TEST ORIGIN STORY - NSW State of Origin coach Ricky Stuart says he will have to take risks in his team selection

TEST ORIGIN STORY - NSW coach Ricky Stuart admits he'll have to take risks at the selection table if the Blues are to end Queensland's State of Origin dominance.

Michael Jennings

TEST ORIGIN STORY - NSW coach Ricky Stuart admits he'll have to take risks at the selection table if the Blues are to end Queensland's State of Origin dominance.

As he weighs up the game-one candidacy of a number of out-of-form stars - including Michael Jennings, who has been dropped from first grade - Stuart says he can't afford to take the easy option.

"If I make the easy decisions and the easy options in regard to this team, we won't win," Stuart said.

"I have to take risks. We have to go in there to score points to beat Queensland - you can't be picking a team to compete with Queensland.

"I don't want to compete. I believe we have to pick a football team we believe we can win with."

Critics of recent NSW teams claim the Blues have been too defensive in the approach to beating Queensland, with plans to contain the Maroons juggernaut backfiring to the tune of six straight series losses.

Whether this NSW team includes Jennings or Parramatta fullback Jarryd Hayne - who has also struggled to find any consistent form in 2012 - is one of the most hotly debated selection topics ahead of Sunday's naming of the side for the May 23 opener.

That only intensified with Jennings' dumping to the NSW Cup this weekend, with Panthers coach Ivan Cleary less than impressed with his star centre's recent performances.

"It's a huge concern and a messy situation, the Jennings-Penrith situation," Stuart admitted. "They've had to make a decision on what they think's best for the club and I don't buy into that. I don't know the background of it all.

"I just know that they've made a decision and I've got to run with that."

While he hadn't spoken to anyone at the Panthers since Jennings' demotion, Stuart said: "I've been talking to Gus (Panthers general manager Phil Gould) a bit over the last week. I knew there were dramas."

But pressed on whether Jennings remained in the selection picture, Stuart said: "You put a coach's hat on - if you think a player can perform and he hasn't been performing at club level and you think he can help you win, what would you do?"

Pick your NSW State of Origin side and win

What to do with Hayne - who is in consideration for a berth at fullback, wing or centre - and Jennings are just two of a handful of questions Stuart is still wrestling with. But he refused to divulge just how many spots remained up for grabs with the side to be named on Sunday.

The make-up of the front row and whether to include a traditional half/hooker utility on the bench is also unclear; Stuart is reticent to pencil in too many names for fear of having more players pull out. Already he has had to scratch Newcastle duo Kurt Gidley and Danny Buderus.

"It's just how it is with representative football - you name your team today and that 17 won't be the same 17 on the Sunday night that you're naming - it's just the nature of the beast."

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