Did it connect properly (fingers crossed)

it was a half hearted attempt in the heat of the moment, when the two were stood toe to toe. Hayne was interviewed after the game, and he said himself, he was stupid to do such a thing, and knows he will now miss Origin II

Does it seem a given that he will miss Origin though or might the powers that be slap his wrists and fine him?

I only ask as i like to see all the best available players out there (dont we all) but more that I was interested to see what Bellamy would do with NSW after the first game and if he would move Hayne back to fullback, Lyon to Centre etc or stick by his guns from the first game.

Sadly, for NSW, it looks just about certain he will miss the game. Tony Archer put the incedent on report, so the judiciary will look at it. Even if Hayne makes a guilty plea, I reckon he still stands to miss 2 games.

I think it was clear after game 1 that Bellamy had to move Hayne to fullback. He was found out of position on more than one occasion by QLD on the wing, and they exploited that by kicking in behind him. With the likelyhood of him being suspended for game two now, Bellamy has some more tough decisions to make. NSW arent exactly blessed in the threequarters. I would imagine that if Hayne is banned, then Gidley will stay at fullback, and any one of Barrett/Finch/Bird/Pearce will come into the halves to allow Lyon to move back to centre. Todd Carney is another name that could be banded around for game two. He had a hot start to the year, but has cooled off a bit in recent weeks. Although he is unproven at rep level, he still has the ability to be a match winner, and maybe thats something Bellamy and the selectors may look at.

I am really gutted with that news. he can bestupid and a bit hot-headed at times but i do love watching him play (not on the wing i might add!).

I thought and, i know it is easy in hindsight, but many agreed prior to the game, that Bellamys selection in the backs was all wrong to start with and i was interested to see, more then anything, how stubborn Bellamy was in that he would be effectively admitting his error in his first game selections.

I agree totally re Todd Carney and I would personally like to see him play as Queensland have more matchwinners then NSW even before Haynes omission and need a gamebreaking/matchwinning performance from someone and carney could jsut be the wildcard to pull it off if he is hot on the night.

Tbf it wasn't bellamys selection.

Yea, him and Slater were at each other all game, and tempers started to flare towards the back end of the match. He is a fantastic player, and will be missed by NSW.

I never quite understood Bellamys selection either. The selectors gave him the team he wanted, so its not like he was told he had to play certain players out of position. Lyon is a make shift 6, and no where near the quality NSW need in their halves pairing to compete at Origin. Gidley would be better suited in the halves, and is wasted at full back for me. I would even toy with the idea of starting Gidley off the bench, and moving him into dummy half later in the game.

I have a feeling that the selectors will select an experienced halves pairing for game two. I reckon Barrett will get the nod at 6, and they will stick with Kimmorley at 7. For me, Ben Creagh didnt do enough in the first game to keep his spot for game two. I would bring Gallen in at Lock and start Watmough in the second row (I believe he is more dangerous on the edges than in the middle of the park)

I think whatever NSW decide to do, it wont be enough to contain QLD at Suncorp.

Thought the wrecking ball Fuifui had a strong game but for me Nathan (cleancut) Hindmarsh was exceptional. Even more so as he's apparently carrying a sternum injury.

Agreed. Moi Moi never took a backwards step, and was constantly putting his hand up to carry the ball.

It was a game that had a bit of everything tonight. Good result for the Eels, they badly needed a win tonight

Souths to 3rd!!

Good win against a poor cowboys side.

Burgess getting some praise again from the game . I watched the Sharks game last night and was surprised at the form they are currently showing , Barrett has finally got them playing some good rugby though the Roosters were cack. Cracking 90m try from Gardner also .

Just got back from the game myself! Good atmosphere considering there was only 9K there. Was it you I said hi to in the FC jacket?

Souths were very good tonight, but NQ were really poor. IIRC, they only had 4 sets of 6 inside our 20 meters in 80 minutes of footy. We rolled over the top of them tonight. Their forwards had no answer to the constant attacking threat posed by big Dave Taylor, Sammy and Ben Lowe. Garrett Crossman did a big stint too. Luke was good out of dummy half, and Chris Sandow actually had a good night with his boot tonight. Michael Bani must have wondered what he had done to deserve the constant punishment he recieved from Taylor and co tonight

Burgess is really looking the part for me.
Some of his off-loads and 'balls-out the back door' were quality today.
His second row partner Taylor was a beast in the first-half also.

Fantastic try from Gardner!

It certainly was. Don't see many better length of the fielders than that.