The four Blues options to replace injured Latrell in Origin decider

A rugby-bound youngster who will be public enemy No.1 in Queensland for taking out Reece Walsh. A superstar who has played one game in two months due to a hamstring injury. A Newcastle wrecking ball. Or the Canterbury super boot.

NSW coach Michael Maguire has four centre options – Joseph Suaalii, Tom Trbojevic, Bradman Best and Matt Burton – after the news that Latrell Mitchell will miss the State of Origin decider in Brisbane on July 17 due to a foot injury.

The moment Latrell Mitchell suffered a foot injuryCredit: Nine

Mitchell suffered the injury after 20 minutes of South Sydney’s game against the Eels on Thursday night when he drifted across the field and was tackled by Dylan Brown. He told Souths officials his foot was sore at half-time, but did not receive a painkiller and was able to finish the game, including scoring a try and kicking two goals.

Mitchell was awaiting a second set of scans on Saturday. There is no break, but there are fears he may have suffered a Lisfranc injury, which would end his season – a huge blow for the Blues and South Sydney, who have won five in a row to get themselves within a win of the top eight.

Interim Souths coach Ben Hornby hailed Mitchell’s toughness.

“It was a huge effort to go out there in the second half knowing what we know now,” he said on Saturday.

Latrell Mitchell goes down injured on Thursday night.Credit: NRL Photos

Mitchell was a powerhouse on the left edge in Origin II in Melbourne, and rattled the Maroons with his intimidation and physicality.

Maguire was ready to name an unchanged side on Sunday night, but must now settle on a new centre for Origin III.

Suaalii was banned for four matches for knocking out Walsh in the first Origin game, but that suspension ends on Sunday afternoon when the Sydney Roosters play St George Illawarra.

Maguire made a point of keeping Suaalii around the group before the second game, and even used him to mimic Walsh at fullback during an opposed session in the Blue Mountains.

The 20-year-old was verbally abused by senior Maroons officials when sent off in Sydney, and is sure to receive a frosty reception at Suncorp Stadium if selected.

Suaalii will take up a deal with Rugby Australia at the end of the year, but would love to bow out of the game with a better Origin memory.

Newcastle’s Best was injured and unavailable for selection at the start of the Origin series, but was excellent on debut last year, and last weekend ran for more than 300 metres – largely because of two length-of-the-field tries – against Parramatta.

Burton has a left-edge combination with Jarome Luai and Brian To’o from their days at Penrith, but the wildcard is Trbojevic.

The Sea Eagles star was set to return from a two-month lay-off against the Cowboys on Saturday night in the centres.

An Origin recall was the last thing on his mind when he spoke to this masthead last week, but provided he comes through his return game, no other centre has the big-game experience of “Turbo”. He will have the extra incentive of playing in a NSW side captained by his older brother, Jake.

There has been a lot of talk about Jake’s inclusion after he played just 29 minutes in game one, then 33 minutes in the second game.

“If Jake plays 29 minutes, 33 minutes or only five minutes, does it matter? Nobody is judging him on how many minutes he plays,” Maguire said.

“It’s what Jake does for this team off the field; he galvanises the group. We love Jake.

“The first game we couldn’t get him back on because we had to keep moving blokes to an edge because of the [Suaalii] send off.

“And in the second game, Payne Haas got through a lot longer than we thought. The boys weren’t tired because we had so much ball. We only used two interchanges in the first half when we normally use three.

“Jake is our glue. Forget how many minutes he plays. Jake is an excellent influence. We need Jake in our team.”

Meanwhile, the pressure is starting to mount north of the border with the Maroons opting to cancel their open media session on Tuesday.

In a clear sign coach Billy Slater is feeling the pressure of potentially losing his first series in charge, the Queensland players will scale back their press commitments in a bid to make sure they start the week well at training.

Maroons legend Gorden Tallis suggested during the week Slater should send Josh Papalii an SOS, even though he is 32 and retired from rep football, but also a player who has never been stood over by NSW.

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