Ryan James and Matt Prior must wait a little longer to learn which of them will make their NSW State of Origin debuts on Sunday, with coach Brad Fittler yet to reveal a decision.
The Blues had their first full training session for Origin II in torrential conditions at Moore Park on Tuesday after heavy overnight rain forced the closure of their regular venue at Coogee Oval.
Despite the rain and temperatures falling to single digits, all 20 players took to the paddock, with five-eighth James Maloney and centre Latrell Mitchell wearing yellow bibs to indicate non-contact due to recent injuries.
Both players are considered certainties to play at ANZ Stadium on Sunday.
The only question remaining is who replaces game-one prop Reagan Campbell-Gillard, who is out for the rest of the series after breaking his jaw playing for Penrith last week.
Fittler indicated on Monday night that he wanted to see how they players went in training on Tuesday before deciding who would play but there was no immediate answer after the session.
Both James and Prior were used in the middle practice sets on Tuesday morning, while 18th man Tariq Sims is seemingly out of the running after mainly filling in on the edge.
Blues captain Boyd Cordner said both James and Prior had plenty to offer.
“Ryan’s been a quality player for a long time now. He’s a very mobile forward, gets through his work. He’s a polished player,” Cordner said before the training session.
“And Matt Prior’s the same. He’s a very reliable player, tough player. He’s a massive part of the Sharks’ success in the last couple of years.
“Both players are in really good form and deserve their spot to be here, so it’ll be very interesting and exciting to see how they go this week.”
Fittler indicated on Monday he needed to get to know Prior and James better before deciding.
“I don’t really know either Matt Prior or Ryan James but I’ve been a fan for a long time,” Fittler told Fox Sports’ NRL360 .
“I just want to get them into camp and see how they react with the other players and see how they go tomorrow in the training session and make a decision then.”
