‘He is gone’: The changes Blues may make... and ‘unlucky’ stars Laurie Daley could be calling

On the one hand, this doesn’t feel like the typical State of Origin loss given the Blues actually scored more tries than the Maroons.

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So, with that in mind, it would be understandable for Laurie Daley to feel like he doesn’t need to make any changes as New South Wales looks to retain the shield next month.

But former Blues advisor Greg Alexander said on radio in the wake of the Blues’ 26-24 defeat that two changes are at least “worth thinking about”.

First, potentially bringing in a different utility option after Connor Watson’s service and decision-making from dummy-half left a lot to be desired in the latter stages of Wednesday’s game as the Blues hunted the winning try.

Now, Daley could still opt to keep Watson and instead use him as a ball-playing option in the middle instead of as a back-up hooker to give Reece Robson a rest. That is one alternative.

But if he is committed to not playing Robson 80 minutes, as has been the case in both games so far in the series, maybe he could make the ‘luxury’ pick of having Apisai Koroisau on the bench.

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Luxury in the sense that even Queensland has gone down a similar route to NSW, having named the versatile Kurt Mann on the bench who is capable of both giving Harry Grant a rest, playing in the middle like he does at the Bulldogs and throughout the backline.

The Blues do already have Hudson Young on the bench and he would be able to shift to the centres if there was an injury in the backline, although Watson is their best option in the halves should Nathan Cleary or Jarome Luai go down.

Maybe it was a case of Watson, like the Blues as a whole, struggling to adapt to the wet weather conditions and overplaying his hand too much instead of looking for the simple pass and getting the ball quickly to his halves.

If Daley thinks that is the case, he will likely back Watson to improve his service for the decider. The one benefit in Koroisau is that you know what you are going to get.

As for the second change, it comes on the bench with Stefano Utoikamanu’s spot in jeopardy after the Storm front rower managed just five metres for 39 metres and generally looked to tire too quickly.

Utoikamanu did get through plenty of work in defence, with 22 tackles in just 27 minutes, so that may have quickly taken the steam out of him.

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Fox League commentator Andrew Voss, however, was emphatic in his opinion on SEN Radio, declaring the Blues need to make a change to their starting forward pack ahead of the decider.

“Stefano Utoikamanu is gone. I’m rubbing him out for Game 3,” Voss said.

“Max King is not a starting Origin front rower. So there’s a starting front rower spot up for grabs for New South Wales.

“I don’t think you can go with the same starting 13 again. You can’t go with Max King if you’re only giving him that many (26) minutes.”

That doesn’t mean that King is out of the team. He could easily drop back to the bench, as was the case in Game 1 before the Mitch Barnett injury forced the Blues to change it up.

King had 93 metres in that game off the bench and while obviously New South Wales was playing on the front foot, there is a legitimate case to be made that the Blues need someone more in the Barnett mould for the starting line-up.

Someone who can set the platform early in the game and aggressively go after the Maroons pack, like Barnett and Payne Haas did in the season opener.

Which brings us back to Terrell May again.

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For whatever reason, Daley has now for two-straight games sent a clear message that he isn’t interested in picking the Tigers front rower, even in the extended squad.

That is despite May’s 1900 run metres through 13 games trailing only Haas and Addin Fonua-Blake among the NRL’s forwards while his 48 tackle busts rank fifth.

Daley told the media ahead of Game 2 that he had met with May, adding he had “no doubt” the in-form prop would “get an opportunity” with the Blues “at some point”.

“If he keeps working hard for the Tigers, I have no doubt that at some stage he will find himself in this team,” added Daley.

“He’s got to keep playing well and his opportunity will come.”

Rabbitohs forward Keaon Koloamatangi is another option, having thrived since moving to the middle even if he was hesitant about the idea at first.

Koloamatangi suffered what was initially thought to be a serious facial injury in South Sydney’s loss to the Bulldogs, but was named in Wayne Bennett’s side to play the Storm this weekend in a sign that he should be available for the Origin decider.

Koloamatangi ranks sixth among NRL forwards for run metres and seventh for tackle busts, admittedly just behind Utoikamanu.

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Daley also said Koloamatangi was “unlucky” to miss out on selection in the latest Blues team.

“He’s got the ability to play backrow and front row and that was something we discussed, but at the end of the day it’s just a good problem to have when you’re leaving blokes out who are knocking on the door that deserve selection,” the Blues coach added ahead of Game 2.

“We’ve got plenty of depth (in the backrow). Haumole (Olakau’atu) is another one who couldn’t force his way into the team, so I just think it shows the depth we have and the quality we have.

“I’ve always said beauty is in the eye of the beholder so you’ve just got to pick the guy you think will best suit the way you want to play.”

Meanwhile, Daley seemed pretty confident in the 17-man team that lost to the Maroons when asked if he was considering any changes for the decider.

“I know what this group is capable of, and that’s the thing you get disappointed with, because they never gave themselves that opportunity,” he said.

“You can’t play a half of football like that against quality opposition and expect to be close.

“So for us, it’s a good lesson. We’ll go back to the drawing board.”

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