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Opinion
The next time the Kangaroos step onto the field, only a handful of Blues should be in the team and some of the players that make the cut are trading on past reputations.
If the NRL returned to the old tradition of playing a Test after the State of Origin series, in this hypothetical scenario how many NSW players would warrant selection.
Based on what we’ve seen in the first two Origin encounters, you could make a case that only five or six of the game-day squad would be from the Blues.
There were nine NSW players in Mal Mengina’s team which beat Samoa in the World Cup final last year but Angus Crichton, Reagan Campbell-Gillard and Jake Trbojevic have since dropped off the representative radar.
James Tedesco, as the Kangaroos’ World Cup-winning captain, would get the nod at fullback due to his years of service but not based on Origin form because Maroons young gun Reece Walsh has been one of the standout performers in Queensland’s twin wins.
James Tedesco. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
Latrell Mitchell would probably get a run at centre if he gets back on the park for Origin III at Accor Stadium on July 12 but he also doesn’t have any recent form on the board due to his calf problem.
As for the rest, lock Isaah Yeo, prop Payne Haas, Liam Martin and the under-used Cameron Murray are the only other NSW players who’d be likely to get a start in the national squad.
Out wide, Valentine Holmes and Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow would be automatic selections while Murray Taulagi, a member of last year’s World Cup squad, would have the edge over Josh Addo-Carr, who had one of his worst games at rep level in Origin II.
With Nathan Cleary out until July with a torn hamstring, Daly Cherry-Evans would reclaim the halfback’s role alongside Cameron Munster while the one-two Maroons dummy-half punch of Ben Hunt and Harry Grant means they’re certain starters as wel.
As for the rest of the pack, incumbent Kangaroos starters in Patrick Carrigan and Tino Fa’asuamaleaui would be joined by Queensland comrades Reuben Cotter, David Fifita and Lindsay Collins, who have outshone their NSW counterparts.
The Aussies aren’t due to return to the Test arena until after the NRL season finishes and by that time, Cleary will probably regain No.7 favouritism on the back of a Panthers finals campaign but it’s hard to see too many other NSW players being in the selection frame unless there’s a run of injuries.
Roosters coach Trent Robinson arcs up whenever Tedesco’s credentials are questioned but representative jerseys are never owned, they’re only occupied.
And even though he’s far from ancient at 30, he doesn’t seem to have that pace off the mark that he had in his prime a few years ago.
Fullback is probably the position most stacked with elite talent in the NRL when you consider the likes of Dylan Edwards and Kalyn Ponga were not selected by their respective states and Mitchell, Tom Trbojevic and Tabuai-Fidow were selected in the centres due to their undeniable form in the No.1 jersey at club level.
Edwards is one of the unluckiest players never to receive rep honours.
The Clive Churchill Medallist would not only fill a role but shine if he ever gets a start with the Blues or Kangaroos.
With Trbojevic and Mitchell so adept at centre, Walsh is emerging as the next long-term fullback.
It’s easy to forget he’s still just 20 but he’s established himself an elite talent in three seasons at NRL level and now two Origins for Queensland.
Reece Walsh. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
Picking the young Bronco ahead of Kalyn Ponga, the star of Queensland’s 2022 series triumph, was a gamble by Billy Slater but he’s been thoroughly vindicated.
The Maroons have been spot on at the selection table with the decision to pick Tabuai-Fidow ahead of Dane Gagai also turning out to be a masterstroke.
It’s no wonder NSW fans have been pulling the curly hair from their blue wigs at the sight of Tevita Pangai jnr on the Origin I team sheet and the mystifying ploy of using Martin and Murray from the bench when they are two of their best and most experienced forwards.
The Blues looked considerably better when Martin and Murray came onto the field in Adelaide but somehow Brad Fittler made the same mistake in Brisbane for game two.
Martin at least played 61 minutes after he was brought on midway through the first half while Murray inexplicably didn’t get on until the 47th minute with the Blues down 16-0 by that stage.
Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
It’s a short turnaround between World Cups with the next one just two years away.
In true international rugby league fashion there’s still no announcement on when and where the Kangaroos will be playing at the end of this year and it’s not known who will be the host nation for the next World Cup after France pulled the pin.
Old-stagers like Hunt and Cherry-Evans will probably be off the Kangaroos scene when the tournament rolls around and all signs point to Tedesco being superseded by younger rivals by then too.
1 James Tedesco
2 Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow
3 Latrell Mitchell
4 Valentine Holmes
5 Murray Taulagi
6 Cameron Munster
7 Daly Cherry-Evans
8 Payne Haas
9 Ben Hunt
10 Patrick Carrigan
11 Reuben Cotter
12 Liam Martin
13 Isaah Yeo
Interchange:
14 Harry Grant
15 Tino Fa’asuamaleaui
16 David Fifita
17 Cameron Murray
18 Lindsay Collins