NSW coach Laurie Daley joins The Back Page panel to discuss his frontrunners for the Blues' no. 6 position.
Deja vu? Mitchell Pearce breaks down after game three last year. Source: News Limited
OPINION: IT'S officially panic stations for Laurie Daley and the NSW Blues.
Less than a month until game one on May 28, and nine players are currently out with injury.
Count them. Trent Merrin (thumb), Josh Dugan (ankle), Glenn Stewart (ankle), James Maloney (shoulder), Jarryd Hayne (shoulder), Todd Carney (hamstring), Luke Lewis (shoulder), Robbie Farah (dislocated elbow) and Michael Jennings (ankle) are all in doubt.
With that and the fact two of the three games are at Suncorp this year, we might as well just say it now: Queensland will make it nine series wins in a row.
What does Daley do? Stick to his guns and keep the likes of the much maligned Mitchell Pearce at No.7, or start experimenting?
It's time to give Adam Reynolds a shot in the No. 7. Source: News Corp Australia
Yes, NSW has fallen into this trap before. Too fickle. Changes from game to game, while the core of the Queensland side has remained the same for years.
But this is different. It's desperate. And the Blues need to do something drastic.
One thing we know Daley will do right is pick a specialist No.6, rather than throwing key man Greg Bird in there out of position.
"Greg (Bird) is established now in the backrow," Daley said.
"I don't want to weaken one position to strengthen another.
"We've got the right player or players to play in the six jersey. We'll get a good indication over the next couple of weeks of who really wants to play there."
Both Maloney and the likely back-up Carney are longshots to take the field, so Josh Reynolds leads the next line of contenders, followed by Jarrod Mullen.
But what about the seven? Pearce has played in 12 Origin games now. It's proven that he is not the answer.
Why not give Adam Reynolds his chance?
And guys like Aiden Tolman and Shaun Fensom - not "fashionable" forwards, but effective.
Aiden Tolman is not a "fashionable" forward, but he's effective. Source: News Corp Australia
For anyone who thinks that's too risky, just remember there is talk of bringing Tony Williams back into the mix. That's a risk.
Matty Johns was adamant last week, saying the Blues would definitely break Queensland's streak this year.
"It's been a long time coming but NSW will win this year's Origin series. There's no doubt about it," Johns said on Triple M.
"All we've got to do is win that first game in Queensland. Go up there and catch them cold in that first game and history has shown we can do that.
"Then we return to NSW to wrap up the series."
It won't be quite that simple.
Should the Blues bite the bullet and experiment with new blood, or stick to their guns? Send your tweets to @cam_tomarchio or continue the discussion in the comments below
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