Cameron Murray wants more South Sydney players in the NSW State of Origin team but additional game time for the under-used back-rower may have to do.
Conceding his bias, Murray on Tuesday called for Blues coach Brad Fittler to consider bringing in more Rabbitohs to try to salvage something from the lost 2023 series in game three in Sydney.
Campbell Graham is already firmly on Fittler's radar as a potential replacement for injured centres Latrell Mitchell and Tom Trbojevic after being 18th man for Origin I before being ruled out with a sternum injury.
Back-rower Keaon Koloamatangi is another obvious candidate after being 19th man for game two in Brisbane, while plenty of pundits are pleading for prolific try-scorer Alex Johnston to be given a crack on the wing in place of Josh Addo-Carr.
"It's not up to me, but I'm always going to be an advocate for my Souths teammates," Murray said.
"There's so much talent here at the club and there's a few players who have definitely earned the right to wear that sky blue jersey.
"I'm biased but I'll always be backing my South Sydney teammates to be there."
The trouble is, Souths' dreadful run of four losses from five games is only adding to Fittler's selection headache.
The embattled coach is under growing pressure to settle on a successful 17 after NSW threw away game one in Adelaide and then surrendered another series with a Suncorp Stadium shocker last Wednesday night.
Fittler using Rabbitohs' rake hooker Damien Cook in the centres after Trbojevic went down in the opening minutes in Brisbane topped throwing Cronulla halfback Nicho Hynes into the same position in Origin I - then dumping him altogether - as the worst selection call of the series.
Now the Blues boss, off contract at the end of the series, may be better served handing Parramatta captain Clint Gutherson an Origin recall, rather than turning to Graham, given the Eels' electrifying NRL form.
Graham says he's been given no indication from Fittler about whether or not he will get a call-up.
"The only thing that I can do is play good footy. That's my job and that's what I'm going to try to do," he said before sending a message to Fittler that his sternum injury wouldn't stop him stepping into the Origin cauldron if needed.
"It's like a niggling injury. It's probably not something that will be 100 per cent for a while but I'm able to play footy and that's the main thing. I'm managing it OK.
"It's been around the whole season so I can't see it going away. Plenty of players play with injuries. It's part of the game."
After controversially being left on the bench for the first 50 minutes of NSW's Origin II defeat, Murray said he's fully recovered from a groin strain that initially had the 25-year-old in doubt last week.
"I had almost two weeks off leading in to that Origin II game so I freshened up really well there," Murray said.
"I feel good. I feel like I'm ready to go."
