Laurie Daley sends ominous message to Maroons after Origin opener

News.com.au

3 days ago

The NSW Blues barely came close to their best on Wednesday night.
That's the ominous warning message from Blues coach Laurie Daley in the wake of their 18-6 win at Suncorp Stadium.
Daley's men dominated proceedings from the outset as they imposed their physicality over the Maroons.
Three tries in the first half put their rivals on the back foot but despite their defensive prowess, the game wasn't iced until Dylan Edwards crossed in the 72nd minute.
Speaking after the game, NRL supremo Phil Gould said he believed the Blues had deployed a conservative game plan to just secure the first win of the series.
'Laurie I interviewed you before the game in the dressing room, I said, what's the key to the first 20 minutes here? Because that's so important,' Gould said on Nine.
'You said, just be physical. And it seemed like they went the whole 80 minutes like that. You could see every player had this mindset that he had to be physical on his opposition number. I thought you played conservative tonight, but really dominant in the physical confrontation.'
While Daley agreed the physical side of the contest had been played perfectly by his troops, he said as a whole they have so much room for improvement in Games 2 and 3.
It's a terrifying thought for the Maroons after they only crossed for one try and never looked truly threatening.
'Yeah, I think we can get a lot better. But one thing I'm very proud of the guys is that we spoke about being physical and they went at it and they continued to do it,' Daley said.
'So that's probably a learning for me as well, you know, to make sure that as well as being physical, we're going to have some energy when we get the ball.
'I know this team will be a lot better in game two and three, but we've just got to work hard, enjoy the night, obviously, but know that Queensland will come back.
'We knew they would come back in the second half, which they did and we weren't anywhere near … well, I didn't think we were any where near where we could be.'
The message from Daley was backed up by Andrew Voss who said the scoreline flattered the Maroons.
'I'll make a statement. NSWBlues were only at 60 per cent of their potential last night,' Voss said on SEN.
'If they played at their best like in Game II last year, they would've won by 40.'
With the Maroons left licking their wounds, Gould sunk the boots in even further by painting a bleak picture for the squad north of the border.
'What they've achieved is shattering Queensland. I think Queensland are really going to have some nightmares over that game,' Gould said.
'I just don't see any answers for them. I don't see any answers in the selection room.
'The individual players on the team are going to have to play better, but in all the important parts of the game, they're just outpointed tonight.
'You know? I don't know that they've got it in them to come back from that.'