Coach Des Hasler has today left the door open on the possibility of some of his NSW representatives being rested from the clash against the Brisbane Broncos at ANZ Stadium tomorrow night.
Hasler named all five of the Blues representatives in his 18-man squad earlier in the week but after only being able to make contact with them yesterday, the Coach will leave it to the final moments before making his decision on whether they are in or out of the side.
“A few of them came in for some treatment yesterday but we’ll have a better look at them today and take it from there,” Hasler said. “It’s an option (to rest them). We did it last time, so we’ll look at it.”
With the men in blue and white going up against the ladder leading Broncos, the two-time Premiership winning Coach knows the position his side is in and the need to stay a part of the top eight as we head towards the business end of the season.
“It’s a tight one, we’re playing the Broncos who are in first position, and we’re not in a precarious position, but a tight position, I think there are two points between a number of teams.
You can see, a few teams have employed a rotation policy. It’s the only way you can get through it. All the players are back now, so we can concentrate on the rest of the season.”
Another player who hasn’t been a part of the State of Origin series but has had two lengthy stints on the sideline is Captain James Graham. Graham was not listed in the team earlier in the week but Hasler indicated that the Englishman would undergo a fitness test in the next 48 hours.
“He’s another one where you’ve just got to….not rush him back in. It is round 18 though, so he’ll have a fitness test in the next 48 hours but as you could imagine, he’s really, really keen to play.”
Meanwhile the Brisbane Broncos have declared their four Origin players who were named on Tuesday will back up from Origin three and take to the field on Saturday night against the Bulldogs.
Broncos Team:
1. Darius Boyd
2. Lachlan Maranta
3. Jack Reed
4. Jordan Kahu
5. Daniel Vidot
6. Anthony Milford
7. Ben Hunt
8. Sam Thaiday
9. Andrew McCullough
10. Adam Blair
11. Alex Glenn
12. Matt Gillett
13. Corey Parker ©
Interchange:
14. Jarrod Wallace
15. Mitchell Dodds
16. Corey Oates
17. Matt Parcell
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