State of Origin: Jackson Ford proves New South Wales selectors wrong in Warriors victory over Dragons
Jackson Ford carried hard against the St George Illawarra Dragons. Photo / Photosport
While Jackson Ford might have missed out on selection for game one of this year’s State of Origin series, the New Zealand Warriors prop is doing everything he can to prove New South Wales coach Laurie Daley wrong.
As the Blues squad for this week’s series opener was named last Monday, Ford’s name was a notable omission.
Aside from being arguably the competition’s best forward this year – second only to Penrith Panthers half Nathan Cleary in the Dally M standings – Ford was also told to pack extra for the Warriors’ trip to Brisbane last week, in case that call came.
But when Daley was asked why Ford was overlooked, the answer he gave shouldn’t sit well with the Mt Smart faithful.
“He’s sort of that mobile player, but I get back to the fact that we needed someone who can play on an edge,” Daley said at the time. “Jackson’s probably a guy who just plays through the middle.
“There’s always some people who are unlucky, but at the end of the day, we feel like this is a really good team.”
The glaring issue with Daley’s assessment, though, is the fact that Ford spent the first two years of his time at the Warriors mostly playing on the edge, before moving into the front row fulltime last season.
And while he’s more than made the Warriors’ No 10 jumper his own, Saturday’s 30-12 victory over the St George Illawarra Dragons gave Ford the perfect opportunity to prove his worth for higher honours.
As Roger Tuivasa-Sheck went down with a knee injury in the first half, a reshuffle saw Leka Halasima move to centre – and Ford take his place on the edge.
The results speak for themselves, as Ford made 48 tackles and ran for 171m in another 80-minute display.
And having backed Ford for a New South Wales call-up on more than one occasion, Warriors coach Andrew Webster didn’t waste the chance to do the same immediately after his side’s sixth successive victory.
“He was outstanding,” Webster said. “He’s been really good all week.
“There’s been a lot of outside noise. He’s been really clear on what he wanted to do, and concentrate doing his best for the team.
“I was thrilled for him. He would have received a lot of text messages this week.
“I think he reminded himself that it’s a great thing that he’s in contention. It’s a great thing that people are talking about him.
“It hasn’t come yet, but if he keeps applying himself, it’ll come. We’re really proud of how he’s handled himself this week.”
Warriors co-captain Mitch Barnett was the only member of the Kiwi club to be called up for his state, while Kurt Capewell is the sole representative in the Queensland squad.
Hooker Wayde Egan, like Ford, was also told to pack extra in case he was called on, considering there would be no time for either of the players to have returned to New Zealand before New South Wales assembled last week.
In Ford’s place, Daley selected Sydney Roosters lock Victor Radley, who is expected to cover the middle and edge from the interchange bench, and Newcastle Knights prop Jacob Saifiti.
Game one of this year’s State of Origin series kicks off at 10.05pm on Wednesday.
Alex Powell is a sports journalist for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016.