Will the NSW Blues win the State of Origin Series again before the Wallabies reclaim the Bledisloe Cup?
Yes they will.There are two major factors which will help the Blues win a series next year or the year after which aren’t applicable to the Wallabies.The Maroons are very much dominated by three players. Cameron Smith, Cooper Cronk and Jonathan Thurston. All are in their early thirties and all are nearing retirement age. There simply isn’t any talent coming through the ranks that can compare with the talent, experience and skill of these players (indeed it’s fair to say they are three of the best players of all time - the fact they all play in the same Maroons side is somewhat of a miracle).The Blues are experiencing a generational change themselves but in this case it means the side is being filled by players who aren’t burdened by the weight of years of defeat and loss. The relatively small margins in 5 out of the last 6 games would seem to bear out the fact that the teams are getting closer in terms of skill and ability level.Plus…The Wallabies don’t seem to be able to dig themselves out of the rut they have found themselves in for the past few seasons. Adding to their woes of course was the catastrophe of their defeat by England (for the first time EVER) in a test series on Australian soil.Although maybe England just desperately needed SOME good news….With the All Blacks being so dominant lately (back to back World Cup winners) I think they will maintain their stranglehold over world Rugby for years to come.At the expense of the Wallabies.
What was the best NRL game of all time?
There are many that could qualify.Many Australians would call Origin the pinnacle of the sport. Game I 2004, Game I 2005 and Game I 2006 were all the best games of their respective seasons. Game II 2005 had maybe the best individual performance I had ever seen from Andrew Johns. But what was most likely the best was Game II 1989, when Queensland were down to 12 men after 5 injuries and won 16-12 against a full strength NSW side.Test matches are often even better than Origin. Some of the best in recent times were game 2 of the 1990 Ashes series, the 2006 Tri Nations Final, the 2010 Four Nations Final, the 2008 World Cup Final and the 2013 World Cup Semi Final. Some classics are the 1962 Ashes game III, the 1950 Ashes Game II where Australia won the Ashes for the first time in thirty years. There's also the 1914 'Rorke's Drift' test where Great Britain defeated Australia with only 10 men and the 1958 'Battle of Brisbane'. Grand Finals. I can't comment on the various English club games, or other club games around the world, but the best Grand Finals in recent times in Australia have been the 1989 Grand Final between Canberra and Balmain, the 1997 ARL Grand Final between Manly and Newcastle and the 2015 NRL Grand Final between Brisbane and North Queensland. The best out of all of those I'd have to say would be the 2013 World Cup Semi Final between England and New Zealand, but I am biased as I saw it live. Runner-up would be the 2015 NRL Gran Final.