{"id":48059,"date":"2021-03-22T05:03:56","date_gmt":"2021-03-22T06:03:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=48059"},"modified":"2021-03-22T10:56:58","modified_gmt":"2021-03-22T10:56:58","slug":"legend-backs-knights-phenom-for-origin-debut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=48059","title":{"rendered":"Legend backs Knights phenom for Origin debut"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rugby league legend Peter Sterling has backed young Newcastle Knights centre Bradman Best<\/a> to secure his first State of Origin jersey this year.<\/p>\n

Sterling was stunned by Best's "Gidley flick" in the Knights' 20-16 victory over the New Zealand Warriors on Friday night<\/a>, praised his tackle-busting run through Peter Hiku and says the fact he's "a specialist centre" gives him a strong shot at a NSW Blues call-up.<\/p>\n

"He's right in the mix (for an Origin debut this year)," Sterling told Wide World of Sports' Sterlo's Wrap<\/em>.<\/p>\n

"A couple of touches that got his side home were first class. The 'Gidley flick' I don't expect from a young man like Bradman Best. That delivery was perfect. Hit him on the chest, great step on the inside to put the winger out of play and to open up room for his own player and then he's able to win the game.<\/p>\n

\"Sterlo's<\/p>\n

"The Knights were down with five minutes to go but you give him early ball, he goes through Peter Hiku who's actually a good defender and then has the presence of mind to keep his ball-carrying arm off the ground and put it into the path of Hymel Hunt, who went on to score the match-winner."<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Blues coach Brad Fittler copped backlash last year for picking fullback Clint Gutherson and five-eighth Jack Wighton to play in the centres.<\/p>\n

That was despite the fact that two specialist centres in Zac Lomax and Stephen Crichton had been named in the NSW squad.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

"There was a bit of criticism (last year) about picking players out of their specialist positions," Sterling said.<\/p>\n

"Clint Gutherson – you could put any number on his back and he'll contribute.<\/p>\n

"But if you're looking for a specialist centre and put another half season under the belt of this young man … Been a few injury concerns for him because he's such a big man. That puts a bit of pressure on ankles and knees … Hopefully he can get an injury-free run and he'll be right in that conversation for a run in the Blues."<\/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><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rugby league legend Peter Sterling has backed young Newcastle Knights centre Bradman Best to secure his first State of Origin jersey this year. Sterling was […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"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\/48059"}],"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=48059"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48059\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48061,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48059\/revisions\/48061"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=48059"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=48059"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=48059"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}