When I left David Klemmer out of my NSW State of Origin team recently, it was mostly based on logic.
Brad Fittler initially left out Klemmer for Origin III last year. He only came back into the Blues team after Tariq Sims was suspended.
NSW won that game and the series on the bell. I figure that Freddy will want to pick as close to that team as possible, after they did the job for him – but again, Klemmer wasn't originally in the side.
I think Klemmer is a good front-rower. In the past, I've called him the best prop in the world.
But having not made the initial 17 for the Origin decider last year, he's had the entire season to change Freddy's mind and clearly didn't do enough, having now been left out of the 27-man squad.
That decision surprised me; I would have picked him in the squad, given his track record for NSW. It's a really tough call to leave him out entirely.
Klemmer's work ethic and his output are outstanding. He's led the NRL for post-contact metres this season, was fifth for run metres and second for offloads.
Yet I guess when you're discussing selection and putting him against a guy like Payne Haas … Haas is similar, yet a different breed. He's a dynamic front-rower; faster, more footwork, a step at the line.
Klemmer doesn't have that. He hits the ball up with a high work rate, but Payne is younger and has a little more power about him. Like Klemmer, he has a great motor, but then Haas also boasts some X-factor. He was consistently impressive in a shocking Broncos team this season.
I reckon that if Freddy had the two side-by-side, he's picked Haas in front of Klemmer.
Then there's Daniel Saifiti, Klemmer's Knights teammate. Saifiti had a strong year and I can't blame them for picking him over Klemmer.
At the end of the day, Freddy made the decision and Freddy has won the past two Origin series. He has every right to back his judgment and make that tough call.
Because he's been around for so long, it's easy to forget that Klemmer is still just 26. He's got plenty of time left to add to the 14 Origins he's played for NSW so far, if he can work out ways to make little improvements to his game.
PANTHERS ARE THE REAL DEAL
I've been waiting for Penrith to convince me. Now they have.
I tipped a Panthers-Storm grand final at Nine's finals launch. I'm sticking with that.
The Panthers have now shown me that they have what it takes to make it to the grand final and give the premiership a big shake.
I've discussed the big questions that were hanging over Penrith: were they actually the real deal, given they hadn't yet proven themselves in the finals. They answered a lot of those questions by beating the Roosters.
They went the proverbial 12 rounds with the premiers, copped some big shots early by going down 10-0, yet came back swinging and won. They held their nerve and finished on top, with Nathan Cleary's field goal the difference.
Cleary has been the best halfback in the NRL by far this season. If you're picking an Australian team right now, he's got to be the No.7.
He's been outstanding. His kicking game on Friday night was second to none. His organisation was great. He ticked every possible box in a huge game.
Liam Martin was excellent again, as were Viliame Kikau and the Penrith props. Stephen Crichton was impressive again, Josh Mansour and Brian To'o were huge in getting their sets started.
Penrith have got the goods this year. To lose just one game in 20 rounds is a huge effort and so far, they've backed it up when it really counts.
The Panthers have started games behind and come back to win a few times late in the season, but that was against sides like Wests Tigers. To beat the Roosters that way was impressive and it's now a very long way back for the defending champions.
Who gets the chocolates out of Penrith and Melbourne? Honestly, right now I don't know.
Unlike Phil Gould, I think the Storm have an extra gear for big games, largely thanks to Ryan Papenhuyzen's form at fullback in his second season.
The issue for every side, if the weekend is anything to go by, is defence.
We always say that defence wins big games, yet the lowest-scoring team of the weekend still scored 20 points. Finals are generally low-scoring, tight affairs, yet we had big scorelines across all four games.
Maybe that's just how the rules have changed the game this season. The set restart rule has sped the game up, as we know, so perhaps sides will just leak more points, even in the big games.
Melbourne Storm would normally be the club you'd look to for tight defence in big games. Yet look at their last four games: they've let in 96 points, despite winning three of those games, and haven't conceded less than 20 points per game.
It's very un-Melbourne-like. But maybe the only 20-12 scoreline that used to win you a finals game is now more like 32-20, with the rule changes. Or maybe the team that can significantly improve their defence from the weekend is the team that wins the grand final.
Penrith and Melbourne have a huge advantage, I believe, by earning this weekend off. After the COVID break, there's been 19 consecutive games for the finals teams, playing under these faster new rules.
If a team other than the Panthers or Storm reach the grand final, they will be playing their 22nd-straight week of footy. That's an incredibly tough ask.
The week off will be incredibly beneficial. That's another reason why I expect to see a Penrith vs Melbourne grand final in this season of unprecedented challenges for NRL sides.
from WWOS https://wwos.nine.com.au/nrl/paul-gallen-column-david-klemmer-nsw-origin-omission-panthers-storm-grand-final/5c351dd5-0a6c-429a-b345-f555c25f7972
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