2 days Ago By Malcolm Knox
Great night, NSW, one of the best. But we have to talk about Jake. You like Jake, we all like Jake.
I like Jake so much his replica budgie smugglers are an essential component of my wardrobe. But 31 minutes in Melbourne after 29 in Sydney? That’s a full-time Jake, part-time player. Anyone who watches all of Jake’s games knows he was a curious choice as Origin captain.
Manly’s director of football is Daly Cherry-Evans. Jake is there to stand in the circle and shout incoherently when they’ve scored a try or given up a soft one. He thinks about rugby league from dawn until he tucks in for an early night.
He has a heart as big as the peninsula and he is an 80-minute middle forward. But if he’s only playing 30 minutes, that makes him more of a symbol than an actuality. He is a talisman of pure passion that other players can rally around, but then he could be all that as a run-on trainer, as he is for the Mona Vale Raiders.
The kids there, like the Sea Eagles, win games only because they couldn’t bear to disappoint Jake. After two Origin games, it’s getting harder to see exactly what playing role Michael Maguire has in mind for Jake. When NSW were getting trounced in Sydney, Jake was off for most of the match because they needed fizz on the edge more than stodge in the middle.
When they were trouncing the enemy in Melbourne, Jake was off for most of the match because they needed fizz on the edge more than stodge in the middle. In defence, Jake has made 39 tackles in t.
