I agree with you in part mate, but the way the game is these days, most players do not play tired, due to the interchange. If those injuries happened late in the match it would of had a less effect. Bench players are use to only playing any where from 25 to 50 mins (on and off may once or twice).
You only need to look at the last state of origin game, those early injuries eventually weighed down the Queensland players, causing fatigue earlier. Do you think that Queensland would of won by the same margin if the injuries happened to the N.S.W. side instead??
Does the NRL need to change how many reserves are used, or the number of interchanges available?? Like I said, players don't play tired, for long periods, so when they need to, they miss more tackle, make shocking passes and don't back up the player with the ball as hard.
Mate, the comparison between Qld in SOO 3 and our 2nd half performance against Penrith is like comparing night and day.
Let me quote you something from Wikipedia's synopsis on SOO 3.
" Queensland held off NSW attacks for most of the 2nd half. It was
not until the 73rd minute that Matt King went over for a try. In the
79th minute, El Masri scored and the result was sealed."
Queensland showed plenty of heart and a real desire to win. They were not protecting a 10 point lead, in fact, they were behind on the scoreboard. It was only 7 mins before the end that they relented. They were desperate in defence with try savers like Steven Bell on Matt Cooper.
We, on the other hand, had 26 points scored against us. They scored in the 46th, 53rd, 57th, the 59th, all in the 1st 20 mins of the 2nd half. If they ran over us in the latter part of the match, I would agree with you.
Qld were playing NSW. We were playing the team coming dead LAST. The NRL don't need to change the numbers of reserves or interchange players. Players are fitter and stronger than ever. Its not park Oz Tag that you and I play when we put our hand up after a 30 metre sprint, so the tired and fatigue factor in Saturday's game doesn't wash with me.
It was still 13 on 13 mate.
We showed no desire, no desperation.
IMO, it was our worse loss in a long, long time, and it may come back to hurt us massively in the next few months.
