It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. The first half of that sentence will apply to Queensland and James Maloney. The second half to NSW and Todd Carney.

Just to put the following into perspective, it has been seven years. Seven. For our Queensland readers, that requires the use of both hands, count ’em.

And let’s be honest, irrespective of who plays five-eighth for NSW, it’s most likely going to be eight by July.

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You log into the social network, and they’ll tell you, so long has it been since a State of Origin series win south of the Tweed, there has never been a tweet or a Facebook status for a NSW series win, because back in 2005 they didn’t exist.

The more things change, the more they stay exactly the same.

Want to know what Darren Lockyer, Cameron Smith, Billy Slater, Jonathan Thurston, Greg Inglis and Petero Civinoceva all have in common? They were busy getting flogged annually in the early 2000s before they commenced the experience of unending Origin success.

Of the current NSW set up, you can only really say that recently about Paul Gallen and, maybe Jarryd Hayne. Oh yeah, and that halfback Mitchell Pearce, who we are forever being told is ‘the halfback’ that NSW should stick with.

Consistency and building a team culture? Yeah, cool story.

Which brings us to Todd Carney and James Maloney. I will say it here and now: Todd Carney is the best NSW half running around in the NRL right this second. He is the best by a big margin.



Yes, James Maloney is having a good season, but he is only 11 games into a good season. Carney has been the best five-eighth in NSW for several years, even as far back as when he was being ignored while wearing the lime green jersey of the Canberra Raiders.

Remember James Maloney’s season last year? Yeah, neither do I. But you put that man in a Roosters jersey, and he must be picked because he has a solid relationship with Pearce and he can kick goals.

Simply put: are you serious? On that basis, Robert Lui or Michael Morgan should be racing to check out whether or not they have Queensland heritage (which reaches as far as Fiji according to some guidelines) and they might get a run because they play alongside Jonathan Thurston.

Can you imagine how few games Lockyer would have played for Queensland if their selectors had NSW selection caps on?

Meanwhile, Todd Carney, the player who has extricated himself from the ‘too much trouble’ scrapheap more times than Josh Dugan, has now become a player who directs the Sharks like a seasoned general.

He is a five-eighth who mesmerizes defences with footwork, ball skills and pace. If her were in the NFL, their commentators would say he has speed and quickness.

His crime? Not playing alongside Mitchell Pearce.

We all know Mitchell Pearce. Apparently he’s that protected species whose place in the NSW side was never in question. Well isn’t that fantastic.



So, I just want to be clear – for the purposes of consistency, we decided to pick and stick with the best of a bunch of mediocre halfbacks (Pearce) at the expense of the best of a good crew of five-eighths (Todd Carney).

It truly boggles the mind and makes you wonder. Don’t get me wrong, Maloney is a good half. In fact, I rate him better than Pearce. But Carney is better.

If the selectors are so keen on being ‘consistent’, then why not pick the best halfback (Pearce) and the best five-eighth (Carney).

If the selectors want to stick with the best halves partner and find a better support act, then pick the best half (Carney) and go with Adam Reynolds, who is also a good kicker like Maloney.

Picking Reynolds makes just as much sense as picking Maloney. But either way, there is no room for Maloney and Carney should be there every time.

In terms of NSW selectors using otherwise unintelligible reasoning, it’s not like they don’t have form in this regard either. Remember when Andrew Johns was being picked on the bench, because ‘Brett Kimmorley just had to be there’?

I still remember a clearly upset Andrew Johns, wearing that coveted number 14 jersey, in game III of the 2000 series, being benched because it was his turn to have a rest.

Meanwhile, Kimmorley was being a spectator in a 40-point drubbing by one of the all-time great Origin sides.



Well Todd Carney doesn’t even get the 14 jersey. That honour goes to Kurt Gidley.

Meanwhile, Queensland at one point were able to pick from Lockyer, Thurston, Cronk, Prince and Cherry-Evans.

But was the Thurston-Lockyer show ever in question? Queensland would have rather seceded from the Federation than break that combination up.

The reason they are the best is because they picked the best, stuck with the best and the best became even better. See how easy it is? I imagine Cronk and Thurston (who are probably both a bit down on form) will also enjoy the same loyalty from selectors.

So in three games time, when Queensland are celebrating eight in a row (remember, apparently State of Origin has never been so good) and Mitchell Pearce is starting to prepare for the series in 2014, knowing he’s the only dead-cert safe pick, Carney can most likely put his feet up and lament another three games he didn’t get to play.

At least Pearce can look back at the likes of Lockyer and Thurston and know he will win eventually.

But who is wearing the number six jersey when he finally does is anyone’s guess.