzle-dazzle when required but can also knuckle down and battle in the trenches when required. Low scoring games are often wars of attrition and the weekend's game was no exception.

In other news, Queensland have named their side that will contest Origin III. The line-up is:

1. Billy Slater
2. Darius Boyd
3. Greg Inglis
4. Willie Tonga
5. Israel Folau
6. Darren Lockyer (capt)
7. Johnathan Thurston
8. Matt Scott
9. Cameron Smith
10. Petero Civoniceva
11. Nate Myles
12. Sam Thaiday
13. Ashley Harrison

Interchange

14. Cooper Cronk
15. David Shillington
16. Neville Costigan
17. Dave Taylor

The unluckiest man in Australia is probably Ben Hannant - the bloke didn't put a foot wrong but due to Petero being fit, someone had to go. Shillington and Scott have been outstanding this year and it makes sense to give these 2 a bit more experience, they have more to gain than Ben.

The Blues selection team are bordering on farcical as far as I'm concerned. Picking Barrett is just about the most ridiculous thing that I've heard - the only thing worse is not using this opportunity to start building a solid foundation for the future. What's the point of picking a player for a dead rubber that is retiring at the end of the year?

All they have done is continued to provide proof as to why the selectors need to go. Lozza and co., it's time to clue up.