New South Wales Blues head coach Laurie Daley has revealed Ryan Papenhuyzen is a chance of being selected on the interchange bench for Game 1 of this year's State of Origin series.
The fullback has been in excellent form for the Melbourne Storm at club level after spending much of the last two years out injured, and capped it off with a four-try display on Sunday afternoon during the Storm's stunning 64-0 rout of the Wests Tigers.
While Dylan Edwards is likely to retain the Blues' number one jumper when Daley names his team after Round 11, with James Tedesco seemingly his biggest rival, Papenhuyzen has put forward a case that can't be ignored.
Speaking on Sky Sports Radio's Big Sports Breakfast, Daley said Papenhuyzen could be considered in a utility spot off the bench.
โYes. Yeah he is someone who could play that role very well I think,โ Daley said on the show.
โWith the speed of the game, fatigue and all those types of things you could inject him. He could be there as cover for an injury to an outside back.
โBut I think you could get him into the game as a lock and inject some speed in and outside the ruck. That's not a silly idea... it's something that has been spoken about.โ
Connor Watson is favoured as the player to wear the utility jersey given his ability to play right across the team, but there is a scenario where Daley could select both Watson and Papenhuyzen, and rely on only two specialist interchange forwards.
Watson can play at both lock and hooker in the forward pack, so could be turned into predominantly a forward with the ability to shuffle across the backline if need be.
The Blues, who won last year's series by breaking a 20-year drought at Suncorp Stadium in the decider, will likely have other changes for Game 1, with Zac Lomax not playing in the last six weeks, and Jake Trbojevic tipped to lose his spot despite captaining the team last year.
