Laurie Daley’s first stint as New South Wales coach was marked by a relentless loyalty. Following the announcement of the Blues team for the 2025 series, it appears that conservatism has carried over to his return to the New South Wales hot seat, with 16 players from last year’s turnout named for the opening game and just a single debutant.
Mitchell Moses edged out Jarome Luai for the No 6 jersey with Latrell Mitchell named in the centres and Dylan Edwards holding off a strong challenge from former Blues skipper James Tedesco to retain the fullback jersey. Tom Trbojevic’s absence was a minor surprise but he is clearly a long way from being fully fit, and Daley said the Manly star will return when he returns to full health.
While there were few surprises with Daley’s backline selections, his forward rotations and bench, particularly the decision to leave out form prop Terrell May, are perplexing. May has been a revelation for the Tigers this season, not only getting through a mountain of work in big minutes but offering genuine impact. With Payne Haas in doubt, passing on May seems unfathomable.
Few would argue that May is both in better form and is a better fit than the inconsistent Spencer Leniu and bolter debutant Max King. Leniu lost no admirers when getting an Origin call-up last year but has topped 100m just twice this year, has only two offloads and is averaging under three tackle breaks per game. King has been tireless for the Bulldogs but is more workhorse than thoroughbred. May has a single game under 140m and is averaging nearly four tackle breaks per game and three offloads a game.
The decision to name Hudson Young on the bench is also curious, considering the similarity of Young and fellow 80-minute edge Liam Martin. Both are tremendous players who run hard and bring aggression but neither seems overly suited to a bench role. Young had almost no impact off the bench in Game 1 last year, running for just 13 metres and making 11 tackles in limited time. Selecting Young over more impactful players like Haumole Olakau’atu and Keaon Koloamatangi does not make a lot of sense.
There has been much talk that Young is there to cover for an outside back if required, but that would be a sharp turn from previous matches. Nicho Hynes was deployed when Trbojevic went down two years ago and when Trbojevic was injured again in the second game, Damien Cook played the match out at left centre.
The uber-conservative Daley is unlikely to take the kamikaze approach Brad Fittler did but Young is hardly a seamless fit to fill an outside back role if needed – and given the recent history of outside backs going down and the fuzziness around the role Young will offer from the bench, it is surprising that a genuine impact back was ignored.
Ryan Papenhuyzen has been in irresistible form and is capable of filling any backline position while Matt Burton can again consider himself unlucky to miss out. Given how often the lack of an outside back on the bench has cost the Blues in the past, it seems an unnecessary risk to run, only enhanced by the fact Brian To’o and Zac Lomax are only recently back from injury, while Stephen Crichton is carrying a groin injury.
Billy Slater was thrown some late curveballs with his Queensland team with Tom Gilbert, Selwyn Cobbo and Murray Taulagi all suffering injuries over the weekend that ruled them out of calculations for the series opener. Gilbert and Cobbo are unlikely to be available for the remainder of the series.
Slater has two series wins from his three in charge and has been proven right more often than not with his calculated risks. Naming 10-game centre Robert Toia to debut though might be his biggest punt. While the Roosters centre is an undeniable talent, he faces a monumental task shutting down Latrell Mitchell. Toia has been defensively sound in his short top grade career though and does seem less of a risk than putting in an SOS to a veteran like Dane Gagai.
Beau Fermor and Trent Loiero have both also been named to debut off the bench with Fermor, in particular, enjoying a career year. He is built to play for the Maroons, all muscle and bone and heart.
The biggest concern for the Maroons is the health of star forward Patrick Carrigan. The Broncos prop has a concern over a facial injury and will need to be cleared by medical staff. Carrigan is virtually irreplaceable so Slater will likely give him every chance to prove his fitness.
Once again much of the game and the series will be decided at the selection table. And once again it is advantage Slater and Queensland heading into the series.
