2016 State of Origin

I'd take roughly the count you made if we were talking about blokes who are genuinely pickable at Origin level. Being FG standard is a big step down from that though. But yeah there's only about 4 or 5 I'd genuinely feel comfortable picking and a couple of them I'd only consider as bench players.

I don't think Gillett is in contention because of a dearth of options either. I mean I think he would've been picked for NSW too. He gets picked for two reasons, IMO. The first is self-evident; he plays for Brisbane. If he played for Parramatta he wouldn't have played half as many games. And the second is because he's seen as an x-factor/game-breaker type player, which to a certain extent is true.

By the by, NSW certainly have a lot more FG standard players to pick from but genuinely pickable Origin players; their stocks aren't all that much better. NSW have played their last 6 games with Hoffman and Scott on the edges for example. Hoffman belongs in Origin but Scott obviously doesn't. Lewis, I don't think is anything more than a bench option nowadays. Creagh plays middle-third and doesn't even start any more. If, unlike Thaiday, he was being regularly picked in Origin on the edge that'd be different but he hasn't played for years and probably never will again. Regardless of how good I think he is, and I do rate him, he's not really an option atm either. Williams is a piece of shit. Jackson is rubbish.

I think you've got Bird, Cordner, Graham, Hoffman, Frizell and Sims. Probably Thompson too. I haven't seen enough of Sironen but from what I have seen I haven't been blown away. How do you rate NSW's stocks in terms of players you think are realistically pickable Origin players?

 

They've gotta pick Austin this year. I give him a better chance of playing well in Origin than any half NSW have tried since Jarrod Mullen.

 

Incidental really. The only bloke who should be seriously considered is Napa and we can do without him. Milford being ineligible is a god send, though, mind you Walters would probably throw this rule out the window if it became dire.