Laurie Daley will reveal his NSW team for Game 1 of State of Origin on Monday morning, with the coach set to settle the biggest call in his squad at 7.30am. The fullback race between James Tedesco and Dylan Edwards remains unresolved, but Daley has already confirmed only one of them will start.
That leaves one of the most closely watched Origin selection decisions of the week hanging over the announcement. Tedesco and Edwards have both started the year in fine form, and Daley could still park the other contender on the extended bench as cover if he wants to keep both players in the frame.
The fullback call is only one part of a wider shake-up. Daley also has to decide who fills Zac Lomax’s vacant wing spot, while another question sits in the centres or outside backs, where Bulldogs skipper Stephen Crichton is trying to hold off Brisbane’s Kotoni Staggs for his place.
For NSW, the timing matters because the team will be public just as the countdown to Game 1 narrows to its final stretch. Every selection will be judged against form, balance and the pressure of starting the series well, and the fullback choice in particular will shape how the side is built around the spine and backline.
There is also a tension in how Daley handles the bench. Keeping the losing fullback contender in reserve would give NSW insurance, but it would also show the coach is reluctant to completely shut the door on a player he has already rated highly enough to consider for the starting role. That sort of compromise can soften one problem and create another, especially when other positions are still undecided.
will publish the team as soon as it is announced, along with analysis of the biggest winners and losers from Daley’s first major selection call of the series. The final shape of the side will not just answer who starts Game 1; it will show how Daley wants NSW to begin the Origin campaign.
