Curly Trbojevic question facing selectors as five props race to replace injured Blues forward

It's foolish to change a winning formula, but it appears New South Wales may be forced to tinker with the victorious State of Origin team ahead of game two.

Blues prop Mitchell Barnett went down with a knee injury when playing for the Warriors on Sunday.

It means state coach Laurie Daley will be thumbing through a list of potential replacements before he takes his game two squad into camp next week.

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These are the five props in the running to suit up for the Blues in Perth on June 18.

STEFANO UTOIKAMANU

The Melbourne middle man was in the extended squad for game one and is the obvious player to come straight into the side.

"He knows everything that's going on there, so he is a fair chance to come in," Blues great Paul Gallen said on Nine's Today on Monday.

"I'm probably going to tip big Stefano (to get the job)."

Utoikamanu made his Blues debut in game two of the 2023 series, but NSW was hammered 32-6 by Queensland that night.

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Since joining the Storm this season the 25-year-old is averaging 103 run metres, and has recorded 35 tackle breaks in 11 games.

He also tackles at a 97.2 per cent efficiency rate.

JAKE TRBOJEVIC

The 2024 series-winning captain was tipped to be axed by coach Laurie Daley ahead of game one selection.

That decision was fortuitously taken out of selectors' hands when Trbojevic was knocked out against the Cowboys and ruled unfit to play for the Blues.

But with Barnett going down injured it raises a curly question for Daley and his team.

"There was conjecture whether he was going to be picked, so he may come into the frame," Gallen said of Trbojevic.

The 31-year-old is an Origin veteran and has never let the Blues down, but it's fair to say he isn't in the top echelon of front-rowers in the NRL anymore.

Trbojevic again sat out Manly's round 13 game against the Broncos, leaving him just Thursday's clash against Newcastle to push his case for selection.

TERRELL MAY

The rugby league world was largely stunned when May was snubbed for game one selection.

The Tigers gun was arguably the in-form prop in the NRL at the time but Blues selectors were happy to leave him out of the squad altogether.

And while Daley claimed the door was not shut on May's chances of ever wearing the jumper, it seems there are others ahead of him in the pecking order.

A bizarre interaction on a live streaming website in the days leading up to selection probably didn't help his case going forward.

His stats are appealing, nonetheless.

At the Tigers this year he averages 17.8 runs and 177 metres per game, while playing between 70 and 80 minutes each week.

There have been suggestions his work rate off the ball and attention to the one-percenters is what made Daley look elsewhere.

KEAON KOLOAMATANGI

The Bunnies behemoth got a glowing endorsement from his club teammate, and former Queensland Origin player, Jai Arrow following Sunday's game.

His one Origin game to date came in the dead rubber Blues victory of 2023.

That was when he was a backrower by trade. South Sydney has since been using him in the middle as well as on an edge.

While he started the first nine games of this season in the second row, Koloamatangi has gone back to the front row the past three weeks.

The move from Rabbitohs coach Wayne Bennett may just catapult the hard-running weapon back into the Blues fold.

NSW has an abundance of backrowers to choose from but Koloamatangi may just be what Daley needs in the middle against the Maroons.

He plays big minutes and is averaging 140 run metres per game this year.

JACOB SAIFITI

It is hard to see him - or his brother Daniel at the Dolphins - sneaking into the NSW team ahead of any of the aforementioned options.

But Saifiti was floated as an Origin option by Blues legend and former coaching adviser Greg Alexander ahead of game one.

The Newcastle bookend missed a month of footy through injury but has played the past three games for the Knights.

His club team is going terribly and it would be surprising if Saifiti was to add to his two Origin appearances this year.