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It’s that time of year again; State of Origin is just around the corner, and all attention has turned to who’s going to be suiting up for each team on May 31. So we’re giving you the opportunity to pick your NSW Blues team for Game 1.
As always, Laurie Daley has a tricky task on his hands this year, with the Blues having to win at least one of their two games at the fortress that is Suncorp Stadium to win the series over the Maroons.
There are no shortage of selection headaches for Daley. He needs to find himself a new skipper and forward due to the retirement of Paul Gallen, although the Sharks workhorse has said he’d be open to pulling on the blue jersey once again if he gets the call.
Daley also has to decide whether to stick with Robbie Farah in the hooker’s jersey, or if someone else can do a better job than the South Sydney man, who has been one of the first names on the teamsheet in recent years.
In the backs, there are few certainties. James Tedesco would seem to be a lock at fullback, but there is uncertainty over who will line up in the halves, centres and on both wings.
Then there are the injuries. Aaron Woods and Josh Dugan both would have been certainties had they not been injured in recent weeks, but are they worth picking without much recent game-time under their belts?
Round 10 didn’t make things any easier for Daley. Tom Trbojevic and Jarryd Hayne were firming as the favourites to fill out the spots on the wings, but both suffered injuries over the weekend.
However, as they’re yet to be officially ruled out of Game 1, you can still pick them in your team. (Edit: Tom Trbojevic has now been ruled out of the opening two games of the series, so he’s been scratched from our voting form. At the time he was ruled out, ‘Turbo’ had garnered 33.3 per cent of the vote on the wing.)
Whether they, along with Dugan and Woods, are worth selecting is up to you; pick the 17 players who you want to see line up in the sky blue in Game 1, and we’ll share the team picked by The Roar’s readers this Friday, before the official team is announced early next week.
Now, before you mention it, yes, there are some players who are listed in multiple positions in our selection form. However, given Daley can’t pick them more than once, we’d like to ask that you don’t too.
And, of course, don’t forget to share your team in the comments to get the debate going!
The results are now in! Be sure to check out The Roar’s NSW Blues side for Origin 1, as chosen by you.