Well, Andrew Johns has made his return and Brett Kimmorley is badly out of form. Craig Gower just isn’t playing well at all while Matt Orford has never shown the ability to lift his game to the next level.
So what should NSW selectors do this week when they announce the side to hopefully win game two of the State Of Origin series to be played at Sydney’s Telstra Stadium?
There has been some talk that selectors might choose Trent Barrett as halfback and bring in Braith Anasta at five-eight…but I think that is a big mistake.
At the end of the day I think it should be a toss up between Johns and Kimmorley.
Brett Kimmorley is really down on confidence at the moment. He had a very poor game in the first Origin match and has backed that up with poor performances in club level. On the positive side, few players have shown the ability to get the job done at rep level better then Kimmorley. While he has never played well at Origin level, a player of his quality is long over due for a good performance.
Andrew Johns meanwhile has played just one game in the last two months. Before that his form was poor and having lost a lot of weight after breaking his jaw, you have to wonder if he would be up to Origin level at all.
Maybe this is a case of the old “Andrew Johns at 50% is still the best halfback in the game” rule. At rep level surrounded by top class player, selectors must be VERY tempted to give Johns the number 7 jersey because even if he is down on form, he would get the job done and couple possibly drag NSW to a win if everything clicks.
