State of Origin 3, 2007 - NSW Pride

By John Chelsea

As the dust settles for a mammoth State of Origin 3 contest in Queensland last night, one thing continues to surprise me and remain true every time that NSW wins an Origin match.

The NSW media and public either feels sorry for Queensland or looks for excuses as to why the NSW Blues won.

Call me an overly passionate New South Welshman - but lets give some major congratulations to the NSW Blues for preventing the series whitewash in front of a hostile Queensland crowd and constant media and internal pressure.

The NSW Blues can only play the team in front of them, while Queensland had some injury concerns - the Blues had to fight for every inch and endure a tight finish to grab the victory. Ok, so the Blues had some errors to contend with and some panicy attack at times.

However, in the past when NSW has won Origin - the NSW public gets concerned that Queensland will be a walk over in the future and begins to feel sorry for them. Maybe the NSW folk are more concerned about the 'series' and 'future of the Origin concept' as opposed to just being passionate about their team - the NSW Blues.

When the NSW Origin side won Game 3 last night, my first thoughts were "Gee, I hope the media give NSW full credit - rather than focus on Queensland and their injuries." Sure enough, the NSW media focus was immediately turned on to Queensland and their courage under fire and one headline from NSW sports writer Roy Masters even stating "Even in defeat the Maroons score a win."

I can't see Wally Lewis or Gordon Tallis writing nice things about NSW in their Queensland Newspaper columns. Get real! When Queensland win, all of the state gets behind them.

Come on NSW, lets support our own guys! Let Queensland worry about themselves, they're big boys, they can handle it and they sure as hell don't think about our welfare in Origin - not a chance.

Do you think anyone from Queensland had concerns for Brett White in State of Origin Game 1 - where the Maroons broke his nose in tackle 1 and left him on the bench for most of the game? No.

Would any Queenslander feel sorry for Brett Kimmorley when he had his golden point pass intercepted? No way.

NSW won last night - with top notch defence, total commitment and massive courage in enemy territory. The NSW boys gave it everything for each other, their state and kept our pride in check.

Be proud NSW, wear your Blue colours today and don't spend 1 second thinking about Queensland in their moment of failure.