Coach Laurie Daley has ruled out Robbie Farah succeeding Paul Gallen as NSW State of Origin skipper, indicating he wants a younger leader.
He has nominated Aaron Woods (25), Boyd Cordner (24), Josh Jackson (25) and Wade Graham (25) as the contenders.
With longtime captain Gallen playing his final Origin match in Wednesday’s dead rubber game three at ANZ Stadium, speculation is mounting over who will take the reins next year.
Veteran hooker Farah, 32, says he isn’t approaching the match as his final interstate fixture and, as vice-captain, could have been in line for the job if able to hold his spot.
However Daley ruled out that possibility on Tuesday, saying he would look to install another long-term skipper.
“Next year you will see one of the younger guys take on that responsibility,” Daley said.
“Once Gal has moved on I think one of them will step up into this role.
“I am been very impressed with a number of them, depending on how they perform and develop over the next 12 months it will definitely be one of them.”
Of the four men Daley nominated, only Wests Tigers skipper Woods is a current NRL captain.
“It will be a decision from the (NSWRL) board but my thoughts are it will be one of those guys who are there for the long term,” Daley said.
“For Woods, like all of those guys it always takes time to feel comfortable in our environment and he is now more at ease as a leader. At the start he was probably unsure of himself,” Daley said.
“But he has that leadership quality, he demands respect and the guys follow him.
“He is unfazed by it all and he is certainly a leading contender.”
Rockin Rocks
Guest
Dugan is the most overrated player in the NRL. Too slow now, no passing game. Hayne as captain? I just peed a little bit laughing. Your side is not bad except for the centres. B Moz isn't a bad choice if they do it.
Oingo Boingo
Guest
Yeah give the code hopper the captaincy, great move for stability and to encourage loyalty.
Superstar superhuman
Guest
Haha I'll bite, 10 months out from origin 1 2017 and this will be the team, you heard it here first: 1. Tedesco 2. T Trobojevic 3. Hayne (c) 4. Dugan 5. B morris (I agree with the changing of the guard, but B Mozz is still the best winger in nsw by far, his form in recent weeks proves that) 6. Moylan 7. Maloney 8. Woods 9. Peats/rein 10. Tamou 11. Cordner 12. Graham 13. Jackson 14. Fifita 15. Frizell 16. J Trobojevic 17. J Bird Tedesco, Trobojevic, hayne, dugan and morris, mate! That's a backline dead set
Superstar superhuman
Guest
Hahaha yeah they can have that effect on people ;p I couldn't have picked two more frustrating teams, dragons and nsw
Oingo Boingo
Guest
Wilfred woods as captain,,,, Captain Flopper .
Muzz
Guest
Apparently if this strong westerly wind backs off, Hayne will be parachuted into the stadium wearing the number 6. I've been worried about you and thought the Dragons may have put you into some type of coma.
Superstar superhuman
Guest
Jarryd Hayne will be captain and fullback (sorry teddy)
Muzz
Guest
Daley is a tripper.
twodogs
Guest
Yeah, me too Simmo. Farrah has been ok but past it. Mitch Rein has a few detractors but he's a quite a clever player and may slot in quite well although there are other contenders. Bloody Daley's talking about the future too much presently. No need for the future Laurie, the next game matters most.
no one in particular
Roar Guru
Giving the captaincy to a player not even certain of a spot in the team has worked out well in the past, see Gidley, Kurt
Wooo
Guest
Wade Graham? Are you kidding me? He has not even played a single Origin Game. Second to that, he's a hard ball runner but does not have the football brain of Smith, Lockyer, Buderus, Johns etc. Like the idea of a non-club captain like they did with Buderus. Jackson seems smart and hard working, he might be the way. 2017 Team: 1. Tedesco 2. Trbojevic 3. Croker 4. Leluia 5. Wighton 6. J Bird 7. (too early to say) 8. Woods 9. Peats 10. James 11. Frizell 12. Cordner 13. Jackson 14. Klemmer 15. Graham 17. Fafita 18. Moylan
Simmo
Guest
I was excited for a second when I thought Farah was out of Origin 3.....
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
Maybe he needs to put his 2 cents worth now because after how well NSW have done with him as coach he may not have a chance to make selections next year!
Epiquin
Roar Guru
Yep. It's about time that Origin legend Wade Graham got the recognition he deserves in the Origin arena.
Jeffrey Dun
Roar Rookie
Agreed. It's more normal for Woods to cop a bagging, like from the commentators above.
Alex L
Roar Rookie
Who even talks about Woods like that, I've literally never seen it...
MrJSquishy
Roar Pro
I think that you can't name a Captain if he isn't on the field for 80 minutes. So, that rules out Woods. And he is the only one here who is a current Captain. The big problem for NSW is that they haven't been able to settle on a halves combination for more than a decade. I would like to see one of the halves or the hooker named as Captain, but, Farah surely won't be there for much longer (if at all after this next game), and Adam Reynolds cannot be considered surely. That leaves Maloney. And I can't say that'd be a great choice... Naming Woods as Captain is one step removed from naming your Captain on the bench. And surely NSW wouldn't be that stupid! Oh, wait...
catcat
Guest
I think sometimes Laurie doesn't realise that you don't have to answer every question you're asked....surely the team is focused on this game not thinking about player selections in 2017??? just say that Loz.
The Barry
Roar Guru
Theres no direct quotes in this article naming the candidates. The only player Daley is quoted discussing is Woods. I think there's a bit of creative license with this article.
Emcie
Roar Guru
It seems really strange that he would be even naming guys already, all his talk of protecting his players and then he offers up these guys to the be ripped to shreds by the media and the public for a full year before the captain is even announced? That's not even considering that three of them don't even captain nrl teams and one hasn't played a game of SOO yet...