{"id":299102,"date":"2023-05-22T01:51:50","date_gmt":"2023-05-22T01:51:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=299102"},"modified":"2023-05-22T04:00:02","modified_gmt":"2023-05-22T04:00:02","slug":"gal-what-could-go-wrong-with-freddys-wildcard-pick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=299102","title":{"rendered":"Gal: What could go wrong with Freddy's wildcard pick"},"content":{"rendered":"

NRL great PAUL GALLEN will appear on Nine's 100% FOOTY every Monday night of the NRL season, debating rugby league's hottest topics alongside Phil Gould and James Bracey. Tune in tonight at 10.30pm (AEST) following a bumper round 12, and Origin teams being named!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

T\ufeffhere's a saying that you should never bet against a champion, and boy didn't Tom Trbojevic<\/a> prove that on Sunday.<\/p>\n

Last week I was happy to leave him out of my New South Wales<\/a> team based on form this season, but his performance for Manly against Canberra \ufeffforced Brad Fittler<\/a>'s hand into picking him at centre.<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Eight new faces named in Freddy's Blues squad<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Slater lifts lid on 'tough' phone calls to axed stars<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Sharks star told to 'pack his bags and leave'<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Three tries for Turbo just when the Sea Eagles needed it<\/a>, and when he needed it to ensure his State of Origin<\/a> selection.<\/p>\n

I actually tipped Manly\ufeff on Sunday because I thought Turbo would realise it was now or never, and champions rise to the top when needed most.<\/p>\n

\"Tom<\/p>\n

He returned to his dominant best for the first time this season. If a guy like that – who is undoubtedly one of the best in the game – is back to full fitness there is no way you can leave him out of an Origin game.<\/p>\n

There is no doubt it's tough on Campbell Graham, who was named 18th man before being withdrawn with a sternum injury.<\/p>\n

Watch the 2023 State of Origin series LIVE and exclusive on Channel 9 and<\/strong> 9Now<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

He is probably the form centre of the competition this year, and is a genuine right-side player who deserves to be picked. But he will get his chance at some stage.<\/p>\n

I thought Graham could have also been picked on a wing, but Josh Addo-Carr's return is not surprising at all given what happened last year when they left him out.<\/p>\n

Addo-Carr certainly brings a different energy and personality to the squad, and maybe Freddy realised the Blues missed that during last year's series.<\/p>\n

\"Billy<\/p>\n

The bench is a bit of an unknown this year, with three debutants picked.<\/p>\n

Nicho Hynes obviously bashed the door down for his selection, and Hudson Young has been in great form for the Raiders.<\/p>\n

Not many people predicted a debut for Tevita Pangai Jr<\/a>, but it's actually not totally out of the blue if you think about it.<\/p>\n

I wanted Spencer Leniu to debut off the bench until he ruptured a testicle at training, ending those plans.<\/p>\n

Stream the NRL premiership 2023 live and free on<\/strong> 9Now<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

The reasons I wanted Leniu to play can also apply to Pangai – they fit that mould of powerhouse wrecking-ball forwards who can come off the bench and really turn a game.<\/p>\n

I'd imagine Pangai will only get 25 or 30 minutes on the field, unless there are injuries and the Blues have to change their plans.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

We all know the impact he can have. He brings aggression and an offload to the team.<\/p>\n

The trick for him will be finding the right balance between being aggressive, and not losing his cool.<\/p>\n

While Origin is generally refereed a bit differently to the NRL, you have to assume they will still use the sin-bin if \ufeffa player does something really bad, and a sin-bin in Origin can lose you the game.<\/p>\n

I'm not about to give Pangai any advice or tell him how he should play. Freddy and his coaching staff have picked him for a reason, they know exactly what they want him to do and will make that clear before the game.<\/p>\n

Young is similar – he brings a lot of energy and will also provide a spark off the bench. He will probably get more minutes than Pangai, I'd imagine.<\/p>\n

What I'd say to the four new guys in camp is just enjoy the week. It's easy to get caught up in and overwhelmed by the hype around Origin, but just remember it's where you've wanted to be since you were kids.<\/p>\n

It's the fastest game you will ever play, and can be the most rewarding.\ufeff<\/p>\n

For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by<\/strong><\/em> clicking here<\/strong><\/em><\/a>!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NRL great PAUL GALLEN will appear on Nine's 100% FOOTY every Monday night of the NRL season, debating rugby league's hottest topics alongside Phil Gould […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":299104,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/299102"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=299102"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/299102\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":299107,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/299102\/revisions\/299107"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/299104"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=299102"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=299102"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=299102"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}