The two players who will decide Origin glory. And it's not who you expect
And with it the series, since NSW and Queensland are locked up at a game apiece after the Blues, having easily won game one in Brisbane, botched the first half of game two in Perth before making a comeback that just fell short.
It's always easy to nominate star players in the halves as the ones who will have the biggest influence on a result.
Particularly at Origin level where you have genuine superstars like NSW halfback Nathan Cleary and Queensland five-eighth Cameron Munster so heavily involved.
But if you go back and have another look at Origins I and II you'll see what I mean when it comes to Blues centre Stephen "Critta" Crichton and Maroons fullback Hamiso "The Hammer" Tabuai-Fidow.
We'll start with Tabuai-Fidow, who will be playing in his third different position in this series after being at left centre in game one and left wing in game two.
Even before Kalyn Ponga, the Queensland fullback in Origins I and II, was injured playing for Newcastle last weekend I thought Brisbane's Reece Walsh should've been promoted to fullback for the decider. Ponga had been ordinary in the series so far.
So I was shocked when, after Ponga became unavailable, Maroons coach Billy Slater moved Tabuai-Fidow from the wing to fullback and included Walsh only as 18th man.
But I get it now. You're going to need top-shelf difference-makers in attack, playing in their best positions, to win this game and The Hammer is absolutely crushing it at fullback for the rising Dolphins in the NRL this season.
He's a try-scorer (15 in 14 games this season, including four in his most recent game and eight in his last four), has a mammoth 68 tackle breaks and averages 175 running metres, with totals of 237 and 264 in his last two games.
The Hammer can break a game open from anywhere on the field and as much as Queensland will be preparing to defend well in Origin III they know they're going to need to produce something extra-special in attack to win.
Ponga wasn't doing it and Walsh, while he's a tremendous attacking player himself, isn't nearly as prolific a try-scorer as Tabuai-Fidow and tends to have more errors in him.
Tabuai-Fidow scored two tries in Origin II - one with a straight-forward winger's finish and the other when he won the contest off a high kick to the corner.
Playing at fullback is just going to make him more involved in attack and therefore even more dangerous.
But leaving Walsh out and moving Tabuai-Fidow to fullback meant Slater had to find a new player in the three-quarters and he shocked everyone when he came up with Brisbane centre Gehamat Shibasaki.
Shibasaki was really struggling to make a career of it in the NRL before this season, having played a total of 30 games for four clubs in six years.
But in 2025, in the first year of a second stint with the Broncos, he has scored 12 tries in 15 games including doubles in each of his last three outings.
MORE NRL NEWS
So he has proved he can get among the tries under the right circumstances, which again is critical to Queensland's chances, but the big reason the Maroons were forced into disarray in defence out wide on the left in games I and II still remains.
That is Crichton, at right centre for NSW. He gets a lot of praise for his fantastic defence, but he's a genius in attack as well.
He has the knack of sucking in defenders whether he's running with the ball or as a decoy and he's incredibly unselfish, which is why he doesn't score more tries himself. "Critta" makes so many tries it must be a winger's dream to play outside him.
Tabuai-Fidow and Valentine Holmes couldn't handle him in games one and two respectively and now it's Shibasaki's turn to try to stop him with the support of Holmes, who has gone back to left wing.
NSW will be preparing to put Crichton in those one-on-one situations and he'll be relishing the opportunity to either create try-scoring opportunities for Zac Lomax on the wing or go himself if the space is narrowing close to the line.
Crichton did both things to effect across Origins I and II and now he's going opposite a player making his Origin debut. It will be a massive challenge for Shibasaki to try to shut him down.
THE Warriors can't win the premiership now they've lost their halfback Luke Metcalf for the rest of the season through injury, joining prop Mitch Barnett as a major out.
They looked like contenders during the first half of the season, but this is a left to the body followed by a right to the jaw that they won't survive.
The currently fourth-placed Warriors are a very well-drilled outfit under coach Andrew Webster and they'll try to grind wins out from here, but they'll be doing very well if they can hang on to a top-four spot going into the finals.
Even with the four-point break they had over fifth place heading into this weekend's round, where they have a bye.
THE benchmark has been set now, for all teams to see, by Penrith and Canterbury with the quality of their epic clash last week.
If you haven't got the ability, when it's necessary, to rise to that level, which was above every other game so far this season, then forget about winning the competition.
"Critta" and "The Hammer" are the two players who hold the key to State of Origin III and where it will be won and lost in Sydney on Wednesday night.
And with it the series, since NSW and Queensland are locked up at a game apiece after the Blues, having easily won game one in Brisbane, botched the first half of game two in Perth before making a comeback that just fell short.
It's always easy to nominate star players in the halves as the ones who will have the biggest influence on a result.
Particularly at Origin level where you have genuine superstars like NSW halfback Nathan Cleary and Queensland five-eighth Cameron Munster so heavily involved.
But if you go back and have another look at Origins I and II you'll see what I mean when it comes to Blues centre Stephen "Critta" Crichton and Maroons fullback Hamiso "The Hammer" Tabuai-Fidow.
We'll start with Tabuai-Fidow, who will be playing in his third different position in this series after being at left centre in game one and left wing in game two.
Even before Kalyn Ponga, the Queensland fullback in Origins I and II, was injured playing for Newcastle last weekend I thought Brisbane's Reece Walsh should've been promoted to fullback for the decider. Ponga had been ordinary in the series so far.
So I was shocked when, after Ponga became unavailable, Maroons coach Billy Slater moved Tabuai-Fidow from the wing to fullback and included Walsh only as 18th man.
But I get it now. You're going to need top-shelf difference-makers in attack, playing in their best positions, to win this game and The Hammer is absolutely crushing it at fullback for the rising Dolphins in the NRL this season.
He's a try-scorer (15 in 14 games this season, including four in his most recent game and eight in his last four), has a mammoth 68 tackle breaks and averages 175 running metres, with totals of 237 and 264 in his last two games.
The Hammer can break a game open from anywhere on the field and as much as Queensland will be preparing to defend well in Origin III they know they're going to need to produce something extra-special in attack to win.
Ponga wasn't doing it and Walsh, while he's a tremendous attacking player himself, isn't nearly as prolific a try-scorer as Tabuai-Fidow and tends to have more errors in him.
Tabuai-Fidow scored two tries in Origin II - one with a straight-forward winger's finish and the other when he won the contest off a high kick to the corner.
Playing at fullback is just going to make him more involved in attack and therefore even more dangerous.
But leaving Walsh out and moving Tabuai-Fidow to fullback meant Slater had to find a new player in the three-quarters and he shocked everyone when he came up with Brisbane centre Gehamat Shibasaki.
Shibasaki was really struggling to make a career of it in the NRL before this season, having played a total of 30 games for four clubs in six years.
But in 2025, in the first year of a second stint with the Broncos, he has scored 12 tries in 15 games including doubles in each of his last three outings.
MORE NRL NEWS
So he has proved he can get among the tries under the right circumstances, which again is critical to Queensland's chances, but the big reason the Maroons were forced into disarray in defence out wide on the left in games I and II still remains.
That is Crichton, at right centre for NSW. He gets a lot of praise for his fantastic defence, but he's a genius in attack as well.
He has the knack of sucking in defenders whether he's running with the ball or as a decoy and he's incredibly unselfish, which is why he doesn't score more tries himself. "Critta" makes so many tries it must be a winger's dream to play outside him.
Tabuai-Fidow and Valentine Holmes couldn't handle him in games one and two respectively and now it's Shibasaki's turn to try to stop him with the support of Holmes, who has gone back to left wing.
NSW will be preparing to put Crichton in those one-on-one situations and he'll be relishing the opportunity to either create try-scoring opportunities for Zac Lomax on the wing or go himself if the space is narrowing close to the line.
Crichton did both things to effect across Origins I and II and now he's going opposite a player making his Origin debut. It will be a massive challenge for Shibasaki to try to shut him down.
THE Warriors can't win the premiership now they've lost their halfback Luke Metcalf for the rest of the season through injury, joining prop Mitch Barnett as a major out.
They looked like contenders during the first half of the season, but this is a left to the body followed by a right to the jaw that they won't survive.
The currently fourth-placed Warriors are a very well-drilled outfit under coach Andrew Webster and they'll try to grind wins out from here, but they'll be doing very well if they can hang on to a top-four spot going into the finals.
Even with the four-point break they had over fifth place heading into this weekend's round, where they have a bye.
THE benchmark has been set now, for all teams to see, by Penrith and Canterbury with the quality of their epic clash last week.
If you haven't got the ability, when it's necessary, to rise to that level, which was above every other game so far this season, then forget about winning the competition.
"Critta" and "The Hammer" are the two players who hold the key to State of Origin III and where it will be won and lost in Sydney on Wednesday night.
And with it the series, since NSW and Queensland are locked up at a game apiece after the Blues, having easily won game one in Brisbane, botched the first half of game two in Perth before making a comeback that just fell short.
It's always easy to nominate star players in the halves as the ones who will have the biggest influence on a result.
Particularly at Origin level where you have genuine superstars like NSW halfback Nathan Cleary and Queensland five-eighth Cameron Munster so heavily involved.
But if you go back and have another look at Origins I and II you'll see what I mean when it comes to Blues centre Stephen "Critta" Crichton and Maroons fullback Hamiso "The Hammer" Tabuai-Fidow.
We'll start with Tabuai-Fidow, who will be playing in his third different position in this series after being at left centre in game one and left wing in game two.
Even before Kalyn Ponga, the Queensland fullback in Origins I and II, was injured playing for Newcastle last weekend I thought Brisbane's Reece Walsh should've been promoted to fullback for the decider. Ponga had been ordinary in the series so far.
So I was shocked when, after Ponga became unavailable, Maroons coach Billy Slater moved Tabuai-Fidow from the wing to fullback and included Walsh only as 18th man.
But I get it now. You're going to need top-shelf difference-makers in attack, playing in their best positions, to win this game and The Hammer is absolutely crushing it at fullback for the rising Dolphins in the NRL this season.
He's a try-scorer (15 in 14 games this season, including four in his most recent game and eight in his last four), has a mammoth 68 tackle breaks and averages 175 running metres, with totals of 237 and 264 in his last two games.
The Hammer can break a game open from anywhere on the field and as much as Queensland will be preparing to defend well in Origin III they know they're going to need to produce something extra-special in attack to win.
Ponga wasn't doing it and Walsh, while he's a tremendous attacking player himself, isn't nearly as prolific a try-scorer as Tabuai-Fidow and tends to have more errors in him.
Tabuai-Fidow scored two tries in Origin II - one with a straight-forward winger's finish and the other when he won the contest off a high kick to the corner.
Playing at fullback is just going to make him more involved in attack and therefore even more dangerous.
But leaving Walsh out and moving Tabuai-Fidow to fullback meant Slater had to find a new player in the three-quarters and he shocked everyone when he came up with Brisbane centre Gehamat Shibasaki.
Shibasaki was really struggling to make a career of it in the NRL before this season, having played a total of 30 games for four clubs in six years.
But in 2025, in the first year of a second stint with the Broncos, he has scored 12 tries in 15 games including doubles in each of his last three outings.
MORE NRL NEWS
So he has proved he can get among the tries under the right circumstances, which again is critical to Queensland's chances, but the big reason the Maroons were forced into disarray in defence out wide on the left in games I and II still remains.
That is Crichton, at right centre for NSW. He gets a lot of praise for his fantastic defence, but he's a genius in attack as well.
He has the knack of sucking in defenders whether he's running with the ball or as a decoy and he's incredibly unselfish, which is why he doesn't score more tries himself. "Critta" makes so many tries it must be a winger's dream to play outside him.
Tabuai-Fidow and Valentine Holmes couldn't handle him in games one and two respectively and now it's Shibasaki's turn to try to stop him with the support of Holmes, who has gone back to left wing.
NSW will be preparing to put Crichton in those one-on-one situations and he'll be relishing the opportunity to either create try-scoring opportunities for Zac Lomax on the wing or go himself if the space is narrowing close to the line.
Crichton did both things to effect across Origins I and II and now he's going opposite a player making his Origin debut. It will be a massive challenge for Shibasaki to try to shut him down.
THE Warriors can't win the premiership now they've lost their halfback Luke Metcalf for the rest of the season through injury, joining prop Mitch Barnett as a major out.
They looked like contenders during the first half of the season, but this is a left to the body followed by a right to the jaw that they won't survive.
The currently fourth-placed Warriors are a very well-drilled outfit under coach Andrew Webster and they'll try to grind wins out from here, but they'll be doing very well if they can hang on to a top-four spot going into the finals.
Even with the four-point break they had over fifth place heading into this weekend's round, where they have a bye.
THE benchmark has been set now, for all teams to see, by Penrith and Canterbury with the quality of their epic clash last week.
If you haven't got the ability, when it's necessary, to rise to that level, which was above every other game so far this season, then forget about winning the competition.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
SBS Australia
an hour ago
- SBS Australia
I was an NRL player who locked himself in the toilet to read fantasy books in secret
More than 50 years ago, the women's liberation movement reshaped society's expectations of womanhood. As commentary around 'toxic masculinity' persists today, Insight asks if men need to be liberated from traditional masculinity. Watch episode Male Liberation on SBS On Demand . Many people might look at me, a country boy and an ex-NRL player, and think I seem like a 'pretty tough fella'. Something they may not guess about me, though, is that I'm an avid fantasy fiction reader. I grew up on a cattle property in western Queensland, surrounded by hard country men — who themselves were raised by hard country men. I was a sensitive kid with a vivid imagination who loved (and still loves) magic and dragons. I always felt weird being around gruff, straight-edged men who weren't interested in such things. My first memory of buying a book was at age 6 at my school's book fair. I couldn't read yet, but I would sit down, open the book and pretend to; I remember my older brother mocking me for doing so. I felt I didn't belong, but I find a sense of belonging with books. Stories became my sanctuary, and I'd escape to fantasy worlds where I could be me. However, I started to hide this part of myself as I grew older. As a young man, I found myself in cultures — like the NRL — where I felt weakness was a liability, and wonder was for fools. I hid my books in my footy bag, and I would only ever read them in secret — if I could. If we were on an away game — and I was sharing a hotel room with a teammate — I would sit on the toilet for half an hour with the door locked and read my book. That was how I read because I felt there was no way I could pull out a book about magic or fantastical worlds in front of the boys. Luke played for the Canberra Raiders NRL team from 2015 to 2019. Source: Supplied Pretending to be someone else What most people didn't see was that from about 2018 to through to 2021, I had severe depression and a harmful gambling addiction. Gambling was how I silenced the inner parts of me that felt rejected. It came at a cost, however — becoming a vortex of pain and misery that lasted years. I think getting up every day and pretending to be someone I wasn't really contributed to this difficult period. In 2021, I did a month in a rehabilitation clinic for my addiction. This was the catalyst for me that began a journey of positive change in my life. Looking back, I wonder if it was just a coincidence that my darkest season began after I stopped reading. Maybe. Maybe not. I'll never know. But when I finally accepted and sought help, books returned to my life. And believe me when I say, books were a cornerstone of my journey back to stability. When life became too loud and overwhelming during recovery, books were my safe haven. Along with the professional help I received, books gave me the map back to myself. Back to magic. Back to the kid I had cast aside when I felt the world told me I had to. The photo of Luke he has as his phone background to remind himself of his boy self. Source: Supplied Finding role models in fantasy characters I think we currently have a poor definition of what masculinity and strength are. I was given the checklist: money, car, house, status. This is what you do to be successful. I had all of that — earning hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, I drove around in a brand-new car, lived in an amazing house, had renown and status. And yet I was the most broken, shallow, hollow, miserable person or version of myself that I've ever been. I think that boys are starved of stories that teach them how to feel. We give them stories of action and fighting. Rarely do we give them stories of affection and intimacy. We then question why they're emotionally cold. Why they become men who can't cry. Why they don't know how to ask for help. In my eyes, a man worthy of being a role model is someone who takes responsibility for their mistakes and is willing to talk about them — not someone who tries to pretend they're perfect. I've found many of my role models within books. Some of the best role models in the world are made-up characters. Fantasy books let boys journey with characters who are flawed and who doubt themselves. Characters who wrestle with shame and fear but still have the desire to grow and overcome adversity. 'A boy who reads will know better' Books give boys a platform to understand themselves. It keeps magic alive inside them as they grow up. The world is going to challenge them every day. It might try to box them in, define them by what they earn, what car they drive, how much they lift at the gym, tell them that softness is weakness. But I know firsthand that a boy who reads will know better — even if it's not right away. He knows that heroes are flawed and imperfect. He knows that what makes them heroes is that they don't give up when times are tough. He knows that inside him, that same strength waits patiently. Luke has found role models within the pages of his favourite fantasy novels. Source: Supplied Now for the first time at age 30, through BookTok (the TikTok book community), I have other blokes (and women) to speak to about dragons and magic. I believe magic is real and it permeates our world. It's real in the stories that wrap around us and remind us of who we are. It's real in the boy on the cattle property pretending to read. It's real in the man who picked fantasy books back up in his darkest season. It can be real for all boys if they continue to read; I think it's important that they do. I don't want young men and boys to go through what I went through. I want them to pursue magic and wonder — whatever that looks like to them. For gambling addiction support you can visit the National Gambling Helpline or call on 1800 858 858. All services are free, confidential and available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. For crisis and mental health support, contact Lifeline (13 11 14), SANE Australia (1800 187 263) or 13Yarn (139 276), a 24/7 Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islanders crisis support line.
7NEWS
9 hours ago
- 7NEWS
Chris Scott forced to takes sides in spat between old teammates Michael Voss and Craig McRae
Geelong master coach Chris Scott has been forced to take sides in the war of words between his former Brisbane teammates, Michael Voss and Craig McRae. The feud started when McRae, the coach of Collingwood, mentioned in a media conference about a meeting with Blues star Jack Silvagni. Silvagni is of course a son and grandson of Carlton greats, and the Blues camp were unimpressed that McRae had 'outed' their player as a possible target. Making matters worse, Carlton and Collingwood and fierce and old rivals, and Blues fans would be filthy to see the great Silvagni name (Sergio Silvagni and his son Stephen are both legends) in a Collingwood jumper. After McRae went public about his meeting with Jack, Voss hit back 'Regardless of what Craig did, it's not something we would do. We will respect the privacy of the player,' Voss said. 'It's not for me to announce something like that on behalf of someone, because they're the ones that have to walk back into the locker room.' Appearing on Channel 7's The Agenda Setters on Tuesday, Scott was asked whose team was he on, Team Voss or Team McRae? 'I'm a little bit more Team Voss on this one,' Scott said about his former premiership teammates. 'But in Fly's (McRae) defence, that's kind of him, like he's a funny guy, and that's sort of him being himself a bit.' Scott there were two sides to the story when players sound out a club for a possible move. '(That's) the reality of the situation. And I think most people in the footy industry know now that players, especially with free agency coming in, they really have an obligation to do their research,' Scott said. 'It's not just clubs chasing players. It's really players working out (who they want to play for).' Scott said players could not make a decision in October with 'two weeks notice' when the trade window or free agency window was open. '(The players) need to meet with these people. I don't think it is the clubs preying on those guys. So that's the reality of the situation,' Scott said. 'But I don't think it's something that clubs should be promoting necessarily ... 'There's a reality that it's happening but to talk about it ... I think it is something that probably the media wants and the fans might like to know, but there are a lot of things that they like to know that they shouldn't, in my opinion. 'So I think Vossy's point is really well made ... It's not up to the prospective club to out that player knowing full well that the player's got to walk back into the locker room and front, you know, his teammates especially and the coach in some parts. 'Now, I'd be staggered if Carlton weren't aware that Silvagni was assessing his options.' Scott then used St Kilda coach Ross Lyon and a meeting he had with Geelong forward Tyson Stengle when Stengle was out of contract. 'He spoke with Tyson Stengle ... I get it ... so he should, that's fine, but I don't think we should be screaming it from the rooftops ...' Scott said clubs would be naive to think that out of a list of 45 players that some of those players would not be actively thinking about playing for another club, and rival clubs would be thinking about poaching players. 'I think it's happens a little bit with staff as well. Like we've got three really good assistant coaches that, in my view, if they want to, can be head coaches,' Scott said. 'Now, it's kind of incumbent on them at some point to take up the invitation to speak to another club. 'I'll give you another example, like Corey Enright, someone I rate really highly. He'd spent his whole football life at Geelong. It was only logical that he should consider going somewhere else to get a little bit more experience. 'Now, I prefer it didn't happen, but I'm kind of OK with the fact that it did.'
7NEWS
10 hours ago
- 7NEWS
Fresh vision emerges of Carlton coach Michael Voss and new Blues chief Graham Wright
Embattled Carlton coach Michael Voss has been spotted having an eye-catching meeting with the Blues incoming CEO Graham Wright. The vision emerged on Tuesday, the same day Melbourne's coach Simon Goodwin was sacked. Speculation has been rife this year that Carlton might also take action on Voss with Blues having a disastrous season and missing out on finals. 7NEWS chief AFL reporter Mitch Cleary unearthed the vision on Channel 7's The Agenda Setters on Tuesday. 'We've seen today Graham Wright having a coffee with Michael Voss,' Cleary said. 'So this is quite interesting today. (They were) spotted in Richmond this morning (on Tuesday). 'There, you can see Graham Wright on the left with Michael Voss in the cap and the hoodie. 'The club tells me that these conversations have been going on weekly for the last five or six weeks, and that dates back to (president) Rob Priestley coming out and saying that they will put the call off on Michael Voss's future until the end of the year. 'But clearly this is reaching a pointy end.' Cleary said it was unclear if Voss would remain in the job but believed the position of the club's football boss Brad Lloyd was 'well and truly under threat'. Asked if he thought the coffee catch-up was a 'good sign' for Voss, Cleary thought it was not definitive. 'I don't think it's a bad sign, is it?' Cleary said. 'The fact that he's having the (catch-ups over the) last five weeks ... it's the players' day off today, it's off-site.' Wright, however, has a reputation for being an agent of change and veteran AFL journalist Caroline Wilson said she still feared for Voss's future. 'I just keep remembering the way (Wright) so subtly and cleverly and, in a way, quite politely, indicated to Nathan Buckley that maybe his time was up (at Collingwood),' Wilson said. Cleary said the Goodwin sacking could 'hasten the situation'. 'Both clubs could be in the market (for a new coach) by the end of the year.'
