NRL great Mark “Spudd” Carroll believes Brad Fittler’s game plan of rotating his forwards cost the Blues the win in Game I of State of Origin 2023.
The first highly anticipated Origin clash of the year saw Billy Slater’s Maroons take the match 26-18 with two late tries.
While the match was fraught with controversial incidents, it was the lack of consistency in the Blues’ forward pack that had Carroll most concerned.
Junior Paulo lasted 30 minutes, Broncos enforcer Payne Haas played 50 and debutant Tevita Pangai Junior managed just 27 before being replaced after a series of costly errors.
It is these mistakes that Carroll believes will rule Pangai Junior out of selection for the remainder of the series.
“Pangai Junior’s played … you know those guys who play their first game and won’t be selected again? He’s going to be one of those, 100 per cent,” Carroll told SEN 1170 Afternoons.
Carroll also questioned why it was necessary for Fittler to rotate his forwards, citing an 80-minute effort from Queensland prop Reuben Cotter as his main comparison.
“Have a look at someone like Reuben Cotter … seriously, he went 80 minutes and I guarantee you, Payne Haas can play 80 minutes,” he added.
“He is a phenomenon, he’s one of a kind. He plays 80 minutes for the Broncos (so) leave him out there.
“Now, Junior (Paulo) has to start, we need to bash them. In the first 10 minutes – I look at the game and you know how they talk about a game in two halves and all of that sort of stuff – it was a game of four quarters.
“It was Queensland at the start, last 20 in the first half that was New South Wales, they then came out of the blocks getting ahead and then they got beaten in the end.
“So disappointing is a word (to describe the result), I just think they’ve been giving it to (skipper James) Tedesco, they’ve been hammering here and there, but at the end of the day I just think up the middle, we’ve got to have a good look at ourselves.”
Down 1-0 in the series, the Blues will look to level the scores in Game II, which kicks off on June 21 at Suncorp Stadium.