It’s been one of the most competitive starts to a season in NRL history, which means the fights for State of Origin jerseys are already heating up.
New South Wales coach Brad Fittler and his Queensland counterpart Billy Slater will name their squads for game one in just over seven weeks time.
Debate has begun over several positions and based on the first four rounds, several players are in line to lose their spots.
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Foxsports.com.au has put together a form guide for the contenders in each position and then predicted who will wear the prestigious jerseys in 2023.
Here is the way-too-early NSW Blues side ahead of the series opener in Adelaide on May 31.
FULLBACK
Incumbent: James Tedesco
Predicted 2023: James Tedesco
Analysis: Roosters captain James Tedesco will wear the Blues No. 1 jersey for the eighth straight year, but should injury strike the Blues have ready-made replacements in Sea Eagles superstar Tom Trbojevic and Rabbitohs main man Latrell Mitchell. Eels skipper Clint Gutherson can count himself unlucky to be playing in a golden era of NSW fullbacks.
WINGERS
Incumbents: Brian To’o and Daniel Tupou
Predicted 2023 wingers: Brian To’o and Josh Addo-Carr
Analysis: Fittler made one of the most contentious calls of his coaching career when he dropped Josh Addo-Carr after the speedster joined the Bulldogs. The Foxx vowed to let his football do the talking and earn a spot in the Kangaroos’ World Cup squad. Addo-Carr did just that and finished as the tournament’s top try scorer. He started in the final as Australia beat Samoa to lift the trophy. Roosters winger Daniel Tupou turns 32 just before Game II this year and has likely played his last game for NSW, with Addo-Carr to come back in and take his place. Brian To’o will retain his spot following back-to-back premierships with the Panthers and World Cup final appearance for Samoa. There’s been debate over whether Joseph Suaalii should be considered after signing with Rugby Australia from 2025, but the Roosters outside back sit down the pecking order regardless and would have only made the squad, like he did last year, as a development player. That spot will almost certainly now go to another young gun who will be around for years to come, like Bulldogs flyer Jacob Kiraz who is sitting second on the Dally M Leaderboard.
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CENTRES
Incumbents: Matt Burton and Stephen Crichton (Game II and III) / Jack Wighton and Kotoni Staggs (Game I)
Predicted 2023 centres: Tom Trbojevic and Latrell Mitchell
Analysis: This was Fittler’s least stable position in 2022 because superstars Tom Trbojevic and Latrell Mitchell both missed the series through injury. The Blues went with 2020 Dally M Medal winner Jack Wighton and Broncos wrecking ball Kotoni Staggs in Game I, but a shock loss saw Matt Burton and Stephen Crichton play Games II and III. All four will be fighting for a bench spot in 2023 with Trbojevic and Mitchell walk-up starts, almost irrespective of their club form. Rabbitohs gun Campbell Graham is another victim of the Blues’ incredible depth of outside backs.
FIVE-EIGHTH
Incumbent: Jarome Luai
Predicted 2023 five-eighth: Nicho Hynes
Analysis: Jarome Luai has partnered Panthers teammate Nathan Cleary in the NSW halves for the past two years, but his days keeping Nicho Hynes out of the side are numbered.
Luai’s form to start 2023 has been patchy, while reigning Dally M Medal winner Hynes played his first game of the season last weekend and was immediately at his scintillating best.
Hynes plays halfback for the Sharks but he was a utility in Melbourne and nobody will question his ability to find his feet wearing a different number after his heroics last year.
Raiders star Jack Wighton and Bulldogs gun Matt Burton are both genuine No. 6s, but they’ll more likely be battling each other for a spot on the bench.
HALFBACK
Incumbent: Nathan Cleary
Predicted 2023 halfback: Nathan Cleary
Analysis: The best player in the NRL will be the Blues second player picked after skipper James Tedesco.
LOCK
Incumbent: Isaah Yeo
Predicted 2023 lock: Isaah Yeo
Analysis: The best forward in the NRL will be the Blues third player picked after James Tedesco and Nathan Cleary.
Is Wighton a $1M player? | 02:27
SECOND ROWERS
Incumbents: Liam Martin / Cameron Murray (Game I and II) / Tariq Sims (Game I)
Predicted 2023: Cameron Murray and Liam Martin
Analysis: It’s stunning to think that less than 12 months ago that Tariq Sims was picked to start ahead of Cameron Murray in the series opener. NSW lost that game and Fittler swung the axe, with Sims one of several players not to feature again in the series. Panthers workhorse Liam Martin played in the Kangaroos’ triumphant World Cup final and he’ll also start for the Blues. Martin packed down for Australia alongside Roosters gun Angus Crichton, but the latter isn’t expected to feature for the Blues this year as he continues his battle with bipolar disorder which has kept him sidelined for months. Rabbitohs captain Cameron Murray, who plays lock for his club, will start alongside Martin. Eels enforcer Ryan Matterson earned a spot on the bench in Game I but his season has only just begun after controversially taking a three-game ban over a $4000 fine. Rabbitohs star Keaon Koloamatangi and Eels gun Shaun Lane both have the ability to play Origin, but it would take injuries for them to earn debuts in 2023.
HOOKER
Incumbent: Damien Cook (Game I and II) Api Koroisau (Game III)
Predicted 2023 hooker: Damien Cook
Analysis: Three doesn’t go into two and it will be Cowboys hooker Reece Robson who will be squeezed out – for now. Souths veteran Damien Cook started the first two games last year with Panthers-turned-Tigers hooker Api Koroisau on the bench, before they switched roles in the series decider which Queensland won. Fittler will revert back to the status quo, but a loss in Game I could see Robson earn a call-up.
PROPS
Incumbents: Payne Haas Game I and II) / Junior Paulo (Game II and III) / Jake Trbojevic (Game II and III) Reagan Campbell-Gillard (Game I)
Predicted 2023: Payne Haas and Jake Trbojevic
Analysis: Payne Haas has a mortgage on the No. 8 jersey but who packs down in the front row with him remains a tight contest. It’ll come down to the duo who started in the series decider last year with Haas injured – Junior Paulo and Jake Trbojevic. Paulo led the Eels to their first grand final in 13 years last season, but Trbojevic has been a driving force behind the Sea Eagles’ stellar start to 2023. The pair packed down against each other in the World Cup final, with Trbojevic’s Kangaroos beating Paulo’s brave Samoan side. Pattamatta enforcer Reagan Campbell-Gillard was controversially axed after Game I last year but he’s enjoyed a solid start to 2023 and should earn a spot on the bench. Cowboys veteran Jordan McLean was cruelly denied his Blues debut after an injury just days before Game III last year which saw Jacob Saifiti earn a shock call-up, but neither are expected to feature in 2023.
BENCH: Api Koroisau, Junior Paulo, Reagan Campbell-Gillard, Jack Wighton
NSW Blues predicted side:
1. James Tedesco
2. Brian To’o
3. Latrell Mitchell
4. Tom Trbojevic
5. Josh Addo-Carr
6. Nicho Hynes
7. Nathan Cleary
8. Payne Haas
9. Damien Cook
10. Jake Trbojevic
11. Cameron Murray
12. Liam Martin
13. Isaah Yeo
14. Api Koroisau
15. Junior Paulo
16. Reagan Campbell-Gillard
17. Jack Wighton
2022 players predicted to miss out in 2023: Jarome Luai, Matt Burton, Stephen Crichton, Daniel Tupou, Tariq Sims, Kotoni Staggs, Ryan Matterson, Jacob Saifiti, Siosifa Talakai and Angus Crichton.
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