The Blues face a huge selection dilemma surrounding Tom Trbojevic amid suggestions he is fighting for a spot with Josh Addo-Carr and Stephen Crichton in the NSW backline.
At his best Trbojevic would be one of the first Blues players picked, but his injury struggles have hampered his form and fitness to start the year, so he remains a risk for Brad Fittler ahead of Origin I.
With Campbell Graham firming for a Blues debut, that leaves Trbojevic fighting with Addo-Carr and Crichton for the final spot in the NSW backline.
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Paul Kent believes Josh Addo-Carr may miss out again even if he plays well for the Bulldogs in his return from an ankle injury.
“I think he should be picked, but I don’t think he will be picked,” Kent said of Addo-Carr.
“I think he should be there, but I’m just not 100 per cent sure he will be.
“I think he should be picked no matter how well he plays the next few weeks. I think he will play well because he always plays well. He is a consistent player.”
Paul Crawley believes Addo-Carr’s chances have been boosted by the struggles of two Roosters’ Blues contenders.
“He should have been there last year,” Crawley said.
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“He has got two games to impress. What is also on his side is there is a couple of options who have fallen by the way side in Daniel Tupou and Joseph Suaalii at present.
“It kind of opens the door. If he goes well he is a lock.”
Dave Riccio believes Addo-Carr has a great chance to impress in the next fortnight, but Panthers centre Stephen Crichton may be ahead of him in the pecking order.
“The Bulldogs play the Warriors and the Titans, so with great respect to those two teams they are not benchmark opposition,” Riccio said.
“It will give the Foxx the opportunity to really show Freddy what he has got.
“I thought he should have been there last year, but the key point is you would think Brian To’o is on one wing. It really is just that one wing spot up for grabs.
“Daniel Tupou is not in the equation because he has a hamstring problem. Maybe Stephen Crichton is the other option.
“I don’t think he (Addo-Carr) will get picked. I think Crichton puts himself ahead of Foxx at this point in time.”
Crawley believes the final wing spot could be impacted by Trbojevic’s availability or lack there of at centre.
“I would pick him,” Crawley said.
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“But the other conundrum for NSW is the centre options because if Turbo does show something in the next two weeks that’s all he has to do to put his hand up to play.
“If he shows some fine form, which unfortunately we haven’t seen so far, does that then mean Campbell Graham who played for the Kangaroos on the wing, moves to the wing?”
Braith Anasta believes the selectors will struggle to leave Graham out given his form for Souths.
“It is a tough decision for Freddy to make because everyone has got Campbell in the team right now,” Anasta said.
“But if they do go with Addo-Carr and Turbo makes it then where does Campbell Graham fit in?”
Kent believes the time has come for the Blues’ selectors to make a call on Trbojevic’s fitness.
“I don’t think they will though,” Kent said.
“I think Campbell Graham will be one of the two positions and it will probably depend on how Trbojevic shapes up the next couple of weeks.
“I think it is fast approaching that time where NSW selectors are going to have to make a decision based on the Trbojevic we are seeing at the moment.
“Because even though he has had his issues we are not seeing improvement with his health each week.
“His game is still sitting at a level and it is remaining there, so it is going to be a choice at some point here where Brad Fittler and Greg Alexander say, OK what we see out of Trbojevic is enough or it is not enough.”
Crawley questioned whether Trbojevic’s availability is down to the player or whether his injuries have pushed his selection out of his hands.
“It is not enough when you watch this vision against the Broncos,” Crawley said.
“He throws the ball and Cobbo latches onto it and Tom gives chase. The old Tom hunts him down.
“This Tom is losing a yard or two over 10 or 20 metres. He’s nowhere near.
“Kenty, you sat here a month ago and said, it is an honest conversation. Do you still stand by it being an honest conversation? Or has it gone past that?”
“I actually think the honest conversation will be Tom saying, I am not up for it right now,” Kent replied.
“Because I don’t think he trusts his hamstring. I think he is running within himself because he still doesn’t trust the hamstring.
“He has been doing it all year and it has been an issue all year and I think if he is honest with himself at some point he will have that conversation.”
Riccio believes Trbojevic has to show big improvements on Sunday against the Sharks or run out of time to prove himself for Origin I.
“I firmly believe this Sunday is D-Day for Tom Trbojevic because the Origin team is chosen Sunday week,” Riccio said.
“Tom needs to blow the lights out this Sunday because Freddy is not going to wait for the last game mind you, Manly vs Raiders is the last game of next Sunday, for Tom to prove he is ready for Origin. The team is pretty much picked by then.”
Making the selection so hard according to Anasta is the fact that Trbojevic has always dominated at Origin level in the past.
“It is a hard one because he has played so well at Origin level,” Anasta said.
“He has pretty much carried a few of those games. He has dominated.
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“You talk about loyalty and picking and sticking. How much of a difference is there between where he is now and where he was then?
“It is a big difference, but they need to work out how big that is and then how much of a risk that is. It is a tough decision.”
Kent believes the Blues selectors will ask Trbojevic if he is capable of stepping up and delivering more than he has for Manly in 2023 to date.
“The conversation they will have with him is can you get there?” Kent said.
“We don’t want a club performance out of you. We want an Origin performance out of you. Can you bring that?
“The way it is heading it is a conversation that it certainly won’t be game one.”
Crawley believes time is running out for Trbojevic to prove he can reach his previous level.
“When Tom is at his best he plays with spiders on him, they can’t get near him,” Crawley said.
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“At the moment if you watched last week he tried his guts out. He had 15 runs for 147 metres. He did his absolute best, but unfortunately at the moment that best is nowhere near his best.”
Riccio questioned if the fact Trbojevic is playing centre for the Blues and not fullback could work in his favour.
“The only catch is whether fullback and centre are two different positions as far as what we are looking for from Tom,” Riccio said.
“The difference is the extended running game. Over the first 10 to 15 metres Tom is in the fight.
“But it is when he has to chase someone down that he hasn’t got that mentality to let loose.
“At centre does he really need to do that?”
However, Crawley believes Trbojevic played like a second fullback in Origin and that’s what made him so dominant.
“Tom’s Origin performances weren’t Tom necessarily staying in the centres,” Crawley said.
“It was Tom dominating the field and roaming. Some of the tries he scored was like him being a second fullback. That’s what made him so great.”
