Wayde Egan’s rise to star hooker status at the Warriors should earn him a place in conversation to play at No.9 for NSW in State of Origin.
That’s the view of Warriors coach Andrew Webster, who marvelled at Egan’s control of the ruck in Saturday’s 34-4 win over a South Sydney side that contained mainstay Blues rake Damien Cook.
Egan’s cunning out of acting half constantly got the Warriors on the front foot and Webster is urging new Blues coach Michael Maguire to monitor his hooker’s form even closer.
“The next step is playing Origin for sure, I’ve said it to him,” Webster said.
“He should be an Origin player, you can’t be that talented and that good.
“We’ve got a style of play we put around him so that he can do that and show his talent and he’s exceptional.
“I don’t think you could get too many more NSW No.9s who are going to ask more questions of Queensland than Api (Koroisau) and Wayde.
“They’re two guys who ask questions and they make other people look good, and when you start worrying about other people that’s when Wayde starts taking opportunities.”
Koroisau seems Egan’s most likely challenger given Cook’s struggles for form at Souths, with North Queensland hooker Reece Robson also expected to be in the conversation for the series opener on June 5.
Egan, 27, has never been the flashiest player but his smartness out of dummy-half does not go unnoticed by his teammates.
Wayde Egan. (Photo by Mark Nolan/Getty Images)
Least of all Tohu Harris, who played for so many years at Melbourne alongside Cameron Smith.
“He (Egan) is so calm, he doesn’t really get flustered in his decision making,” Harris said.
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“When they (hookers) are like that it seems like they have so much time to make a decision.
“When he pulls the trigger, the execution of the pass is something he rarely gets wrong – the execution and decision making is very similar.”
© AAP
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