Aaron Woods could open Origin spot in NSW — but who could replace West Tigers prop?

THE race to cover the potential loss of NSW prop Aaron Woods ahead of the Origin opener is on. And Laurie Daley has a shock list of candidates.

2016 NRL season launch

THE race to cover the potential loss of injured NSW State of Origin prop Aaron Woods ahead of the series opener is on.

The Daily Telegraph has uncovered the shock list of candidates in NSW coach Laurie Daley’s sights to replace Woods, should he be deemed unfit for selection after suffering an ankle injury last weeked which is expected to keep him sidelined for the next four to six weeks.

Woods’ healing powers won’t only impact the Wests Tigers, but also the Blues, with Daley’s preference that he plays at least one match prior to the squad being chosen in six weeks time on May 23.

The contenders to fill the void are Cronulla’s Andrew Fifita, Canterbury’s Aidan Tolman, Canberra’s Shannon Boyd and Paul Vaughan, Penrith’s Regan Campbell-Gillard and Parramatta’s Junior Paulo.

Should Woods be deemed unfit for selection, one of the contenders would join NSW mainstays Paul Gallen, David Klemmer and James Tamou.

Tigers teammate and NSW hooker Robbie Farah claimed on Tuesday that Woods “wouldn’t let anyone down” if chosen without a run under his belt before Origin I on June 1.

But Daley said the intensity and speed of which State of Origin is played at would leave him with a difficult decision if the Tigers captain was unable to return before his side’s round 11 clash with Newcastle.

Daley will announce his team for Origin I just 48 hours later.

“Ideally, you would prefer him (Woods) to have at least one run under his belt,’’ Daley said.

“That’s not to say I wouldn’t pick him, but he’d have to work hard on his conditioning.

“By no means would I want him to put his recovery at risk by rushing it because the last thing he or the Tigers would want is for it to plague him for longer than it should.

“I know he’s got a huge motor, but six weeks without a game is something I’d have to consider. Hopefully Woodsy has a full recovery and he can get on the paddock for the Tigers as soon as possible.

“One thing I do know is that we’ll have of options should we have to go another way.’’

Working in a coaching capacity with the emerging Blues at Narrabeen, Farah was asked if it was viable Woods could still be chosen without playing one NRL match to prove his fitness ahead of game one.

Woods would be a huge loss for New South Wales.

“I know he wouldn’t let anyone down,’’ Farah replied.

“I’m not too sure what Loz is thinking there, whether he does require Woodsy to play a game but Woodsy, as I said he’s a veteran now even though he’s still a young sort of kid and he’s been playing Origin and for Australia for a long time.

“He knows what’s expected of him, he’ll keep himself fit, he’ll work hard on his rehab and I’m sure he’ll be ready to go.’’

Asked what Woods’ loss meant for the Tigers ahead of their clash with Melbourne at Leichardt Oval this Sunday, Farah said: “It’s tough.

“He’s a leader of our pack, he’s our skipper, he’s been playing upwards of 65 minutes every week.

“The amount of work he gets through is going to be tough to replace so the person that does come in has got a big workload to cover there and we’ve all got to pick up the slack.’’

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Originally published as Aaron Woods could open Origin spot in NSW — but who could replace West Tigers prop?