Napa is a shadow of former League destroyer Sonny Bill Williams. |
The hostile
Suncorp Stadium crowd are on their feet directing all sorts of vile abuse at
the Blues as they attempt to kick their way out of the hell they’ve just
suddenly and unexpectedly entered. The Maroons look nothing of the veteran-outfit
they played in during the first two games, a new sting has entered their defense,
a ruthless mongrel in their intensity not seen since the Gorden Tallis days.
Already,
their debutant forward, Dylan Napa, has made a significant impact on the game
with three back-to-back tackles, linking with Nate Myles for two; and Sam
Thaiday for the other. Both players clearly spurred on by the youth’s enthusiasm.
Queensland’s nicest bloke, Matt Scott, has obviously drank a can of the Napa
soda, and crushes Mitchell Pearce into the turf with a late hit after the
halfback delivers a wayward kick downfield, only just passing the Maroons 40
meter line.
The Blues
are stunned, not even two minutes into the game and they’ve realized they’re up
against a completely different opponent than they’ve played before. Mal’s men
heave the ball up field with inspiring runs from their forwards. The Cauldron
is living up to its name with the Blues visibly unprepared for what is upon
them as they encounter a world of trouble on just the second set of the match.
They face a quick-fire attacking raid by the Maroons as they spread the ball to
their left hand side with a customary Queensland play that sees Darius Boyd fly
over in the corner virtually untouched for the first try. The crowd erupts with
the Maroons rushing over to Boyd to celebrate the try. NSW are left both breath
and speechless behind the try line, with the roar of the Queensland fans all
they can hear.
Enough with
my attempt at script-writing ‘’The Decider”, only the players have that
opportunity. But in all honesty, is Mal Meninga’s decision to leave out Dylan
Napa a blessing for the Blues or what? NSW have found a raw and raging talent
in forward David Klemmer and the excitement he has brought to the Blues line up
has been the edge they’ve needed. He has a fire in his belly, his ruthless, and
he doesn’t give a shit about reputations. This later observation clearly
evident by the story of him telling Cameron Smith he was a ‘has been’ and Corey
Parker to ‘Get @$%#ed’ after he was asked to display some respect for the esteemed
Maroons. In Dylan Napa, Queensland have themselves a David Klemmer. Hungry,
rough around the edges and a player that will display absolutely no respect for
Paul Gallen or the rest of the Blues team. Exactly what you want in an Origin
game.
Some of Napa’s
hits have been reminiscent of one of the game’s all time best, Sonny Bill
Williams. If the shoulder charge hadn’t have been banned, Napa would already have
played origin. He is a player that plays on the edge, he rips in and genuinely inflicts
pain into his opposition. He is obviously made for an origin type arena. He’s
hit on Paul Gallen in just his third game for the Roosters was monstrous. Trent
Robinson has made him work for his place the Chooks first grade team, as Napa
has spent time in the NSW cup, possibly as a means to tame his aggression and
develop a more overall and consistent game.
With
Queensland showing their age in Origin version 36 (2015), they could have done
with someone of Napa’s mold to muster a new dimension to their team. With Billy
Slater out, Queensland will have Dane Gagai making his debut and the selection
of Josh Papalii may point to Meninga not wanting to rush in players who haven’t
been there and done it before in such a heavy game. But to win games of this
nature, sometimes you need to take a little risk. Daley has done it with
Klemmer, and Queensland have it in Napa, but have gone the safe option this time round.
No doubt the twenty-two-year-old will get his chance, but have Queensland
overlooked their best available secret weapon right when they need it?
Time will
tell. Bring on game three.