Rugby league loyalty, Andrew Johns has slammed the door shut on any suggestion New South Wales should be granted special dispensation to field Moses Leota in State of Origin.
Leota's eligibility case hinges on timing, and the timing simply doesn't add up.
The power front rower relocated from New Zealand to NSW several months after his 13th birthday, falling short of a rule that requires a player to have been living in the state before that milestone.
The Sydney Morning Herald revealed the NRL would at least hear an appeal from the Blues, but Johns isn't interested in entertaining the idea for a second.
"Hard line, nope," he brutally said on Nine's Sunday Footy Show.
"Where do you stop? Four months, six months, nine months? Where do you stop? (The cut off is) 13 (years old), that's it."
NSW's desire to find a workaround is understandable given the circumstances, as Payne Haas' injury on the weekend has left a gaping hole in their front row stocks, and Leota would have been a timely remedy.
Queensland Maroons coach Billy Slater was equally unmoved, invoking the ghost of Origin eligibility disputes past.
"Ronaldo Mulitalo missed an Origin jersey years ago because of this exact situation," Slater stated.
The debate comes amid a broader rehsaping or the Origin eligibility landscape, with the ARLC recently changing Origin eligibility rules to allow players to play Origin and represent a Tier 1 nation other than Australia.
That shift has thrown a clutch of names into the selection conversation on both sides.
With Game One set for May 27 in Sydney, Laurie Daley's NSW selection headaches are mounting.
If the chorus of voices from Johns to Slater is anything to go by, Leota won't be the solution.
Joey, Billy – well said, gentlemen.