Last chance for players to impress before State of Origin

We are almost halfway through the NRL season and that means one thing – State of Origin is almost here.

Round 10 marks the final round for some players to stake their claim for Origin before the two teams are named next week.

The opener on May 28 in Brisbane could either provide the springboard for a ninth consecutive series win for the Maroons, or a drought-breaking success for the Blues.

The Maroons will be expected to retain most of the team that were victorious last year, while for the Blues, they are already in disarray even before the series has started.

Andrew Fifita and Greg Bird will miss at least the opening match of the series.

Fifita injured his ankle in the Sharks’ 42-24 loss to Parramatta on the weekend, while Bird’s dangerous throw on South Sydney’s Bryson Goodwin will cost him at least the first Origin match. Pending Bird’s challenge on the grading of the charge at the NRL judiciary, he could possibly miss the entire series.

Mitchell Pearce was expected to be named halfback for the Blues, but he has been suspended from the Roosters’ trip to Townsville following the incident at a Kings Cross nightclub on the weekend.

Pearce’s suspension by the Roosters sees regular five-eighth James Maloney move to halfback, with Sonny Bill Williams to be named in the standoff role for their showdown against Johnathan Thurston’s Cowboys in Townsville.

Adam Reynolds could still make a late charge for the halfback role, and he will get his best chance against the incumbent Maroons halfback, Cooper Cronk, when the Rabbitohs and Storm meet to kick off Round 10 on Friday night.

The advantage of him playing and Pearce not playing could prove to be a crucial factor when the NSW team is named next week, and if Reynolds produces his best game for the Rabbitohs then selectors will find it hard to ignore him.

Josh Reynolds may have all but secured the NSW five-eighth jersey thanks to his man-of-the-match performance against the Dragons last round. He needs only to get through the Bulldogs’ match against the Warriors unscathed to secure his place in the run-on side, having been used as an interchange player in Games 1 and 2 last year.

Saturday’s match between Parramatta and St George Illawarra will see their respective fullbacks, Jarryd Hayne and Josh Dugan, go head to head. The winner is almost certain to secure the fullback jersey for Game 1 in Brisbane.

Hayne played in last year’s opener – a win for the Blues – before being struck down with a hamstring injury, allowing Dugan to deputise for the remainder of the series. Hayne’s presence was missed, not only as the Blues eventually lost the series, but also as the Eels struggled their way to a second-consecutive wooden spoon.

But this is not to take anything away from Dugan, who has been one of the Dragons’ best players since joining the club twelve months ago. But he has yet to feature in a winning NSW team since debuting in Game 1 of the 2011 series.

Hayne was among the Eels’ best in their win over the Sharks on Monday night, and another similar performance against Dugan’s Dragons could see him all but named in the number one jersey, with Dugan a possibility on the wing.

Robbie Farah will make his return from an elbow injury when he leads the Wests Tigers against the Sharks, who are led by Blues captain Paul Gallen. Thus, he will have only one match to prove himself, but he still should be named ahead of the next best hooker, Michael Ennis.

Parramatta’s Nathan Peats has also been mentioned as a possible hooker for the Blues, though if the selectors eventually go for Farah at dummy half, Peats may have to settle for a place on the interchange bench.

Taking all of the above into consideration, my NSW team for Game 1 is as follows:

1. Jarryd Hayne
2. Brett Morris
3. Josh Morris
4. Michael Jennings
5. Josh Dugan
6. Josh Reynolds
7. Adam Reynolds
8. James Tamou
9. Robbie Farah (vc)
10. Aaron Woods
11. Boyd Cordner
12. Ryan Hoffman
13. Paul Gallen (c)

14. Nathan Peats
15. Anthony Watmough
16. Luke Lewis
17. Jamal Idris

18th man – Mitchell Pearce
19th man – Pat Richards

The Maroons are largely expected to stick with the same team which were victorious last year, though in the extremely unlikely event that injuries do curse any of their key players, they will be forced to make some changes.

While the match between the Eels and Dragons could possibly decide who wears the number one jersey for the Blues, Friday night’s match between the Rabbitohs and Storm could also decide who wears number one for the Maroons.

The competition between incumbent Maroons fullback Billy Slater and Greg Inglis is expected to be tight. Slater has been the starting fullback for the past five series, while Inglis was last year named the Rugby League International Federation’s international fullback of the year.

Regardless of who wins, Slater is still expected to be named at fullback with Greg Inglis settling for the centres, though expect the latter to play in his traditional role sporadically during the Origin series.

Or the roles could be reversed and Inglis plays fullback with Slater on the wing. Slater has proven himself as a winger before, as evidenced when he scored one of the greatest Origin tries ever in Game 2 of the 2004 series.

And now, for my Queensland side:

1. Billy Slater
2. Darius Boyd
3. Greg Inglis
4. Justin Hodges
5. Brent Tate
6. Johnathan Thurston
7. Cooper Cronk
8. Matt Scott
9. Cameron Smith (c)
10. Nate Myles
11. Chris McQueen
12. Sam Thaiday
13. Corey Parker

14. Daly Cherry-Evans
15. Matt Gillett
16. Ben Te’o
17. Josh Papalii

18th man: Jacob Lillyman

As you can tell, this is the exact same 17 which started in Game 3 last year, though there are bound to be some minor changes depending on how Round 10 unfolds.

Will the NSW and Queensland teams go as named, or will there be some surprises? All will be revealed when the teams are named next week – the Maroons on Monday and then the Blues on Tuesday.