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;jB-Ek TIMES _
Sport
Shearer's win
costs Renouf
Maroon spot
STATE OF ORIGIN
; BRISBANE:Dale
Shearer's big match bril
liance and positional ver
satility has cost his
promising Brisbane
teammate Steve Renouf
his one-game old State of
Origin reserve jumper.
Renouf was the unlucky
loser yesterday when Shearer
won a recall to the Origin
stage for the return interstate
match at the Sydney Football
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aiaaium on weancsaay wcck.
Shearer's 16 Tests and 46 points
from 16 Origins record was too
much ammunition for the Maroon
selectors to ignore last night when
they announced one change to a 17
man Origin squad which will try to
wrap-up the series.
. "No doubt the news will be of
great disappointment to Steve, he's
done nothing wrong," Queensland
c6ach, Graham Lowe, said.
"But he's only young and he's got
a great future in front of him.
"I was impressed by his attitude,
contribution and calmness for the
first game, but the selectors feel Dale
can cover'more positions and has
much more big match experience
under pressure."
Test full-back Gary Belcher has
saved Maroon supporters from a re-"
peat of the first match dramas by
declaring himself medically unavail
able for the re-match.
Brisbane's Paul Hauff — rushed
into the Maroon side on 48-hours
notice for the first game to celebrat
ing his 21st birthday with an un
forgettable win — will pull on the
No 1 Maroon juniper again.
With the exception of Shearer,
Queensland's three selectors, Dud
Beattie, Les Geeves and Hugh Kelly,
remained loyal to the players who
pulled off a 6-4 upset at Lang Park
earlier this month.
Newcastle second-rower Mike
McLean and Wests prop Steve Jack
son were the players believed to be
under the most pressure.
But Beattie said yesterday that
there had never been any talk or
thought given to tampering with the
pack which clearly overshadowed
NSW in the opening game of the
series.
"We didn't think there were any
other players who could displace the
blokes who did the job so well in the
first game," Beattie said.
"Mike and Steve are the warriors
of the side. We were more than hap
py with what they did."
McLean and Jackson met the
much vaunted NSW pack head on in
the first 40 minutes before being re
placed at half-time by Gavin Allen
and Garry Coyne.
Lowe said yesterday that he ex
pected first match hero Gary Larson
and Manly front-rower Martin Bella
to pass Thursday's team medical.
Larson — who pushed Wally
Lewis for man-of-the-match in his
Origin debut — did not turn out for
his North Sydney club on the week
end while Bella suffered neck inju
ries in Manly's heavy loss to Penrith
on Sunday.
Queensland captain Wally Lewis
has no illusions about what the Ma
roons can expect in Sydney.
"It won't be like Lang Park," he
said.
"This time there'll be 40,000 peo
ple screaming for Maroon blood and
NSW knows there won't be any sec
ond chances."
NSW names its side today, with
Canberra's Bradley Clyde tipped to
come into the pack for Paul Sironen
as one of several changes.
QUEENSLAND: Paul Hauff (Bris
bane), Michael Hancock (Brisbane),
Peter Jackson (North Sydney), Mai
Meninga (Canberra), Willie Carne
(Brisbane), Wally Lewis (c) (Gold
Coast), Allan Langer (Brisbane),
Gary Larson (North Sydney), Mike
McLean (Newcastle), Andrew Gee
(Brisbane), Steve Jackson (Western
Suburbs), Steve Walters (Canberra),
Martin Bella (Manly). Reserves:
Kevin Walters (Brisbane), Dale
Shearer (Brisbane), Gavin Allen
(Brisbane), Gary Coyne (Canberra).
$