There has been a lot of talk about Origin - where it all went wrong for NSW, the failure of Cleary, and even calling Cameron Munster an all time Origin Great.
The media love their exaggerations for click bait and these were obvious examples.
The reality is we had a great Origin between two good teams.
The result could have changed if a few rulings and ball bounces were different.
Queensland were hungrier in key moments which is a credit to Billy Slater but they won by 6 points, not 30. Origin Two in Perth could easily go the other way.
What frustrates me was the discussion that Munster is a top five Origin 'Great'. No, he is not.
He isn't even a top five playmaker. Lewis, Lockyer, Fittler, Daley, Thurston, Langer, Johns, Kenny, Sterling, Mortimer, are all iconic ball players of our game.
Extend that to other stars such as Meninga, Lazurus, Slater, O'Connor, Inglis, Smith, Beetson, Webke and Clyde and it is a very long list before Munster shows up.
Don't get me wrong. He is talented and he would be hard to play against.
You can see his natural game is whatever pops into his head is what immediately happens, and that can win games.
It also loses them and that upsets fans, teammates and coaches.
Judge him at the end of his career before comparing him to those who have already earned these legend titles.
Cleary returned to his best on the weekend, but that's because he was playing with Koroisau who knows to let his halfback take control.
Some players struggle together because their skill sets don't gel.
Damien Cook and Cleary are classic examples.
As NSW's hooker, Cook thinks he is leading the Rabbitohs and tries too hard, darting left and then right with too many options running through his head.
By the time he passes to Cleary, Queensland is all over the halfback who then has limited opportunities to control the set.
If I was Fittler preparing for Game Two, I would be telling Cook to simply focus on better service and more time to your key playmaker.
Get that fundamental right then Cleary can run his team and NSW can win.
It is a hard round for tipping this week, but I am going for the Dragons, Cowboys, Storm, Sharks, Panthers, Eels, Raiders, Tigers.
This week's matches are:
Thursday:
- Dragons vs Rabbitohs
Friday:
- Sea Eagles vs Cowboys
- Storm vs Broncos
Saturday:
- Sharks vs Titans
- Warriors vs Panthers
- Eels vs Roosters
Sunday:
- Raiders vs Knights
- Bulldogs vs Tigers
