Eight Origin debutants will be charged with guiding a revamped NSW side to their first series victory against Queensland since 2005. It was the only way to go.
The NSW selectors have finally come to terms with the current crisis the Blues find themselves in, and have selected a team, that at last, should wake NSW up from its three year slumber.
The blooding of inform players such as James McManus, Michael Jennings, Ben Creagh, Michael Weyman, Justin Poore, Terry Campese, Robbie Farah and Glenn Stewart should provide NSW with the attacking spark necessary to really trouble the Maroons this series.
The entire Blues line-up provides a unique blend of toughness and flare that has not been apparent in the past three seasons.
Fullback and captain Kurt Gidley is as tough as they come, while Knights team-mate McManus is also a courageous customer that plays much in the same vein as Storm winger Anthony Quinn when in form.
The centre pairing of Jamie Lyon and Michael Jennings is easily NSW’s most potent partnership in years, considering both possess the capabilities to change the course of a game with a brilliant offload or raw speed.
Terry Campese and Peter Wallace provide the Blues with a halves combination that will ensure quality ball movement, and a flawless kicking game, that on form, is currently more precise than that of Maroon halves Darren Lockyer and Johnathon Thurston.
Campese and Wallace will have the necessary time and space to imply their respective games, courtesy of a very talented, and mobile NSW forward pack.
The inclusion of Dragons second rower Ben Creagh has been long overdue by the selectors, but it is one that should no doubt reap dividends based on his present form.
And despite plying his trade in a struggling Cronulla Sharks side, Paul Gallen has shown enough individually this season to see him retain his spot in the Blues second row.
Cowboys forward Luke O’Donnell also makes a return to the representative arena, thanks mainly to his great form over the past three weeks that has seen his club register three wins on the trot leading into their bye.
Arguably the most contested position in the NSW line-up was at hooker, where Michael Ennis, Issac De Gois and Robbie Farah were all in the running for selection.
In the end, the selectors opted for Farah in a decision that was, ultimately, the correct one, given the attacking prowess the Tigers captain has shown, not just this season, but throughout his career.
The interchange bench for NSW is also very impressive.
Craig Wing was at his dynamic best when he played for City earlier this season, while he has also displayed consistent form for the Rabbitohs.
Dragons duo Justin Poore and Michael Weyman are arguably the top two props in the NRL at the moment, and one feels these two could provide NSW with that extra bit of muscle that could just help wrestle Origin supremacy away from QLD.
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