NSW hooker Reece Robson hopes to prove his critics wrong after there was blowback over his selection for the State of Origin decider following a tough night at the MCG where he was asked to play 80 minutes.<\/p>\n
Robson will reunite with Blayke Brailey, who missed Origin II with a broken arm, but was dynamic off the bench in the series opener when he came on for his Roosters rival with 31 minutes to play.<\/p>\n
Api Koroisau replaced Brailey on the bench in game two but wasn\u2019t used, with Robson forced to play 80 where he made 42 tackles, missed five and only had two runs despite being a threat through the ruck.<\/p>\n
It led to calls for him to be dropped for the decider, but Blues coach Laurie Daley has stuck solid. <\/p>\n
\u201cPeople can have opinions, but I\u2019m happy with where I\u2019m at with my game. I\u2019m looking forward to getting out there on Wednesday night and hopefully proving them wrong,\u201d Robson said. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe way the game went, we were doing a lot of defence in the second half, and it definitely makes it a lot harder.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think when you\u2019ve got the rub of the green and everything\u2019s flowing well, it\u2019s easier to get through an 80-minute performance.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you\u2019re on the back foot like we were in the second half with a lot of that defence, it wasn\u2019t an easy job out there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Robson said he would play the full game if required next Wednesday and game plans could go out the window pretty quickly with bigger benches if someone got hurt early. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe way the game is today, it\u2019s so uncertain with the benches,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not the old four-man bench where you have your rotations set in place and that\u2019s how it kind of works out every time.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are so many contingencies in place with the six-man bench and it depends on how the game goes with injuries. There is a plan in place, but it\u2019s definitely a rough guide of things going perfectly, which it hardly does in Origin.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, star centre Stephen Crichton says he\u2019s the \u201cbest I\u2019ve felt\u201d after he made the agonising call to withdraw from game two due to a shoulder injury that would have ruined his training preparations. <\/p>\n
He said his shoulder pulled up well after a wrestle session on Wednesday, with Crichton to play a key role on the right edge as the Blues try to stop Queensland\u2019s left edge of Kalyn Ponga, Cameron Munster, Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow and Selwyn Cobbo, who carved up in Melbourne.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve got strike all over the park, especially down that left edge,\u201d he said, with Crichton starring at five-eighth for Canterbury in recent weeks.<\/p>\n
\u201cPonga loves coming down there, so does Munster, and then their centre and winger are quality players as well, so it\u2019s going to be a massive task for our right edge.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I\u2019m very excited to walk towards the challenge and be at my best.\u201d<\/p>\n