New South Wales State of Origin coach Brad Fittler has revealed that Kotoni Staggs is the likely front-runner to take the centre jersey of the injured Latrell Mitchell for the annual interstate series with Queensland.
Mitchell was thought to be in a race against time to recover from an injury he sustained a number of weeks ago against the St George Illawarra Dragons in an effort to take his place in the series opener, to be played on Wednesday, June 8.
It was revealed some days ago that Mitchell would be heading to the United States of America to consult a specialist doctor however and was unlikely to be in the country when the first ball was kicked in Game 1.
It has left the Blues now needing to replace Mitchell in the centres, while also worrying about the form and hamstrings of Tom Trbojevic in the other centre slot.
Mitchell and Trbojevic were among the best on ground during last year's series for the Blues.
Fittler previously had presented Stephen Crichton, Bradman Best and Matt Burton as the three most likely options, however, it would appear the form of Kotoni Staggs - who put in a man of the match performance and shut down Siosifa Talakai on Thursday evening against the Sharks - has now jumped the queue.
"The fact is it was obvious what was going on, both players were aware of the challenge and when players step up under that sort of pressure, that's what State of Origin is all about," Fittler told reporters on Monday.
"Given (that), I think there's a really good push for him ... it's about backing that up and being the best centre."
Crichton's form has also been excellent, but Fittler seemed to indicate he wouldn't be considered due to his age, while also stating club combinations wouldn't be the deciding factor.
"The fact is if players have played together and worked under pressure before it definitely helps, but any combination or relationship starts somewhere," Fittler said.
"(Crichton is) still only a kid, he's 20-odd years old, I really think he's gonna be stronger next year, the year after."
Fittler also said that Mitchell could potentially return for Game 2.
"We've been really open and honest from early on when he got his injury ... the first game is pretty much nearly out of consideration (for Mitchell), the second game in Perth could be an opportunity," Fittler said.
"The doctors and obviously Latrell will have a big say in how his leg is and if he's capable of playing."
