State of Origin: Brad Fittler’s Super Saturday watchlist
Three games are set to decide Brad Fittler’s Origin 1 team. And there are Blues contenders ‘that haven’t been spoken about in the media’. See who’s on the watchlist.
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Brad Fittler has booked a front-row seat and will hold his breath for the most crucial 24 hours for NSW ahead of State of Origin I.
A total of 20 Blues contenders will feature on a Super Saturday that has been rebranded Freddy’s Fright Night ahead of Fittler announcing his team to face Queensland on June 9.
“It’s a huge day for us,’’ Fittler said.
“I’m going to Penrith to watch those players we’re looking at play against the Bulldogs.
“I will take a piece of paper and one of those pencils with a rubber on the end of it.
“You can have your team written down, but you just never know what is going to happen until all the games are played.”
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Broncos forward Payne Haas sent a major scare through the Blues’ hierarchy with fears that he would be unavailable for Origin I after suffering a knee injury in Thursday night’s game. However he remains in contention to be named on Sunday night with Eels forward Reagan Campbell-Gillard the most likely replacement should the gamble of sweating on Haas’ fitness be deemed to great a risk.
The NRL‘s crackdown on high shots has added an unprecedented sense of uncertainty for the entire NSW coaching staff.
Included within the countdown to the much-anticipated series-opener is the NRL’s decision to almost certainly abandon playing at the MCG due to the Covid-19 lockdown implemented in Victoria.
The NRL want to announce by Sunday where game one will be played.
Townsville is considered favourite to steal rugby league’s showpiece event.
Fittler has more immediate priorities and undoubtedly the Panthers-Bulldogs clash at Penrith at 3pm on Saturday is of major consequence.
Eight Panthers players feature on a list of potential NSW inclusions should Fittler need to call on them either as first-choice selections, or should injury or suspension impact his decision-making.
The high-flying Panthers that Fittler will watch with intent are Stephen Crichton, Matt Burton, Brian To‘o, Jarome Luai, Nathan Cleary, Apisai Koroisau, Liam Martin and Isaah Yeo.
Cleary, Yeo and Luai are considered certainties with To‘o in a two-horse race with Parramatta’s Blake Ferguson for the Blues right-wing spot.
Martin is a genuine chance to steal a NSW bench role while Crichton, Burton and Koroisau are outsiders.
YOU BE THE SELECTOR: CHOOSE YOUR NSW TEAM FOR ORIGIN 1
So that he avoids being stuck in traffic, Fittler said he would remain in Penrith to watch the 5.30pm clash between the Rabbitohs and Eels and the 7.30pm game between the Roosters and Raiders at 7.30pm on Fox Sports.
“I won’t go home, I’ll just watch it on TV somewhere out at Penrith,’’ Fittler said.
“We (NSW coaching staff) had a catch-up on Thursday night and we feel like we’ve got all angles covered.
“There’s some opportunities there for players if there’s a good game by someone.
“We’ve mentioned a few names that haven’t been spoken about in the media, so it wouldn’t take much for someone to get an opportunity.’’
The Rabbitohs clash with the Eels will also be nerve-racking to watch for Fittler with a collection of nine NSW certainties and possibles set to feature.
South Sydney‘s Latrell Mitchell, Damien Cook and Cameron Murray only need to survive the match unscathed to be chosen for game one while the Eels’ Junior Paulo is also in the box-seat to be named in the Blues front-row.
Fellow Eels Ryan Matterson, Nathan Brown, Shaun Lane and Ferguson are also pushing for representative honours.
Fittler’s most-trusted advisor Greg Alexander will be on the Central Coast for the Roosters and Raiders clash in a commentary role for Fox Sports.
Expected to be named at five-eighth for NSW, the Raiders strike-weapon Jack Wighton must survive the clash along with NSW captain James Tedesco.
Last year‘s NSW winger Daniel Tupou is in danger of losing his jumper to preferred left-wing from Melbourne Josh Addo-Carr.
“I’ll talk to Freddy on the drive home back down from the Central Coast,’’ Alexander said.
“We’ll finalise the team then. Let’s hope it’s a short conversation.’’
Bennett: The one player NSW must pick
- Fatima Kdouh
NSW must pick Latrell Mitchell at centre if the Blues ever want to have the same impact as Queensland did when Greg Inglis wore Maroon, Wayne Bennett says.
Playing alongside the likes Cameron Smith, Cooper Cronk, Johnathan Thurston and Billy Slater, Inglis more often than not proved the game breaker in the Maroons’ 11-year domination of the Blues.
Inglis defected to the Maroons despite being born in Kempsey on NSW’s mid North Coast, in a move that only compounded the suffering of Blues fans.
Bennett, who coached Queensland to victory in last year’s series, believes Mitchell can turn the tables on Queensland despite being dropped after game one in 2019 and missing the 2020 series with injury.
“He‘d be a 100kg centre, it’s like Greg Inglis playing for NSW instead of Queensland,” Bennett said.
“That‘s what it is. He’ll be a pretty unstoppable bloke … he‘s made for (Origin) absolutely.
“He played most of his footy in the last two or three years at the Roosters in the centres.
“He has played No. 1 here but he could slot back in there easily. We‘re talking about Trbojevic playing there as well, he’s a wonderful player.
“You can‘t afford to leave those two guys out of any team, I don’t care who is picking it. You just find a place for them.”
While Bennett believes Mitchell’s selection should be a forgone conclusion, the South Sydney coach is more worried about five-eighth Cody Walker’s chances of retaining his spot ahead of livewire Panthers playmaker Jarome Luai and Jack Wighton, who has also struggled for form at Canberra.
“Cody hasn't been a regular in the NSW team for four or five years. He is one of the vulnerable players they can replace because they are not sure about their own personal because of other halfbacks and five-eighths around,” Bennett said.
“He has been a victim of the way the forwards have been playing. It‘s pretty hard for those guys [Walker] to do his best when the forwards aren’t doing they’re job.”
The Rabbitohs 56-12 thrashing at the hands of Penrith last weekend was hardly the perfect audition in front of selectors.
But tomorrow’s clash against Parramatta at Stadium Australia is a chance for the likes of Damien Cook to make one final claim for the no. 9 jumper.
Penrith’s Api Koroisau is said to have entered the selection equation but Bennett believes Cook, the incumbent, should keep his spot.
“He’s been a State of Origin hooker for three years. He’ll gave to fail in that domain before they think about not putting him in that team,” Bennett said.
Cook will go head-to-head with fellow Queensland Origin hopeful in Eels hooker Reed Mahoney. While Eels fullback Clint Gutherson is in line for Blues selection as an utility or 18th man duties.
Bennett also revealed he had been in contact with new Maroons coach.
While the mastercoach was coy about the nature of those conversations, Bennett insisted selectors must include hooker Harry Grant and playmaker Cameron Munster in the side even though both are racing the clock to overcome injury ahead of game one on June 9 at the MCG.
“If they can walk out on one leg, they will pick them,” Bennett said.
—Fatima Kdouh
PAYNE ON ORIGIN HORIZON AFTER INJURY UPDATE
—Peter Badel
NSW’s Origin campaign has received a huge boost with star Broncos prop Payne Haas holding out a glimmer of hope of being passed fit for the series opener.
Haas was considered no chance of playing in Origin I after the Broncos enforcer hobbled off with a knee injury in Brisbane’s 40-12 loss to Melbourne on Thursday night at Suncorp Stadium.
The 21-year-old sustained medial ligament damage and was initially expected to miss two to four weeks, a prognosis that would have ruled him out of Origin I on Wednesday week.
But scans on Friday have cleared Haas of a serious knee injury, with Broncos and Blues medicos sweating on his progress over the next 48 hours to determine if he will be available for NSW Origin selection.
Broncos performance chief Andrew Croll said Haas had undergone tests at Brisbane’s Clive Berghofer Centre Qscan facility.
“The scan showed a mild MCL injury which should settle down quickly,” said Croll.
“Payne will be reassessed over the weekend after the injury settles before making a final call on the next steps.”
It is understood Haas’ injury could settle within seven days, which would enable him to be selected by NSW coach Brad Fittler and undergo intensive rehabilitation while in camp with Blues high-performance staff.
As hoped just a minor MCL sprain for Payne Haas, Broncos expecting it to settle quickly. Most able to return to play within 1-3 weeks, with 12 days til Origin 1 still has a chance of being fit for selection
— NRL PHYSIO (@nrlphysio) May 28, 2021
While the odds are still stacked against Haas, the Blues are sure to give the 117kg front-rower every opportunity to spearhead NSW’s engine room as they look to avenge last year’s shock series loss to the Maroons.
Haas is desperate to atone for NSW’s series defeat and said in the wake of Brisbane’s heavy loss to the Storm he would be disappointed to miss the Origin series opener.
“I would be gutted to miss Origin I,” he said in the sheds after Brisbane’s 40-12 defeat at Suncorp.
“I really want to play Origin this year and I would be shattered to miss game one.
“They have told me two to four weeks, so we’ll see how it is and take it day by day after that.
“It happened in the first minute of the game, Brandon Smith (Storm hooker) came in and my knee got twisted and it was hurting the whole time.
“I thought it was a knock on the knee at first, but I just kept feeling it and thought I would come off to get it checked out.
“We will see what happens … fingers crossed I’m still available.”
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