The Serve

Plenty to go but Kimmorley must stay

Now we’ll see if those morbid warnings from selector Bob McCarthy have currency. The Blues had more than enough chances to win Origin II, but there were plenty that went missing.

The left side of the Blues backline was once again a problem. Matt King and Jamie Lyon are simply not working well. Lyon’s contribution has been questionable, while King doesn’t look comfortable on the wing.

Braith Anasta has a suspected broken hand, but that may be merely avoiding the inevitable. Greg Bird looked dangerous in his various spurts.

The forwards were mixed. Willie Mason was a behemoth, others were not. Brett White and Brent Kite were lucky to get a second game. Selection in the third would be winning the lotto.

There were two shining lights. Brett Stewart on debut and Brett Kimmorley. The halfback was superb. His team was organized and structured. The Australian selectors had him as their man of the match if the Blues escaped in the dying moments. Perhaps as an effort to take pressure away from himself during the build up, Kimmorley stated that if the Blues lost, his origin career was over.

I bet he regrets saying that now.

Even after the match, Kimmorley was self-deprecating. Sure, he’d had a good match, but game 3 is a dead rubber, so it’s a chance to blood some kids. Jarrod Mullen is a kid. Kimmorley is not.

Kimmorley is nearer to the end than the start, sure, but his career is not over. He has just signed a two year deal with the Sharks, so the notion that he has no value to New South Wales after this season is plain wrong.

Mullen is the future. Perhaps the number six might be worth a shot. After all, that’s where he will likely end up at Newcastle. Might not be a bad combination, Mullen and Kimmorley.

It has taken almost an entire career for this talent to be recognized on the grand stage.

Don’t take it away from him now.