Once again I missed out on Origin selection, even though I think I have been playing better footy over the past fortnight, but those are the breaks and you have to deal with them.

What I will say now is that even if I make the World Cup at the end of the year I am not retiring from rep footy and am making myself available for Origin next year!

I want to go out of rep football on my terms and I think I can get back in the side and do that. made a return this year after a while out of it and I want to do the same.

Looking at the NSW side I think they have made some good decisions. Haynesy was always going to come back into the side, but it’s the selection of Braith Anasta which I am a fan of. In my mind Braith should have been there from Origin 1 with Bird in the pack. Now Braith gets his chance to show why he is the man NSW need in the biggest game in this series.

I think Willie Mason will handle prop. He has been there before and it’s not like he doesn’t have the size!

On to the weekend and it would have been nice to have won, or even have the game decided in Golden Point, as I thought the game was deserving of a higher quality finish than what it got.

We were also upset about a few things that happened during the game including the way it ended. The Sharks grind games out and get results however they can. It’s what you have to do in a close competition and while I don’t think Noddy took a dive, I still don’t really feel the hit warranted a penalty downfield that gave them the game.

I think the Sharks, like many teams are a genuine contender this year and the fact they grind games out may really help them. You don’t necessarily have to be all razzle dazzle to win a premiership.

I actually enjoy playing in a tight arm wrestle where you don’t have time to catch your breath as I reckon that type of game suits my style of play and also my fitness comes into play then.

Apparently my rear does a fair bit too and as soon as I heard Peter Sterling say highlights package on ‘The Footy Show’ I turned to Laurie Daley and said “it’s a gee up isn’t it.” At least I never had Matty Johns say “MMM I’d like to nibble Noddy’s nuts” to me.

Back to on field action and this week we are hosting the Storm. While they are bereft of half their first grade squad we won’t be taking them lightly. We need to treat them with respect or we could be embarrassed by them. At the same time there is no better time to play them.

Off the field I am busy trying to get myself some tickets to Def Leppard with Cheap Trick on November 5. I’d love to be in a box to watch two of my favourite bands from when I was a kid. I still have Def Leppard’s greatest hits in my car as well as ‘Hysteria’.

As I mentioned last week Nathan Cayless and I also went out to Surry Hills to ‘Paws in the Park’ for Beniful Dog food. I even got Bonnie and the kids to come with me.

We took Bonnie’s dog Indo with us and I had her on a tight leash until a lady asked if her dog could play with Indo. After about two seconds of sniffing they were in a fight and I knew it was a bad idea to let Indo play.

Conversely Cayless’ Jake the Husky was well behaved leaving him having a bit of a laugh at my expense.  Archie did get to ride Indo through the park, which he loves it but I reckon Indo thinks he is getting a bit heavy.

There were a lot of French Bulldogs (like the dog Ashton Kutcher sends out the window in Just Married) there as well as a lot of Pugs I was surprised just how many.

Tonight it looks like I am attending Oak Hill College’s musical ‘All Shook Up’. Our neighbour is in it and Bon and I were going to go with Luke Burt and his wife, but now Bon and Burty have the flu and it looks like I am going with Luke’s wife or by myself.

I’ve been trying to send photos but my phone camera isn’t focusing that well at the moment and the pictures are average. I’ll try and fix it.

Hindy

That’s two wins in a row now and while we are happy with the way we’re playing we aren’t getting carried away.
 
We have beaten Canberra and an injury depleted Tigers in the last two weeks and while they are good sides, I think how we handle the Sharks this weekend will be a better measuring [...]

I’m going to tip the Blues to win tonight’s second Origin game by 18 points and wrap up the series in Queensland. This will give them huge satisfaction and leave the Maroons disconsolate.
 
I just think the Blues have it over Queensland in the forwards. They certainly did in game one and I can’t see the [...]