South Sydney Rabbitohs halfback Adam Reynolds has emerged as a shock contender for the vacant New South Wales halves position following his recent form surge.
While a knee injury in the first game of the season saw Reynolds miss a fair chunk of the opening month, the halfback has bounced back in a big way.
Reynolds played a large role in the Rabbitohs’ win over ladder leaders St George Illawarra, managing two try-assists and 20 tackles to go along with his 71 running metres.
James Maloney is a certainty to start in the halves for New South Wales, but his partner is anyone’s guess at this point, with Reynolds holding one valuable asset over other candidates - experience.
Reynolds played two State of Origin games in 2016, before missing the third match with a shoulder injury he sustained in Game Two.
Nathan Cleary appears to be in the box seat at this point, but having missed the past two months with injury certainly throws a huge cloud over the youngster with only two matches to go before Brad Fittler names his maiden Blues squad.
Mitchell Moses is a favourite of Fittler’s having coached the Eel’s halfback during his stint as Lebanon’s head coach, but Moses’ personal form - along with Parramatta's - puts a question mark over how he’ll handle the Origin arena.
Luke Keary’s form has been temperamental at times, but he’s thought to play too similar a game to Maloney, and Blake Green is simply too old to make his Origin debut, with Fittler looking to the future.
Another huge bonus for Reynolds is the likely inclusion of South Sydney teammate Damien Cook, a pre-existing club combination would be a huge boost in the Origin arena.
Reynolds will have another Origin audition this Saturday afternoon, lining up against former Maroon’s star Jonathan Thurston and incumbent Queensland halfback Michael Morgan.
If the Redfern junior can get the points over those two, then it’s a huge step towards a return to State of Origin for Adam Reynolds.
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