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Throughout their eight-year reign, the Maroons selectors have made some astute calls regarding the Queensland State of Origin side. But if they were asked to, who would the Queensland selectors go for as NSW halfback?
I reckon it would be Albert Kelly, from the Gold Coast Titans. I also think NSW coach Laurie Daley should give him serious consideration if he decides to drop Mitchell Pearce for the game at Suncorp Stadium on May 28.
Pearce’s chances of being in the team suddenly don’t look so good. His timing on the field has been off this season, but not nearly so bad as the timing of his off-field misdemeanour last weekend.
In terms of ‘nightclub incidents’, it appears to have been a relatively minor one. It has to be judged against top-class opposition because we’ve had some absolute crackers over the years.
But it couldn’t have come at a worse time, with Origin just around the corner.
It may have been just a temporary slip-up from a bloke who got on the drink and swapped his head for a pumpkin, but it was inevitable that it would make people wonder whether Pearce was prepared, as he should be, for the challenge ahead.
Daley had earlier this season said he couldn’t see any reason why Pearce wouldn’t be the NSW halfback again. Well, he can see a reason now. The fact he is no longer guaranteeing Pearce a place in the side says as much.
No doubt Daley and his chief adviser, Bob Fulton, have spent a lot of time tossing up the alternatives in discussions between themselves and whoever else’s opinion they take this week.
The thing is that whether Pearce is in the side or not will directly affect whether his Sydney Roosters teammate, James Maloney, survives as NSW five-eighth.
Personally, I think it will be either both or neither. I think it is really only Maloney’s goal-kicking ability that is keeping him in the conversation at this stage anyway.
So will Pearce survive as NSW halfback when the team is named after this weekend’s NRL round? My gut feeling is no.
It looks like the genie is out of the bottle, and since it is clear Daley is now genuinely considering alternatives, the inevitability is that one or two of them will start looking better to him than they did previously.
Not that anyone is quite banging the door down for selection.
I can’t see South Sydney’s Adam Reynolds getting picked. The same goes for Newcastle’s Tyrone Roberts. Knights five-eighth Jarrod Mullen has played plenty of halfback and would be a contender, but, to be honest, he doesn’t grab me either.
Canterbury’s Trent Hodkinson would have to be close to selection. His goal-kicking would be a bonus and his Bulldogs teammate, five-eighth Josh Reynolds, is already a strong contender.
Perhaps the Blues would be well-advised to go for that combination.
But Kelly should certainly be considered. I’m not sure how bad the hamstring strain is that will prevent him from playing for Gold Coast this weekend, but presuming it’s only a minor thing then why shouldn’t he at least be in the frame with the other possibilities?
Kelly is an attacking dynamo and a major reason the Titans have done better than expected over the first nine rounds of the season.
Queensland have tended to go for X-factor players like him, in various positions, over the years. This has often been successful, whereas the Blues have preferred more traditional halfbacks.
Every reasonable possibility for the number seven jumper should be thrown into the melting pot for thorough consideration.
However long Daley’s run as NSW coach goes, he won’t make many more important decisions than this one.
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