Lock is arguably the deepest position in the NRL right now, and picking one above all else is a difficult task.
From just a NSW Origin point of view, there’s Isaah Yeo, Cameron Murray, Victory Radley, Jake Trbojevic and Dale Finucane who have all been in and around the squad in the past couple of seasons, – not to mention guys like Jason Taumalolo, Tino Fa’asuamaleaui, Josh Curran and plenty more.
But for Andrew Johns, Yeo is the pick of the bunch – narrowly ahead of Murray.
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“I could not believe how good a player he was when he first got selected [for State of Origin] … the first session, watching him combine with the other middle forwards,” Johns said on Wide World of Sports’ Freddy and The Eighth.
“He was too good for the other middles, they had to totally stop it, break it down, and he went through what he was trying to do and it was pretty impressive.”
This year’s State of Origin series is still a long way away, but given his own performances coupled with how dominant Penrith have been, Yeo would be the logical pick for No.13. Last year, he made that jersey his own with Murray starting on an edge.
The other major selection question is who gets the No14. jersey. Canberra’s Jack Wighton is the obvious pick, given he played that role in last year’s series for games one and two, which New South Wales won by a combined 70 points.
“Jack Wighton’s my 14,” Johns said.
“He can play any position. He plays five-eighth at clubland, but can play outside backs; centre wing, fullback, can play anywhere in the forwards, tough as they come.”
“The only position he couldn’t play is dummy half – and at a pinch he could probably play there.”
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Melbourne Storm fullback and current Dally M leaderboard topper Ryan Papenhuyzen is another that could take that spot, but Johns doesn’t believe he offers as much cover across the park.
“In his position, he’s behind Teddy and Turbo – the only problem is, to play any other position, to play on the wing, you need big wingers, you need wingers who can get forward because Origin’s all about kick receptions.”
“You need versatility, without a doubt,” added coach Brad Fittler.
“You need to be able to play more than one position. And I think it all depends on what happens with the team – there might be some positions where there might be some injuries, there’s a lot of things that go into it. But at the end of the day, you need to be versatile.”
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