State of Origin: Injuries force NSW Blues to stack squad with bolters
A host of untimely injuries will force NSW Blues coach Brad Fittler to put his faith in a stack of potential debutants when he names his squad on Sunday, while several incumbents are facing the axe.
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The Origin news will be mixed for St George Illawarra with Zac Lomax and Cameron McInnes on the verge of shock NSW selection but some of the club’s high-profile teammates struggling to make the cut.
The Sunday Telegraph has learned the Blues brain trust were on Saturday night deliberating if they should pick Lomax following injuries to star outside backs. Lomax will have 80 minutes to impress when the Dragons play Melbourne on Sunday.
NSW is considering its options with Latrell Mitchell and Kotoni Staggs out of the Origin series and question marks regarding Tom Trbojevic’s fitness heading into the opener on November 4.
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The Blues will name a train-on squad on Sunday from the eight teams not involved in the finals. Staggs would have been picked in the train-on squad had it not been for injury.
While Lomax is shaping as a potential inclusion, the news will not be as good for Dragons teammates Paul Vaughan and Tariq Sims.
Vaughan – an incumbent Kangaroos player – has played the past six Origin games but is expected to be overlooked given his lack of recent football.
Vaughan missed two games for breaching the game’s biosecurity protocols and was then suspended for two weeks on his return.
Sims, who has played one Origin in each of the past two series, has had a horrid year with injury playing just eight games.
McInnes is expected to be rewarded for his strong efforts, serving as a potential dummy-half option should Damien Cook or Api Koroisau get injured during the finals.
The Trbojevic brothers will be named despite Tom’s fitness.
Manly coach Des Hasler said “time is going to tell” regarding Trbojevic’s availability after he injured his shoulder when he again failed to complete a match in his comeback game from a hamstring lay-off last week.
“It’ll depend how he comes up after his rehab,” Hasler said. “Footy players are footy players, Origin is Origin.
“I would never ask anyone not to play Origin. Put yourself in his position. It can be anywhere from five to six weeks. It’s also how he responds to it, it’s not easy.
“He hasn’t been able to play a lot of games so there’s a lot of consideration to go into that. But they’ve got time, so we’ll just have to watch that space.”
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Incumbents Trbojevic and Jack Wighton are the preferred starting centre options but the Blues will consider include Lomax, Campbell Graham, Stephen Crichton and Nick Cotric.
Brisbane’s Payne Haas will be named while Panthers backrower Liam Martin and Wests Tigers winger David Nofoaluma is also being considered.