This Friday night, when the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and Sydney Roosters meet to kick off Round 10 of the NRL, it won’t be just a clash between two traditional rivals but also a mini-audition to see which club’s halves pairing makes the NSW Blues side.
After guiding the state to their first series win since 2005 last year, Bulldogs halves Josh Reynolds and Trent Hodkinson have struggled so far this season and this is reflected by their club currently sitting in 11th place on the ladder.
Last year’s grand finalists have won just four of their opening nine matches this season and have dropped their last two, to the Wests Tigers and North Queensland Cowboys, on either side of the representative weekend.
The Roosters’ Mitchell Pearce, who lost his place in the Blues side last year after being involved in an incident at a Kings Cross nightclub, has handled the added responsibility of the co-captaincy with Jake Friend very well.
He was named man of the match in the Roosters’ hammering of Wests Tigers 36-4, which broke a frustrating four-game losing streak.
He and James Maloney responded impressively to their Origin omissions last year by leading the Roosters to their second consecutive minor premiership before the club lost to eventual premiers the Rabbitohs in the preliminary final.
The Bulldogs pair of Reynolds and Hodkinson went one better after leading the Blues to their first series victory for almost a decade, leading their club to the grand final after finishing the regular season in seventh place and having to beat the Storm, Sea Eagles and Panthers in consecutive weeks just to stay alive.
The late-season run appeared to take its toll on the Bulldogs, though, who then lost the decider to the Rabbitohs by 30-6.
The battle of the halves on Friday night won’t be the only major burning point of Round 10 as Laurie Daley continues to ponder the side that he will field in the opening game which is on May 27 at ANZ Stadium.
There is the feeling that whichever team wins, their halves will almost certainly be picked. Therefore, the result could be crucial to the hopes of both pairs of halves.
The other battle that will be decided on the weekend is that of the fullback jumper vacated by the departure of NFL-bound Jarryd Hayne.
Both Manly’s Brett Stewart and the Dragons’ Josh Dugan starred for their respective sides last week, but it appears as if the latter has won selection.
The Sea Eagles face the Panthers in the last match of the round, on the eve of the NSW side being named for Game 1, while the Dragons, on the other hand, face Dugan’s former team, the Canberra Raiders, in Wollongong on Sunday afternoon.
Barring a major disaster, Dugan should be named as the Blues fullback ahead of Stewart and Penrith’s Matt Moylan next week. He has been named in the centres for the last two games of last series, but in the absence of Hayne it will be his best chance to shine in his preferred position against Maroons veteran Billy Slater.
And so this round shapes as the last chance for the Origin candidates hoping to be named for their respective states ahead of the series opener in a fortnight’s time. Who will shine and play their way into either blue or maroon, and who will crash and burn?
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