We are now just weeks away from Origin One and NSW eligible players are dropping like flies.
Latrell Mitchell has long been ruled out while Ryan Papenhuyzen's recent injury has robbed him of a near certain Origin debut.
Origin mainstay Cameron Murray joins the aforementioned stars in the casualty ward following a serious injury. He was certain to run out for the Blues on June 8th.
Murray's loss will be someone else's game, with both Origin second row spots up for grabs.
Looking at the list of names there are plenty of options but I certainly wouldn't want to be in Brad Fittler's shoes come selection.
Below are the players most likely to run out to represent New South Wales in the Series opener in Sydney.
2. Liam Martin
The other obvious choice is the man who joined Crichton on the bench in Origin Three last year, Panthers star Liam Martin.
If you asked me right now who I am naming in the Origin second row, then Martin's name is right there. No further thought needed.
Martin is built for the Origin arena. He's aggressive, rarely loses a battle and has performed well in this arena previously. Plus his familiarity with the likely Origin halves Cleary and Luai is a big plus.
The only concern I have is Martin's missed tackle count. I actually had to triple check as I can't remember the Panthers bulldozer missing many tackles but stats do not lie.
The seven, five and nine misses in his past three games don't make for good reading but this can often be a misleading stat.
Otherwise though, I'm running Martin out beside his club halves all day long.
