New South Wales coach Brad Fittler has named his greatest Blues side of all-time, naming current players James Tedesco, Boyd Cordner and Tom Trbojevic in his 17-man squad, perย NRL.com
Across theย Channel Nineย expert team, the network will reveal their overall greatest NSW team, with Fittler announcing his all-time side ahead of Origin II.
Fittler backed Cordner as one of the greatest back-rowers in Blues history, while adding Trbojevic to the bench in a shock selection.
Cordner, who will miss the remainder of the 2020 Series after suffering a head knock in Origin I, was the biggest surprise in Fittler side, edging out Ben Kennedy for a spot.
Brad Fittler's all-time NSW side:
Fullback
James Tedesco: "The last two years have been so significant for NSW breaking the drought, but I feel like how busy Teddy is, I feel a lot of fullbacks complimented the team, but Teddy has been the one leading the charge and that's most probably why I went with him."
Wingers
Jarryd Hayne: "The superstar. The victories during that period all came down to him. The game that they won in 2014 a lot of the big plays were him. He was just wonderful. He came in at a young age and was a our best player many a time and was rewarded with the Brad Fittler medal many times because of that."
Andrew Ettingshausen: "He played about 29 or 30 games for NSW and never got the raps as a defender. I always thought he was a better defender than attacker. A great bloke to have in your team. I thought it was awesome."
Centres
Laurie Daley: "I had to find a way for Loz and Brett Kenny to be in there, some of my favourite players. Loz was just so tough. Such a tough player."
Mark Gasnier: "Gaz was just so silky. I was lucky enough to play with him in 2004. I think on his day he was just about the best centre I've seen. Matt Gidley was close with his silky skills but I could only pick two."
Halves
Brett Kenny: "I idolised him as a kid. I grew up in the Parramatta area and I remember he came to our school and presented us with some trophies one day. There weren't many games when he played five-eighth that they lost. He was a fantastic player."
Andrew Johns: "Joey just ticks a lot of the boxes that I don't think many halfbacks before or after can do. The defence was as good as the attack which was as good as the kicking which was as good as the toughness."
Props
Paul Harragon and Glenn Lazarus: "Lazzo and Chief in the early '90s period where we won four out of five - a lot of it was due to them. They were just so brutal."
Hooker
Danny Buderus: "This was the toughest. The fact I played with Bedsy through that period in the 2000s and because I know him myself, a bit of heart went into that one (over Ben Elias)."
Second-rowers
Paul Sironen: "I'd have him in the top five State of Origin players. He was just incredible."
Boyd Cordner: "I was there at the Roosters when [Boyd] was 16 at the club and I played him as a 16-year-old in first grade. He was just that sort of person. He handles anything you throw at him. Everyone has conjecture now over his wellbeing given the way he throws himself into a game. He doesn't say too much but he's very inspirational. Everyone loves him."
Lock
Bradley Clyde: "Clydey could add so much more value. He was busy on the early tackles and he could complete skilful tasks at the end of the set. He was an attacking lock and could do all the tough stuff."
Reserves
Tom Trbojevic: "If you look at his game in Perth last year, there aren't many people who could have done that. I put him in a position he'd never played and just did it."
Bryan Fletcher: "He had this attitude that he could always win. He went out there, whether it was his jovial nature or not, he just went out there believing he could just win."
Trent Barrett: "Most of my best footy was played with him next to me in the team. We never got in each other's road but always seemed to support each other."
Ian Roberts: "He was just a machine. He's got a bit of Cyborg in him Ian Roberts. I'm glad he was on our team."
Coach
Phil Gould
