NRL Origin Hoodoos: Which teams will shine and who’ll crash during the Origin period

Round 15 looms as moving day for the top half of the NRL ladder, with only 10 rounds left in the regular season. Traditionally at this time of year, the NRL footy gods have not been kind with some teams struggling more than others at this time of year.

While Kevin Walters is busy plotting revenge for State of Origin III with his Bali-based life coach, we thought we’d take a look at the contenders who have struggled with the Origin hoodoo and the dark horses who are set to take advantage of the Origin carnage.

Brisbane Broncos

The ghost of Wayne Bennett has not been kind to the 2019 Broncos, a messy divorce from the former Brisbane mentor has led to a complete rebuild for new coach Anthony Seibold. The former Brisbane school teacher has placed his faith in the Broncos' much vaunted younger brigade. At the height of the Queensland dynasty, the Broncos had as many as nine representative players in the Queensland Origin team. 2019 has been a little kinder with five players across both sides in game one and one less in game two in Perth. Brisbane have traditionally struggled at this point of the season and the heat will be on Anthony Seibold’s side, with the model only rating them a 41% chance to get across the line against the Knights in Newcastle. There’s more pain on the horizon, with the Broncos going from potential premiers at the start of 2019 to only having a 2% chance of getting their hands on the trophy. At the same point last season.

Sydney Roosters

While the Broncos have traditionally provided the bulk of the Queensland side, the Bondi Junction have provided the spine for the Blues. Things have not been rosy for the defending premiers since the opening Origin game in Brisbane. Latrell Mitchell has had a spectacular fall from grace and the Roosters have lost their last three games. The Roosters had five players in the opening game and then only two representatives for game two in Perth.  The Roosters blasted to three wins over the game two period last season and should be good enough to turn their form around in 2019.

South Sydney

After starting 2019 in a blaze of glory under Wayne Bennett, the Rabbitohs have lost their way losing their last four games on the bounce. The Bunnies had three players lacing up the boots for game two across both sides and that’s unlikely to change heading into game three. The Bunnies won three games over the same period in 2018 but may struggle to replicate the results given their injury list.

Melbourne Storm

The Storm had a perfect record during the 2018 Origin period and have been fairly consistent in 2019. With five players across two sides, the Storm have been able to retain the core of their side and could potentially secure a valuable lead over the Roosters in the race to the minor premiership.

Knights

The Knights are a side that could potentially take advantage in 2019, thanks largely to the stellar form of halfback Mitchell Pearce. The former Blues Number 7 has won six consecutive man of the match awards and his red-hot form could see the Knights firm for a top eight berth.