North Queensland hooker Reece Robson will make his State of Origin debut for NSW in the must-win second game of the series.
Robson and South Sydney veteran Damien Cook are both set to be named on the team sheet on Tuesday morning after incumbent hooker Api Koroisau went down with a broken jaw playing for Wests Tigers on Thursday.
Coach Todd Payten confirmed to AAP that Robson was told during the Cowboys’ bye weekend that he had been given the nod to play at Suncorp Stadium on June 21.
“It’s great news, it’s awesome for Reece,” he said.
Robson’s selection comes after he was a member of the extended squad in his breakout 2022 season and has Fittler reverting to his system of carrying a hooker on his bench, as he did with Cook last year.
Robson will become only the fifth Cowboys player to represent NSW and the first since premiership-winning prop James Tamou in 2016.
Robson’s selection means the Blues are highly unlikely to carry a specialist half on the bench as they did with Nicho Hynes in the series opener.
Initially the front-runner to replace the injured Nathan Cleary at halfback, Hynes had his most disappointing game in recent memory as the Sharks fell 54-10 to Melbourne on Sunday.
Mitch Moses and Adam Reynolds are the other two contenders and are now in hot pursuit.
But Blues assistant coach and selector Greg Alexander said Hynes was still firmly in the frame after two standout NRL seasons.
Hynes clinched the Dally M Medal last year and was equal third on the leaderboard for this season when voting went behind closed doors in round 12.
“Nicho has had a great 18 months,” Alexander said on SEN.
“I don’t know if one performance rules you out of the side.
“It’s certainly worth talking about. Many would say, ‘That’s it’ … but he’s got a fair bit of credit in the bank.”
The Blues will be unable to confirm their squad until after Monday’s clash between Canterbury and Parramatta, in which Moses has one last chance to affirm his Origin credentials.
Canterbury’s Tevita Pangai Jr and Matt Burton are also in contention for NSW spots, after starting in the front row and being selected as 18th man, respectively in the series opener.
Eels prop Reagan Campbell-Gillard is vying for an Origin recall, while teammate Junior Paulo appears likely to be named.
– AAP
