New South Wales assistant Greg Alexander and the Blues coaching staff will have to “weigh up” their options with Nathan Cleary ruled out of Origin III.
Joining Sportsday, Alexander says they have the option of shifting squad members around to cover for Cleary or bring in a specialist halfback as a replacement.
Alexander was asked if selectors would consider moving Jarome Luai to halfback and upgrading Jack Wighton from the bench to five-eighth.
“It could be, yes,” Alexander replied.
“It could be Jarome moving to seven, and Jack Wighton in at five-eighth.
“We’ll wait and see, or we could go with a genuine halfback replacement.”
If selectors opt for a like-for-like replacement, Alexander said the race is down to three.
“There’s Mitch Moses or Adam Reynolds, who have been there before, or even Mitch Pearce who’s back playing footy – although he’s only had one game in the last three months,” Alexander said.
“So, it’ll come down to those three I would think.
“Both Reynolds and Moses have very good kicking games.
“That’s a big part of Nathan’s game, and those two players are goal kickers as well.
“You’re replacing Nathan with a player that can do similar things in terms of kicking and goalkicking.
“Or you could go with the team that’s already been there and you go with Jarome and Jack.
“We’ve got a couple of things to weigh up.”
The squad for Origin III will be announced next week ahead of the third and final game at ANZ Stadium in Sydney on Wednesday, July 14.