Daley has shot at long-term Origin stability with Blues

Perth Now

5 hours ago

Laurie Daley has the chance to lead NSW through a period of near unprecedented stability, with the NRL schedule providing the biggest headache for Blues selectors.
Daley will announce his side for State of Origin II in Perth on Monday night, after the final game of the round between Canterbury and Parramatta.
The main question for NSW selectors is how to replace Mitchell Barnett, the Warriors prop who laid the foundation for the Blues in game one, following his ruptured ACL.
Stefano Utoikamanu remains the most likely option, after acting as back up for Payne Haas and his problematic quad ahead of the series opener.
Keaon Koloamatangi is the other candidate, considered a more like-for-like option after being the form prop of the NRL at South Sydney for the past month.
Regardless, Daley will have the luxury of calling in a player with Origin experience, with both Utoikamanu and Koloamatangi debuting for NSW in 2023.
The Blues are expected to name an otherwise unchanged side for Origin II, unless other players go down in the final matches of round 14.
That will mean Daley picked just one debutant across the first two matches of a series, with Max King the sole rookie for game one in Brisbane.
NSW have only once gone through the first two games of a series with one or less debutants, in 1991 when there were still mass changes across the team.
This situation is already in direct contrast to last year, when the Blues axed four players and Joseph Aukuso-Suaalii was suspended after their series-opening loss.
Queensland are also in a state of flux, with Daly Cherry-Evans, the Maroons' captain and most experienced player in their squad, set to be dropped.
Daley is, by his nature, a loyal selector.
In his last stint as NSW coach he routinely opted against mass changes, and stuck with the same 17 for his entire last series in 2017.
Playing into his hands this time is he has walked back into a team set up for success, after they roared back to life to win last year's series-decider in Brisbane.
The age of the Blues' squad also gives Daley a chance to set up for long-term stability, with Barnett the oldest player in the game-one squad at age 31.
Isaah Yeo and Mitch Moses are the only other members to have celebrated their 30th birthday.
The main immediate hurdle to all of that for Daley is the NRL's round-14 schedule.
Four Blues players are slated to feature for the Bulldogs and Eels, with Stephen Crichton, Zac Lomax, Moses and King to all feature.
Another seven of Daley's players from the series-opening win at Suncorp Stadium were also playing on Sunday afternoon.