Thanks for the memories Hoffman, Ennis and Scott

The past couple of months have seen plenty of speculation about who NSW Blues coach Laurie Daley would pick to take on the Queensland Maroons in this year’s State of Origin series.

Following the Blues’ heavy defeat at the hands of the Maroons in Game 3 last year, losing by a massive 52-6, Daley was under plenty of pressure to pick the right team.

Questions that almost every fan was asking included who will be the NSW halves? Would Laurie Daley persist with Mitchell Pearce yet again? Was last year the last time we would see Luke Lewis in a sky blue jumper? What on Earth does Lachlan Coote have to do to earn himself a Blues jersey?

Queensland Maroons team for State of Origin Game 1: Expert reaction

Yesterday, some of those questions were answered – although what Lachlan Coote needs to do to earn himself a Blues jersey I am still unsure of – with Daley picking his squad to take on the Maroons next Wednesday night.

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Daley has named a 20-man squad. Is it to try and keep the Maroons guessing until the last minute? Is it because he is unsure of the final team himself?

Regardless, Daley has attempted to focus on the next generation of Blues stars, with some fresh faces in the squad including Adam Reynolds and Josh Mansour.

For Reynolds, this call-up is long overdue. He has been knocking on the Blues’ door for several years but always just missed out. With no other standout half in the competition at the moment, his opportunity has arrived.

It’s also about time for Mansour, an outstanding player who I have been waiting to see make his Origin debut since 2014, when he represented Australia.

However this focus on the next generation has meant a number of notable omissions, and some familiar faces will be absent when NSW run out onto ANZ Stadium.

It seems that 32 is the magic number, with it being no coincidence that three of these omissions recently celebrated their 32nd birthday. Daley has placed the trio in the category of the ‘old guard’, and they are unlikely to feature in this year’s series.

Ryan Hoffman’s Origin career has spanned nine years and 11 games, playing in all three games of the 2015 series. His absence from this squad means we are unlikely to see him in a sky blue jersey ever again.

To be fair, Hoffman has been far from his best this year. Whether that can be put down to his age or an extremely inconsistent Warriors team is hard to tell.

While I wasn’t surprised with the omission of Hoffman, I was certainly surprised to see Michael Ennis left out, with Robbie Farah named instead. Not only have there been questions over Farah’s fitness in recent weeks, but he has been playing for the disappointing Tigers.

In complete contrast, Ennis is one of the comp’s in-form hookers, with the Sharks currently sitting on the top of the ladder for the first time in 16 years. And this is partly because of Ennis, who is the ultimate competitor, an unrivalled pest on the field, and his short kicking game has been key to the Sharks’ success.

It seems Daley is pinning his future hopes on Farah, in the belief that Ennis’ representative days are over. I would say, unluckily so.

Finally, Beau Scott has also missed out on selection this year.

Now that Scott plays for Parramatta I pay a bit more attention to him, and he has revolutionised the Eels’ defence. Prior to the disaster that has been the salary cap scandal, the Eels had had their best defensive start to a season since 1986, largely due to Scott.

Scott has averaged 31.8 tackles in each game he has played, and he reminds me of Nathan Hindmarsh in that somehow, spectacularly, he always seems to find himself as the last line of defence and in the right place at the right time. I will never forget when he ran down Tom Trbojevic earlier this year when the Eels played Manly, a feat not even Semi Radradra was capable of.

Why has Daley chosen to leave Scott out? Could it be that instead of a focus on defence, Daley’s priority is attack? This would explain why he has gone for players that provide more options in attack rather than the tenacious, reliable play that Scott brings to the table.

Then, of course, there are the players that were damn unlucky to miss out. There are several contenders for the unluckiest, including Josh Reynolds, Jack Bird and James Roberts (it is pure coincidence that all these players have names that start with the letter ‘J’).

But the unluckiest of all was James Tedesco, who was in career-best form prior to injuring his shoulder in the Tigers’ win against South Sydney. Prior to his injury, he was the NRL’s leading try scorer, had seven try assists to his name, along with a massive eight line breaks. I’m certain he will be an Origin superstar of the future.

And to Ryan Hoffman, Michael Ennis and Beau Scott… thanks for the memories.

This is @mary__kaye from @ladieswholeague.