Koroisau to start at No.9

SYDNEY: New South Wales (NSW) Blues coach Brad Fittler has revealed his 17 for State of Origin game two, with Api Koroisau a shock starter at hooker in place of Damien Cook.
Panthers hooker Koroisau was initially thought to be in line for a spot on the bench, but the official team sheet released yesterday revealed he will start at No.9.
Cook, who has been a mainstay in the NSW No.9 jersey since Fittler’s tenure began in 2018, will come off the bench.
Fittler said Koroisau’s inclusion didn’t mean the coaching staff had lost faith in Rabbitohs star Cook amidst a lukewarm stretch of form.
“That’ll be a tactical change, going in with two hookers,” Fittler said.
“Between Cook and (South Sydney teammate) Cameron Murray, we’ve got a lot of confidence in them. They’ve been part of this group for a while now.”
Koroisau’s inclusion in the run-on side means the Blues will have seven Penrith players in the starting 13, joining Nathan Cleary, Jerome Luai, Brain To’o, Stephen Crichton, Isaah Yeo and Liam Martin.
Matt Burton has since moved to the Bulldogs, but was the Dally M centre of the year at the Panthers in 2021.
Fittler also revealed that Burton and Siosifa Talakai will make their debuts, while Jake Trbojevic will start in the front row.
Burton will start at centre despite playing five-eighth for Canterbury, while Talakai has won a spot on the bench
Fittler said the only option after a defeat was to change tactics, especially when the three-match series is on the line.
“When you get beaten, you need to reassess,” he said.
“We have no safety net at the moment.
“We went into the first game thinking a certain way about how the game would go and what we could do but it didn’t happen,” said Fittler ahead of game two in Sunday. – Yahoo Sports

NRL Bunker questioned for cancelling Titans’ try

SYDNEY: The heat is back on the National Rugby League (NRL) bunker after a decision to step in and take a try off the Gold Coast Titans against the Sharks on Saturday.
Cronulla struggled to get out of first gear in the Coffs Harbour clash, but were good enough to scrape past the Titans for a 18-10 win. It was the Sharks’ eighth consecutive win over the Titans. The margin should have been less than eight points after Titans flyer Greg Marzhew’s 80th minute try was cancelled out by the Bunker, without the decision being sent to the video officials.
In a bizarre set of circumstances, the try was disallowed because of a knock-on made by Sharks playmaker Matt Moylan. Moylan dropped the ball at his feet while facing back towards his own try line before he passed to Nicho Hynes 20m out from the try line.
Hynes’ then put in an average kick that was snatched up by Jarrod Wallace.
Wallace then came up with a classy flick pass to Beau Fermor and the second-rower punched through a tackle into open space before he passed to Marzhew out wide.
Marzhew shrugged off Sharks winger Sione Katoa and then ran all the way to the try line to complete a 95m razzle-dazzle try before it was cancelled due to the Moylan knock on. – AAP

Slater avoids response to Blues selection, remains focused

BRISBANE: No longer armed with the element of surprise, Queensland coach Billy Slater is banking on consistency to counter New South Wales’ (NSW) hectic response at the selection table ahead of State of Origin game two.
Slater will debut North Queensland winger Murray Taulagi in Perth on Sunday and welcome back Jai Arrow from the Origin wilderness, his only changes forced by injury to Xavier Coates and Reuben Cotter respectively.
Slater rubbished suggestions Fittler had panicked.
He also avoided answering if he had discuss ruck speed with officials, given it was a sore point of Fittler’s after game one.
“I don’t know what they’re thinking,” he said of NSW’s selections.
“That’s (the ruck) a part of the game you want to win, with or without the footy.”
Fittler claimed there were 70 more play-the-balls in the series opener compared to the National Rugby League (NRL) game average, and was left concerned after Queensland were crucially able to control the speed of the play-the-ball while defending.
“My priority is getting our players to play their best football. The ref’s have their job, I’ll be focusing on my job,” said Slater.
Slater’s bench manoeuvres also caught the Blues out, with hooker Harry Grant and forward Pat Carrigan dominating through the middle. – 7 News