Brad Fittler set to roll the dice on Origin rookie for must-win Game II

Brad Fittler is ready to pull out all the stops to save his career as NSW coach by throwing an Origin rookie in for Game II.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - JUNE 13: Reece Robson of the Blues poses during a New South Wales Blues State of Origin media opportunity at Crowne Plaza Coogee on June 13, 2023 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Jason McCawley/Getty Images)

Under-fire Blues coach Brad Fittler is set to take a huge risk in order to save both the series and his career as New South Wales coach by throwing Origin rookie Reece Robson into his starting side for Game II at Suncorp Stadium.

Origin teams for the second match in the series were named earlier in the week with Robson on the bench replacing Nicho Hynes as the Blues look towards a two-hooker model to mirror their Maroon counterparts.

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South Sydney’s Damien Cook was named at number nine after Api Koroisau went down with a broken jaw in Wests Tigers’ loss against Gold Coast.

Despite this however, the rumblings that Robson could in fact start in his Origin debut are getting louder and louder.

Wide World of Sports report that Fittler has been training behind closed doors with Robson in the starting XIII with Cook on the bench, and NSW selector Greg Alexander flagged it as a possibility as well earlier in the week.

Robson is set to make his Origin debut. Picture: Adam Yip

“Yes, there is a chance of that,” Alexander told News Corp when asked if Robson could start.

“Reece’s defence is one of the aspects of his game that sees him in the side, apart from his great service out of dummy-half and his ability to run the ball.

“With Api (Koroisau) out (with a broken jaw), we decided to go with two hookers and when we decided to go with two hookers, we decided that would be best for the team.

“We didn’t have room for Nicho on the bench.

“It sounds brutal but it’s as simple as that.

“Reece is a great defender so there is a chance that he could start.”

Robson hails from Murwillumbah in the New South Wales Northern Rivers, having played his junior football at the Murwillumbah Colts.

Robson’s famed toughness and durability will be on full display at Lang Park next week, with the North Queensland rake having played every single minute of football for the Cowboys this season.

Robson has been a machine for North Queensland this season. (Photo by Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images)

Robson’s junior coaches say that he has always had that toughness in him, and was a natural number nine.

“He was very hard. He wasn’t a real big kid, but very hard,” said Tim Gilliland, who coached Robson from under-9s to under-13s.

“I could run full steam and he’d bring you down as a 10-year-old kid – and I was a front rower,” Gilliland told News Corp.

“He was always going to be a hooker. He was a natural hooker – that was the only place he wanted to play.

“He loved tackling, just loved it, being in and around the ruck.”