Let's Talk Origin - Round 6

This week we take a look at a potentially lethal centre pairing for the Blues, a possible rejig of the Maroons pack and a couple of left field front-row options for both states.

• An incumbent member of the teams who look to be cementing their spot or perhaps are in line for a positional switch.
• A player looking for a recall after being dropped, injured or suspended.
• A rookie who is putting their hand up for their first taste of it.

We'll also bring you one player who could be under the pump to hold his position in the team.

INCUMBENTS

NSW - MICHAEL JENNINGS (CENTRE) - The newly Parramatta recruit has had a quiet start to his career in the blue & gold by his own lofty standards, but is still displaying enough class to instil plenty of confidence in Coach Laurie Daley that he's still a dangerous commodity for opposition defenders. An early double on the weekend put his side on the front foot from the get go and his 20 tackle busts for the year means he's still troubling defenders whenever he gets his hands on the ball. Has been a constant threat to the Maroons throughout his 15 game Origin career and his man of the match performance in game two last year will still be fresh in the memory when Daley pencils him in for the opener this year.

QLD - MATT GILLETT (SECOND-ROW) - The hard-nosed back-rower has made a real home for himself patrolling the Broncos right edge over the last 12 months and will be looking to do the same this year at Origin level. With a strong work ethic, Gillett is racking up 34 tackles a game this year and leads the competition for one on one tackles with 31. His aggressive running style has seen him bust 16 tackles throughout the opening rounds and like Greg Bird for the Blues, has a real knack of making every tackle and run hurt his opposition. Since first donning the Maroon jersey in 2012, Gillett has proven a real handful for the Blues mostly coming off the bench, but it may be time to unleash this tearaway from the opening whistle.

THE RECALLED

NSW - TIM GRANT (PROP/INTERCHANGE) - After a late switch to the Wests Tigers during the pre-season, Grant has revelled in the chance to play more minutes on a regular basis and is making a real fist of it. Running for 117 metres per game, the Tigers bookend is providing plenty of punch into opposition defensive lines with his no nonsense approach. After 2 games off the bench for the Blues in 2012, Grant was overlooked the following year and hasn't gotten a look in since, but with injury concerns coming out of the weekend to fellow Tigers bookend Aaron Woods and the Sharks Andrew Fifita, Grant could emerge as a real bolter over the coming weeks. Didn't put a foot wrong in his brief stint in Sky Blue colours and you don't sit Petero Civoniceva on his backside with your first run in Origin without possessing that little bit of extra mongrel required to compete at this level. 

QLD - BEN HANNANT (PROP/INTERCHANGE) - Just like Tim Grant, the big polar bear hasn't been sighted at Origin level since the decider of 2012. Before that though, Hannant chalked up 12 quality and often courageous Origin appearances in the Maroon jersey. Doesn't get the raps his fellow Cowboys front-rowers get for laying a solid platform, but perhaps his biggest compliment is they lose nothing when he's on the park going about his work. Making every one of his 35 minutes a game count this year, Hannant is ripping in for 21 tackles and 115 metres per game. Probably has a few ahead of him at this stage, but if injuries or suspensions play a part, he wouldn't let Coach Kevin Walters down.

THE ROOKIES

NSW - JAMES ROBERTS (CENTRE) - Out and out game-breakers, the Blues need as many as they can get. With a lack of creativity in the halves, NSW need to play to their strengths and with a potentially lethal centre pairing of Jennings and Roberts, they may have found their biggest one. With speed to burn, evasive skills and the power his speed generates, the Broncos centre has the ability to turn a game on its head in the blink of an eye. Yet to have any real big match experience, but some players are just born for it and Roberts may just be of that ilk. After a quiet start to the year, Roberts turned in a stormer in the Grand Final rematch against the Cowboys and backed it up a week later in a much hyped matchup against his former Titans team mates. Across them two matches alone he notched his only 2 tries for the year, 5 line-breaks, 14 tackle busts and a combined 311 running metres.

QLD - KYLE FELDT (WING) - With the retirement of one of the Maroons great competitors Justin Hodges, at least one spot in the Maroons backline is up for grabs. Chances are last year's game three winger Dane Gagai will be shifted in to the vacant centre position leaving a hole on the Maroons flanks and no one is competing harder for it than Kyle Feldt. With four tries this year, the 24 year old has taken his career tally to 21 in just 27 first grade games, an impressive strike rate. More impressive though is his will to compete. Up by plenty late in the match in their Round 3 demolition of the Roosters, Feldt found himself trapped in his own in-goal with three Roosters defenders in front of him. Where most players are content to take the ball dead under the circumstances, Feldt fights his way back into the field of play. Only seems like a small thing, but it's them seemingly pointless efforts that have made the Queensland spirit what it is today.

UNDER THE PUMP

NSW - MICHAEL ENNIS - Truth be told, Ennis is still in the top two hookers NSW have to choose from, but with Vice-captain Robbie Farah ready to step back in, the Sharks number nine will have to be content in being the menace back in club land this year. Even without Farah in the mix, Coach Daley would have to consider a younger option with a view to the future.

QLD - SAM THAIDAY - A veteran of 25 Origin appearances, Thaiday will in all likelihood find himself in Camp Maroon come game one this year. After being a staple in the run-on side since 2010, it may be his starting birth that is under the pump. With plenty of talk around Queensland's succession plan, we may see the first real signs of it this year and Matt Gillett coming into the starting side seems a logical step. The Broncos stalwart would still have a big role to play, providing plenty of punch off the bench, just as he has at the Broncos in the opening rounds this year.