New Blues coach Michael Maguire will be sweating on the availability of a number of stars as he prepares to name his squad for the State of Origin series opener at Accor Stadium.
Maguire is expected to announce the squad on Sunday evening, with leading halves contenders Nathan Cleary (hamstring) and Mitchell Moses (foot) both sidelined.
Nicho Hynes loomed as the logical next option at halfback, although he failed to finish Saturday’s game against Penrith with a calf issue.
Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon told reporters on Saturday night that Hynes was “not too bad” and that the halfback had been managing the injury, which “happened a few weeks ago”.
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“With the 15 minute time off it cooled down and tightened up, but I think he’s okay, I’ve got to check because I haven’t spoken to the medical guys,” Fitzgibbon said.
“I just got the message that with cooling down, it tightened up… even if he got through he’d still have to be modified for (Origin training).
“But it was more to do with cooling down and tightening up than anything.”
While it may not be a major issue, it still leaves Maguire with quite the headache given he had flagged earlier in the week that he wanted minimal disruption to the training schedule.
“I’d like them up and running to start with,” Maguire told Sky Sports Radio’s Big Sports Breakfast earlier in the week.
“You don’t have a lot of time with them on the field.”
Should Hynes not be fit enough for selection, Maguire could turn to Panthers five-eighth Jarome Luai after a standout game against Cronulla in the halfback jumper.
Either way, Luai looks to have solidified his spot in the team given his recent form, although Bulldog Matt Burton also had an excellent game on Thursday night against the Dragons.
Cody Walker was another name that had been brought up as a possible solution in the halves, although he missed Saturday’s game against the Eels with a low-grade calf strain.
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Elsewhere, Zac Lomax and Joseph Suaalii are expected to both be named in the squad as they battle it out for a vacant wing spot, although Suaalii could also instead start in the centres.
Jesse Ramien, Burton, Latrell Mitchell and Kotoni Staggs are among the other contenders to play in the centres after Bradman Best (hamstring) and Tom Trbojevic (hamstring) were both ruled out.
Mitchell escaped a ban after he was sin-binned for a hip drop tackle in Souths’ win over the Eels.
Mitchell was charged with Grade 1 Dangerous Contact for the first half tackle on Parramatta centre Sean Russell, which saw the Souths’ skipper sent to the sin bin.
If Mitchell submits an early plea, he will face a $3000 fine and be available for Origin selection or the Rabbitohs next match.
However, if he unsuccessfully challenges the charge at the NRL judiciary, he will be suspended for two matches.
Of course, the biggest mystery is who will be named at fullback with Dylan Edwards and James Tedesco both having impressive games on Saturday to make Maguire’s decision even tougher.
There are also a number of contenders to make their debuts in the forward pack, including Cameron McInnnes, Mitch Barnett, Haumole Olakau’atu and Spencer Leniu.
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Source Agencies
