Dear Freddy,
As I write this, you are no doubt agonising over potential halves combinations to take the field for your New South Wales Blues on June 6 at the MCG for Origin 1.
Thereโs no two ways about it โ itโs a bloody tough decision to make. Personally, I flip between Luke Keary and Nathan Cleary on a daily basis.
But as far as the halves go, there is but one certainty in my mind. That is James Maloney.
Over the last week or so, through the words of Penrith Supremo Phil Gould, it has emerged that there may be some โshockingโ selections in the halves. Many have speculated that this means James Maloney is on the outer with you and the rest of the selectors.
This is the purpose of my letter, Sir Freddy. I write to you, at this most urgent hour, to request, nay, to IMPLORE youโฆ Just pick him.
โBut he misses tackles!โ
Sure. But his teams win.
โHis discipline is terrible!โ
Yeah. But his teams win.
โHeโs a pest and everyone thinks heโs annoying!โ
Absolutely! But his teams win.
Whatever you say about James Maloney, the bottom line is that he is a winner.
Heโs taken three different teams to grand finals, winning two premierships along the way. Since cementing a spot in first grade with the Warriors in 2011, his teams have missed the finals just once โ that was in 2012 with the Warriors.
He also won three minor premierships in a row with the Roosters from 2013-2015. As an interesting aside, the year that Maloney left the Roosters (2016), they came second last. Coincidence? Maybe. Correlation does not always equal causation. But thatโs still one hell of a coincidence.
In season 2018, James Maloney has been absolutely killing it. Heโs second behind Luke Keary in try assists for NSW players (6th overall) with 10. Heโs got the most kick meters of any NSW player (2nd overall behind Cronk) with 3178m.
On the flipside, his error count is 18, making him equal 3rd overall. This is likely a product of him touching the ball so much due to Nathan Clearyโs injury-enforced break. And yes, he leads the competition for missed tackles by a long way with 63. But since when do we pick halves based on their ability to defend?
Aside from being quite clearly one of the form halves in the NRL (certainly the form NSW half), Maloney brings with him a wealth of experience and knowledge that Keary and Cleary simply do not possess.
In addition, Maloney is of the Jonathan Thurston mold in that he is equally adept at directing a team around the park as he is at taking a back seat and injecting himself into the game as he pleases.
To sum it up, I am of the opinion that Maloney is quite clearly the best half in the state of NSW. I donโt care if heโs picked at 6 or at 7. I donโt care with whom he is paired. But if thereโs one thing that I know for sure, itโs that he simply has to be in the team.
Iโve never met you Freddy. Those who know you say that youโre a bit of a weirdo. A little bit different. You march to the beat of your own drum. To be frank, I can ascertain most of that for myself by watching you on TV every weekend.
They say you see things differently. I respect that. I think thatโs a good quality. Not that my approval should mean much to you. Iโm not the one whoโs played 336 NRL games, 31 Origins and 38 Tests. My highest high in rugby league was missing a tackle on Dylan Walker in the U13s.
I donโt claim to have anywhere near the rugby league knowledge that you have, Freddy. I am a mere peasant compared to rugby league royalty like you.
But if I may, I have a sneaking suspicion that your desire to perhaps not pick Maloney stems from the fact that you like to do things differently. You like to pick the weird option over the normal one, and picking the form half of the NRL for Origin is without a doubt what any normal person would do.
I know itโs a big thing for me to ask of you. After all, you have gotten to where you are by doing things the way that you do them. But if you were to do something different to what is normal for you (keeping in mind that your concept of โdifferentโ is most peopleโs concept of โnormalโ), I would suggest that you let it be picking James Maloney for Origin 1 on June 6 at the MCG.
Make no mistake about it. Once the team is picked, I will be behind that 17, 100%. But in the fair dinkum department, we as a state are not giving ourselves the best chance of winning if James Maloney is not in the team.
Yours sincerely,
Daniel Szabo.
Go the Blues!
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