New South Wales Blues State of Origin coach Brad Fittler has revealed versatility could yet buy Parramatta Eels forward Ryan Matterson an Origin jersey.
Fittler will pick his team for Game 1 (to be played in Sydney on Wednesday, June 8) on Sunday evening following the completion of Round 1.
While all attention has been on who will replace the injured Latrell Mitchell and Tom Trbojevic in the centres for the Blues, there are still questions to be asked in the forwards.
Matterson has been in career-best form for Parramatta at club level in recent times, setting opposition teams alight and regularly making close to 200 metres per game in the middle following a shock switch from coach Brad Arthur.
His versatility to play on either the edge, or in the middle, has Fittler interested though, although that could yet take a back seat now that Cameron Murray appears to be in the reckoning to reclaim his back row spot.
Murray had previously ruled him out with a shoulder injury, but has been named amongst the reserves for a potential shock return this week when South Sydney play the Parramatta Eels on Saturday evening.
"The fact is he defended at centre for a bit as well (on Friday night against Manly)," Fittler told reporters.
"One of the big things you notice is people are being sin-binned, HIAs, injuries. You need to be able to cover. That will definitely work in his favour.
"But at the moment it is a bit of a puzzle, so we're sticking with using a pencil (and not a pen in selection meetings)."
Matterson has previously been included in an Origin squad during 2019 and came close to making his debut.
In his last four games for the Eels, Matterson has played 55, 50, 55 and 65 minutes off the bench, scoring two tries, adding a total of 17 tackle breaks and 15 offloads, while also making 119 tackles with just seven missed, and also collecting running metre totals of 210, 177, 172 and 177.
His form has gone to another level, turning him into one of Parramatta's best, and he told the media on Monday that he is ready if the call comes.
“I haven’t spoken to Freddy and I don’t think I’m in a position to do so. I’m just here playing my best football for Parramatta," Matterson said.
“That’s up to Freddy and what he wants to choose. I think it’s every kid’s dream to put on a Blues jersey, so I’d be excited if I got the call-up.”
