Origin: NSW should stick with Maloney, says Bennett

Momentum may be building for Mitchell Pearce’s State of Origin return but Wayne Bennett believes James Maloney is the first playmaker NSW must pick.

Roosters halfback Pearce will hope to stake another Origin claim when he lines up against Bennett’s Brisbane halves Ben Hunt and Anthony Milford in Thursday night’s NRL clash.

Even Hunt has jumped on the Pearce bandwagon, saying the Roosters No.7 should be the first picked for NSW and was the form half of the competition, but Bennett says he saw the Blues’ future in Maloney.

The Cronulla playmaker ended a three-year Origin exile when he was recalled last year. He played in all three games but could not stop Queensland claiming a 2-1 win – the Maroons’ 10th series triumph in 11 years.

Still, Bennett believed NSW should stick with Maloney and build a halves pairing around him.

“Maloney showed a fair bit in the end when he got an opportunity,” Bennett said.

“He just needs a halfback around him now. “They’ve got half of it right.”

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Speculation about Pearce’s NSW recall refuses to go away. Former Blue Matthew Johns has called for Pearce and his Roosters teammate Luke Keary to be NSW’s halves this year after helping the tri-colours jump to third on the NRL ladder.

In just five games Pearce has scored a try, had three linebreaks, six try assists and six linebreak assists for the rejuvenated Roosters.

Pearce has never won an Origin series in six attempts after first playing for the Blues in 2008 and was overlooked for last year’s series due a ban for an off-field misdemeanour.

Either way, Bennett believed NSW should finally follow Queensland’s lead and adopt a pick-and-stick halves policy.

Maloney and Matt Moylan are the incumbent NSW halves.

They are the 19th different NSW halves pairing in 11 series.

Queensland have used just five in that same period – and all of them were injury-enforced changes.

“Their problem is that Queensland are doing what they did 15 years ago,” Bennett said.

“They always had the same halfback and five-eighth. That’s what they have to settle on.

“They’ve got to find a halfback and five-eighth they they trust to go through three or four series again rather than chopping and changing.”