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Opinion
If returning coach Laurie Daley is going to punt Jake Trbojevic as skipper or from the Blues team altogether, he should get it over and done with now, rather than wait until the team is announced.
Trbojevic is as loyal as they come and if he is to get the chop, he will take it like the brutally honest veteran that he is, knowing he is no longer in the best five or six middle forwards in NSW.
Daley has mentioned a couple of times in media interviews over the past few weeks that he is no guarantee to get a start when he announces his squad next Sunday for game one on May 28th in Brisbane.
The 31-year-old Sea Eagle has looked off the pace at times while on club duty this season, and the fact that he has been out for the past three weeks due to a combination of a concussion and a bye means he effectively has this Sunday’s Brookvale encounter against the Sharks and next Saturday’s trip north to face the Cowboys to convince Daley that he is worth keeping around.
Based on statistics and form, there is no way he should be selected.
Isaaah Yeo – the likely captain if Trbojevic is dumped, Payne Haas and Terrell May should be the starting trio of middle forwards for the Blues in game one, with Spencer Leniu, after his impressive first series in sky-blue last year, a near certainty for a bench position and Connor Watson set to resume his role as utility on the interchange.
That leaves just two more spots for back-up forwards, and Canberra’s Hudson Young has been one of the most damaging players in the NRL so he has to be in as cover for starting second-rowers Liam Martin and Angus Crichton.
That leaves Trbojevic fighting for the last position against the likes of his Manly teammate Haumole Olakaua’tu, South Sydney’s Keaon Koloamatangi, Warriors warhorse Mitch Barnett and Storm prop Stefano Utoikamanu.
Although the Melbourne front-rower should have cruelled any selection hope he had last weekend with his dopey lapses of discipline costing his team victory in their extra-time loss to Canberra.
| Minutes | Run metres | Post-contact | Tackle breaks | Tackles | |
| Payne Haas | 61.78 | 183 | 79.2 | 6.2 | 32.89 |
| Terrell May | 72.67 | 188 | 54.1 | 3.2 | 39.11 |
| Spencer Leniu | 33.22 | 86 | 32.9 | 2.8 | 21 |
| Jake Trbojevic | 60.29 | 63.29 | 16.86 | 0 | 31.43 |
| Isaah Yeo | 79.67 | 148.89 | 47.2 | 1 | 41 |
| Mitchell Barnett | 54.88 | 132.63 | 54.1 | 1.4 | 35 |
| Stefano Utoikamanu | 42.75 | 103.2 | 41.9 | 3.6 | 22.63 |
| Tino Fa’asuamaleaui | 61.43 | 152.29 | 59.8 | 3.6 | 34.14 |
| Patrick Carrigan | 66.11 | 182 | 60.2 | 1.1 | 34.89 |
| Tom Gilbert | 64.63 | 92.63 | 32.5 | 0.5 | 41.5 |
| Reuben Cotter | 55.43 | 85.29 | 34 | 1.1 | 36.86 |
| Moeaki Fotuaika | 52.15 | 120.25 | 50.8 | 1.1 | 30.4 |
Trbojevic statistically does not stack up against his selection rivals – he has not made a tackle break all season in seven appearances, and while he gets through a decent amount of tackles, his impact in gaining yardage is minimal compared to the other candidates.
His only hope of retaining his spot would be via the intangible benefits that he brings to the selection table as a standards-setter with his commitment to whole-hearted training, preparation and the 80 minutes on the field.
He is a natural leader that was suited to captaincy Origin level where skill and tactics often play second fiddle to dedication and a refusal to lose.
The 234-game Sea Eagle only played a combined 85 minutes last series, getting just 23 in his sole stint in the series decider as the Blues rebounded from their first-up loss to reclaim the shield with back-to-back victories.
In a highly unusual tactic which ultimately paid off, Michael Maguire started each match with Trbojevic to soak up Queensland’s early onslaught before Yeo not only replaced him as a middle forward but also as skipper.
A good bloke reputation only goes so far and Daley can’t afford any passengers in his 17 for his own shot at Origin coaching redemption after one of his first five series in charge a decade ago.
The biggest difference between the forward packs that will lock horns against each other this time around is the return of Maroons monster Tino Fa’asuamaleaui after his 2024 season was ruined by a torn ACL.
Spencer Leniu on the charge for NSW last year. Photo: Getty Images
He loves nothing more than the rough-and-tumble of the Origin cauldron playing alongside Queensland’s finest.
Who can blame him given that he spends 24 rounds of the NRL season almost single-handedly carrying the perennially underachieving Titans.
With Patrick Carrigan, Tom Gilbert, Reuben Cotter and Moeaki Fotuaika, Billy Slater will have plenty of grunt and endurance in his rotation of big boppers through the middle.
One of Queensland’s best hopes is to unsettle the Blues in the central third so that their opponents don’t establish the upper hand to allow their star-studded backline to be fed into open space by whichever halves combination Daley settles upon out of Nathan Cleary, Mitchell Moses and Jarome Luai.
Leniu performed a similar role of the disruptor in chief that Fa’asuamaleaui embraced with relish for Queensland in previous years.
When he was on the field in the series opener – even though the Blues were down a player and behind on the scoreboard after Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii was sent off – his aggression almost got them back into a winning position before fatigue took over in the closing stages.
With Haas and May by his side, the Blues should be able to nullify anything Queensland throw at them.
Trebojevic has been a loyal servant for NSW in 19 matches since his debut in 2017 but it’s hard to see him getting a look-in unless injury or judiciary dramas strike one of the other man mountains in the middle.