Greg Alexander: ‘Luke Keary won’t be fit for State of Origin 1’

Blues selector Greg Alexander has dropped a bombshell declaring Luke Keary won’t be fit for Origin I. Keary left the field with concussion during the Roosters shock loss to Newcastle yesterday.

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Blues selector Greg Alexander has dropped a bombshell declaring Luke Keary won’t be fit for Origin I.

Keary left the field with concussion during the Roosters shock loss to Newcastle yesterday. The Roosters five-eighth was a certainty to be named to make his Origin debut when the team is announced tomorrow night.

Luke Keary leaves the field after a head knock during the Sydney Roosters v Newcastle Knights NRL match at McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle. Picture: Brett Costello

But Alexander said Keary was unlikely to be cleared to play.

“He won’t be fit for game one,” Alexander told ABC Grandstand.

“Luke was looking like he was going to break into the team.”

And in a further blow, in-form Newcastle halfback Mitchell Pearce’s hopes of an Origin recall have been rocked by a groin injury.

Pearce has been man of the match in his past five NRL games, but has been battling the groin problem, which flared up during the Knights win over the Sydney Roosters on Friday night.

Newcastle doctors have told the Blues Pearce would be unable to run until Thursday, effectively ruling him out of contention.

Adam Reynolds, Cody Walker, James Maloney and Nathan Cleary are now the frontrunners to be named in the halves.

Originally published as Greg Alexander: ‘Luke Keary won’t be fit for State of Origin 1’