Ryan Girdler has responded after Blues coach Brad Fittler took purpose at critics — and particularly former NSW gamers — who’ve “questioned” him this State of Origin sequence.
Fittler’s Blues suffered a second-straight sequence defeat and the 51-year-old has come underneath intense scrutiny for choice calls and mismanagement of his bench.
Speaking to Nine News, Fittler mentioned help from former Blues gamers must be “unequivocal”.
“Having ex-players out there criticising and questioning you all the time, you know, support from ex-players should be unequivocal,” Fittler mentioned.
“It shouldn’t be tested, but it is, constantly.”
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Girdler although was greater than comfy to supply constructive criticism, questioning NSW’s backbone within the wake of the 26-18 defeat to Queensland within the sequence opener.
“I’m yet to see the Jarome Luai, Nathan Cleary and James Tedesco combination work. I just don’t think they’re in sync,” Girdler mentioned.
“There were a couple of times where it looks like they’re all ready for the football and it just seems to go to the wrong guy.”
That criticism from Girdler was later confirmed well-founded as NSW put in its most polished efficiency of the sequence with new-look halves mixture Cody Walker and Mitchell Moses.
Speaking on Triple M’s ‘The Saturday Scrum’, Girdler mentioned he “never meant to be negative” with any of his punditry and was solely providing his opinion and doing his job.
“It’s a fine line that we tread,” Girdler mentioned.
“Regardless of what comes across on the media, or what we say as pundits, once I get to that game, I’m all in. I just want the best for New South Wales.
“Sometimes I feel like an ex-player and a pundit… you can just give some different perspective to something that mightn’t be able to be understood from in those four walls.
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“Obviously Freddy might’ve taken some of the things that I’ve said over the last month in a negative fashion, but it was never meant to be negative.
“I’m sure if Freddy thought I was in some way destabilising the environment he’d ring me to let me know because he knows me well enough to know that certainly wasn’t my intention. But I just saw some things come out of the camp that didn’t resonate with me, so I spoke about it. It is my job and I take my job pretty seriously.”
James Graham, in the meantime, might not be a former Blues participant however he additionally argued the criticism was warranted given the host of questionable choices Fittler made all through the sequence.
“The team selections, especially in games two and three, did raise a lot of eyebrows, and it’d be wrong not to be speaking about them and questioning whether it was the right selection,” he mentioned.
“… The fallout from game one and Nicho Hynes only getting 11 minutes and then what happened with Utoikamanu and then the decision in game three to go with two hookers but Gutherson as well.
“… These conversations were being had in the living rooms, in the WhatsApp groups, in the pubs, in the cafes all across New South Wales about, ‘what’s going on here?’. We try to give an opinion and OK, ex-New South Wales players do support their state undoubtedly.. but you can’t deny that these selections and tactics was going to cause debate.”
Source web site: www.foxsports.com.au
