Radical Cleary position switch in new-look team NSW must pick

Desperate times call for desperate measures and I’ve performed radical surgery on the NSW Blues side in a bid to spark them into form for the Origin decider.

Lucky to beat a 12-man Queensland side in game one, thumped in game two, the Blues face yet another series defeat in the Suncorp Stadium cauldron unless they make mass changes to their team, which will be picked this weekend.

The Blues have been out-coached, out-played and out-enthused by the Maroons for most of the 160 minutes played to date and only an entirely new-look team will have a chance of turning the tide.

The biggest change I’ve made is switching star halfback Nathan Cleary to hooker to enable Isaiya Katoa - the form halfback of the NRL this season - to come in at halfback.

It’s not without precedent - the Blues played arguably the game’s greatest halfback Andrew Johns at hooker back in the 1996 series to allow Geoff Toovey to come into the team at No.7 - and swept the series 3-0.

The greatest mismatch in the first two games was at hooker, where Queensland’s dummy half wizard Harry Grant ran rings around Reece Robson.

Robson is a tough competitor who invariably tops the tackle count but we need a hooker capable of matching Grant running and putting blokes through gaps in the crucial dummy half area.

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And as insurance in case things don’t go to plan, I’d have Apisai Koroisau on the bench but give him some game time - he was not sighted in game two.

Other changes I would make is an all new centre pairing - Casey McLean and Bradman Best to replace Kotoni Staggs and Tolu Koula. 

Staggs struggled in Melbourne and Koula was fair but I feel Best and McLean will trouble the Maroons more - although McLean isn’t playing this weekend and may struggle to be fit.

Playing Mitch Moses in game two when he wasn’t 100 per cent fit was a clear mistake, especially after Ethan Strange’s near man of the match display in game one. 

I’d bring Strange straight back in and leave Moses out entirely.

Cameron Murray needs to be in the run-on side after the Blues’ flat starts in games one and two and I’d go with him at lock and put skipper Isaah Yeo up front - he’s a big enough body and having both Murray and Yeo out there from the start gives the Blues the skill to match the Maroons with early shifts to ignite the backline.

Penrith’s Liam Martin, with his aggression and running power, is a must to come back in the second row and I’d put him alongside Hudson Young, with the dynamic Haumole Olakau’atu, mysteriously dropped for game two, on the bench where he can bring impact and muscle.

I would have started the Warriors’ Jackson Ford - who was totally brushed in the opening two games despite being second in the Dally Ms - up front but he tragically tore his pec last weekend and may not play again this season.

The reliable Mitch Barnett drops to the bench and Victor Radley is axed. The Roosters gun is all heart but he’s too ill disciplined and doesn’t fit in a 19 that has Murray and Yeo starting and playing big minutes and Barnett and Addin Fonua-Blake available to bash and barge for short stints if the game requires them too.

Stephen Crichton’s form hasn’t been the best this season due to injury but I’d have him as the outside back reserve due to his big match experience and ability to play several positions.

Go the Blues!

My NSW team for Origin III

1. James Tedesco 2. Brian To’o 3. Casey McLean 4. Bradman Best 5. Mark Nawaqanitawase 6. Ethan Strange 7. Isaiya Katoa 8. Payne Haas 9. Nathan Cleary 10. Isaah Yeo 11. Hudson Young 12. Liam Martin 13. Cameron Murray 14. Haumole Olakau’atu 15. Addin Fonua-Blake 16. Mitch Barnett 17. Apisai Koroisau 18. Stephen Crichton 19. Keaon Koloamatangi