‘Outplayed us in every position’: How many Blues make Origin merit team?

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To prove how much Billy Slater’s Queensland have completely dominated NSW this series, only three Blues players – Payne Haas, Liam Martin and Cameron Murray – would be in contention for an Origin merit team.

Big representative games are often won on the back of one or two brilliant individual performances, but it is frightening how Slater’s current Maroons have been brilliant right across the park.

Coach Mal Meninga remains hopeful the Kangaroos will play Test football at the end of the season, and the likes of injured Blues Latrell Mitchell and Nathan Cleary no doubt come back into the mix.

But if an Australian team were picked tomorrow, how many Blues would seriously get the nod?

The NRL is yet to decide if it will reintroduce an Origin merit team, while the last Kangaroos’ merit squad, which was picked at the end of 2020, featured 11 New South Welshmen.

A couple of former Origin greats, Garry Jack and Steve Renouf, who played 29 Origin games between them, picked their team of 17 at the request of this masthead.

Their selections will no doubt spark decent water-cooler debate ahead of Wednesday night, when Queensland try to become the first team since 2010 to complete a series whitewash.

Cam Murray, Payne Haas and Liam Martin would make an Origin merit squad, but how many other Blues?Credit: Getty

Jack has always been a huge fan of NSW fullback James Tedesco, but said there was no way you could ignore rival No. 1 Reece Walsh on form.

And despite being proud of his Blues’ roots, Jack could only find room for Martin in his starting side.

“If you’re picking the team on form and not reputation, you’re basically picking the Queensland team,” Jack said. “They’ve outplayed us in every position.

Garry Jack’s Origin Merit Side

“I hate to say it, but I can’t see us winning on Wednesday night. If anything, I think Queensland will get better again.

“I love Payne Haas, he gets the run metres, but he doesn’t hurt anyone. I’d go Lindsay Collins and Tino Fa’asuamaleaui, with Pat Carrigan at lock in my side.

“Liam Martin is the only bloke I’d have starting in the backrow.

“Teddy runs for 200m a game, but Reece Walsh has beaten people every time he returns the ball and made a difference with his kick returns, and he set up a few tries in both games.”

Steve Renouf’s Origin Merit Side

Jack joked he wanted Damien Cook listed as one of his centres.

The Balmain legend featured in a series whitewash victory while also being on the end of a 3-0 loss in 1988 and 1989, the latter when Jack Gibson coached NSW for the first time, ditched training camps because he believed “camps are only for boy scouts” and refused to pick Jack’s Tigers’ teammates Steve Roach and Benny Elias.

Renouf was happy to have Haas and Martin in his starting side, and pencilled in Murray for his bench.

“Queensland has so much depth it’s not funny, and the boys they bring in, they just perform,” Renouf said.

“There was nothing in that first game, but to come out in that second game, we dominated them across the park. We didn’t have Selwyn [Cobbo], who was our strike weapon in the first game, and we replace him with another good player [Xavier Coates].

“I love watching Payne play, I know him well, and every time I watch Liam Martin I think to myself, ‘Geez, he’s as tough as nails’, he’s got a good motor on him and just does his job.”

Like Jack, Renouf was backing Slater to make sure the Maroons claim a 3-0 series win.

“I can’t see them taking this game for granted and Billy will be in their head making sure there’s no such thing as a dead rubber,” Renouf said.

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