Queensland lead the 3 game series 1-0 and later today the 2nd game is scheduled to be played at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground. Melbourne is touted as a “Neutral” venue and the MCG is a rounded, not rectangular field so it’s a bit unusual for Rugby League to be played there. However, dollars are king in this sport and they’re trying to grow the game to a new audience so...whatever.
Source
The build up to this 2nd game has been fairly typical. There has been a lot of hoo-ha from the NSW side as they Scapegoated a couple of players from the first game loss and airdropped in some “Saviors”. For some reason the betting markets have NSW down as favorites to win the 2nd game even after losing the 1st game and the series for the last 2 years in a row. This is pretty typical too because the markets usually skew toward NSW. After the last game I wrote :-
In the past NSW have always sacked 1 or 2 of their Playmaker Halves after a loss like this and I expect they will do that again. I also expect they will be forced into recalling the polarizing Latrell Mitchell to the Centres
This is exactly what has happened. There has been a lot of niggle going on in the media heading into this 2nd game. Accusations of cheap shots, targeting players to hurt them and generally throwing stones at glass houses. I personally find it pretty distasteful and a bit of a wank to be honest, but this is how the media muppets like to build up the game and make sure the players come out breathing fire.
I expect the game to be fairly close once again. I think Queensland should be favorites and NSW have again made several psychological mistakes in preparation for Game 2. I don’t think they learnt anything from Game 1 because the Send Off of Sua'ali'i gave them an excuse.
I reckon Queensland will niggle Latrell Mitchell and that may put him off his game as he will likely react and want to scrap. If I could bet he’ll spend 10 minutes in the Sin Bin at some point in this game - I would. Hard to predict a NSW victory here but they are still a good chance and it should be fun to watch anyway.