2018 State of Origin

Yeah, second rowers don't really need rotating per se, so if you're going to pick one on the bench I think they have to offer something different that'd make you want to bring them on. Be it offloads, or ball-playing before the line, or aggressive defence, or even an ability to play other positions to a decent standard should there be an injury somewhere else. Graham offered creativity -- the fact that he could kick or pass before the line gave the Queensland defence a lot more to think about suddenly when he came on in terms of NSW's attacking structure on his edge, so he was theoretically really valuable even though he played like a busted arse. And Sims offers defensive impact -- pressure on ball-players and kickers, line speed, big hits etc -- plus he could play up front if one of the props went down too.

Crichton is a good second rower but even ignoring the fact that he randomly forgot how to tackle in the middle of last season and has only recently stopped having those defensive lapses, he's just a pretty standard good second rower. He runs his lines really well, steps at the line and makes good decisions in defence -- but that's it. That's what the starters offer anyway. He'd probably be in my top 4 or 5 starting second row options for NSW (I'd definitely pick the the two who actually are starting, plus Thompson, ahead of him, but he might be #4), but as a bench player for a position that doesn't really need interchange unlike the middle third guys, he just offers fuck all IMO.

 

He struggles for involvement (like most modern centres really -- it's the least important position now), but what he actually does there in his involvements is fine. He's definitely going to end up there for Queensland.