Personally, I couldn’t give two hoots who wears the NSW number one jumper in the first State of Origin game at Sydney’s Accor Stadium on June 5.
Media talk and speculation south of the border is that new coach Michael Maguire could make some personnel changes, with long-serving Blues and Australian fullback James Tedesco being one of them.
When a new coach takes over, sometimes he makes changes.
Maguire is his own man. He thinks outside the box and ultimately will make his own decisions on the players he thinks can beat Queensland.
But to drop the NSW and current Australian captain would be a massive call for him to make in his first year with the reins.
Maguire has stepped into some big boots and while he’ll take advice from others of whom he values their opinions, the final decision will be his and his alone.
Tedesco is proven in the Origin arena. He is strong and a leader and has been a consistent performer for a long time.
I would likely expect him to be named for Origin 1, but if he has a mediocre game, then guys like Tom Trbojevic and Dylan Edwards, who has been a rock for the Panthers for the past three years, will be banging on the Origin door.
Edwards doesn’t get enough mentions when it comes to Origin. He has hardly made a mistake in the past two years and he has a great understanding with Nathan Cleary and former Penrith teammate Api Koroisau in the spine.
The only question I can see is can he perform at the same level without all his Penrith mates around him.
And don’t leave out someone like North Queensland’s Scott Drinkwater, who is playing some great football for the Cowboys.
Drinkwater comes up with some special plays every game and he keeps getting better and better.
He needs to make sure he is ready for his big break, because opportunities can come along through injury and suspensions.
Closer to home I am loving watching Sam Walker’s development over. the past two seasons.
There is no bullshit, no arrogance about Sam, he just goes out and does his stuff.
The kid is a real talent.
I can see some similarities between Sam and a young Allan Langer.
There were plenty of questions asked about Alf: “is he big enough, can he tackle, will he be up to it?”.
Sam is a little similar in body shape to Alf, and those same questions are being asked of him.
But from what I’ve seen he has answered them all and I love watching him play.
People have been trying to tell him to play a structured game, but that’s not his game.
We all have different games and you can’t be critical if that’s his game.
He is where he is because of the way he likes to play.
Wayne Bennett never tried to change Allan Langer.
Finally, if weekend reports are true about Latrell Mitchel having doubts about playing in the first Origin game, it’s a problem Maguire needs to deal with quickly.
Mitchell says he owes some loyalty to his club Souths and is not in the right “head space” to play Origin.
But with the game in Sydney, there’s no better way to get a player like Latrell to lift and find his best form than handing him an Origin jumper.
However, if he does have doubts in his mind, then he needs to have a heart-to-heart with the NSW coach and explain to him what’s going on in his head.
