Ahead of the announcement of the NSW City Origin squad to play Country at Scully Park on May 8, the NRL.com staff writers have come up with the side they would pick to represent City.
Tony Webeck – Chief Queensland Correspondent
1 Lachlan Coote, 2 David Nofoaluma, 3 James Roberts, 4 Dylan Walker, 5 Josh Mansour, 6 Blake Austin, 7 Adam Reynolds, 8 Andrew Fifita, 9 Nathan Peats, 10 David Klemmer, 11 Bryce Cartwright, 12 Wade Graham, 13 Jake Trbojevic. Interchange: 14 Matt Moylan, 15 Tim Grant, 16 Junior Paulo, 17 Jason Clark.
Assuming Blake Austin returns from injury in time, I'd have him partner Adam Reynolds in the halves. If every member of this forward pack got picked for NSW this year I wouldn't complain and I just had to find a place for Panthers skipper Matt Moylan. I left Kane Evans and Reagan Campbell-Gillard out because I'd rather see them playing for Fiji in the Pacific Test.
Chris Kennedy – National Correspondent
1 Lachlan Coote, 2 James Roberts, 3 Brad Takairangi, 4 Dylan Walker, 5 Josh Mansour, 6 Josh Reynolds, 7 Adam Reynolds, 8 Junior Paulo, 9 Nathan Peats, 10 Andrew Fifita, 11 Bryce Cartwright, 12 Wade Graham, 13 Jake Trbojevic. Interchange: 14 Matt Moylan, 15 Blake Austin, 16 Reagan Campbell-Gillard, 17 David Klemmer.
Moylan and Austin are each being considered as a bench utility for NSW so get a chance here to show how they handle that role and rotate through a few positions. Junior Paulo starts at prop after his blinding start to the year. It's a case of 'when' rather than 'if' for both Trbojevic brothers though they along with Campbell-Gillard are future prospects in Origin terms, although Tom Trbojevic unfortunately misses through injury. The two back-rowers need to demand Origin inclusion after inconsistent starts to the year.
Martin Gabor – National Correspondent
1 Lachlan Coote, 2 James Roberts, 3 Brad Takairangi, 4 Dylan Walker, 5 Josh Mansour, 6 Blake Austin, 7 Aidan Sezer, 8 Andrew Fifita, 9 Nathan Peats, 10 Junior Paulo, 11 Bryce Cartwright, 12 Wade Graham, 13 Jake Trbojevic. Interchange: 14 Matt Moylan, 15 Reagan Campbell-Gillard, 16 Kane Evans, 17 Tepai Moeroa.
On paper this looks like a formidable City side. The Raiders halves pairing of Sezer and Austin have been touted as Origin prospects, so this clash will give them the perfect platform to showcase their combination. There is plenty of speed in the centres and grunt up front. The back-row of Graham and Cartwright will bring flair on the fringes, while the addition of Jake Trbojevic is just reward for one of Manly's brightest young stars, who would've been joined by brother Tom if not for injury.
Jack Brady – National Correspondent
1 Matt Moylan, 2 Josh Mansour, 3 James Roberts, 4 Dylan Walker, 5 Lachlan Coote, 6 Blake Austin, 7 Aidan Sezer, 8 Andrew Fifita, 9 Nathan Peats, 10 Junior Paulo, 11 Bryce Cartwright, 12 Wade Graham, 13 Jake Trbojevic. Interchange: 14 Michael Lichaa, 15 Reagan Campbell-Gillard, 16 Chris Lawrence, 17 Tepai Moeroa.
I've treated the City Origin team the exact way I did their Country counterparts – by naming very few players who have made their New South Wales debut in the last two years. With Mitchell Pearce stood down until just before representative round it has offered Josh Reynolds the inside running for the Blues No. 6 jumper. In other words there's no point for the Bulldogs five-eighth to play this game and is why I've given Austin/Sezer the chance to take their Raiders combination to the representative stage. I'm excited by the potential City debuts of Moeroa, Jake Trbojevic, Paulo and Cartwright too. I can see Chris Lawrence playing a role similar to the one Joseph Paulo and Jason Clark did last year too in terms of experience off the bench.
Corey Rosser – NZ Correspondent
1 Matt Moylan, 2 James Roberts, 3 Brad Takairangi, 4 Dylan Walker, 5 Josh Mansour, 6 Blake Austin, 7 Aidan Sezer, 8 Reagan Campbell-Gillard, 9 Nathan Peats, 10 Junior Paulo, 11 Bryce Cartwright, 12 Wade Graham, 13 Jake Trbojevic. Interchange: 14 Cameron McInnes, 15 Tepai Moeroa, 16 Nathan Brown, 17 Kane Evans.
Canberra halves Blake Austin and Aiden Sezer deserve a crack and have the added bonus of an already established partnership. A youthful bench full of potential should bring plenty to the game.
Adrian McMurray – Producer
1 Lachlan Coote, 2 Josh Mansour, 3 Brad Takairangi, 4 Dylan Walker, 5 James Roberts, 6 Aidan Sezer, 7 Adam Reynolds, 8 Andrew Fifita, 9 Nathan Peats, 10 David Klemmer, 11 Bryce Cartwright, 12 Wade Graham, 13 Jake Trbojevic. Interchange: 14 Matt Moylan, 15 Junior Paulo, 16 John Asiata, 17 Tepai Moeroa.
I've thrown caution to the wind and selected City team stacked with young, attacking talent. Lachlan Coote leads a dangerous backline following the injury to Tedesco, Sezer partners Reynolds in the halves, Andrew Fifita and David Klemmer wreak havoc up front while each edge would have a ball-playing back-rower. Nathan Peats and Jake Trbojevic keep things tidy in the middle, Matt Moylan could be brought on in a roving role, Junior Paulo and premiership-winner John Asiata could keep the momentum going up front, and Tepai Moera takes his next step to higher honours.
Dominic Brock – Production Editor
1 Lachlan Coote, 2 James Roberts, 3 Brad Takairangi, 4 Dylan Walker, 5 Josh Mansour, 6 Blake Austin, 7 Adam Reynolds, 8 Junior Paulo, 9 Nathan Peats, 10 Andrew Fifita, 11 Bryce Cartwright, 12 Wade Graham, 13 Jake Trbojevic. Interchange: 14 Matt Moylan, 15 Tepai Moeroa, 16 David Klemmer, 17 Reagan Campbell-Gillard.
There is some great strike power in the back five here, plus a super promising back row, while Andrew Fifita could be playing to revive his NSW career. It would be interesting to see Adam Reynolds and Blake Austin given a chance as a brand new Blues halves pairing, so picking them here would at least give us a look at how the two worked as a combination.
Andrew Bryan – Deputy Editor
1 Lachlan Coote, 2 Josh Mansour, 3 James Roberts, 4 Brad Takairangi, 5 Dylan Walker, 6 Blake Austin, 7 Aidan Sezer, 8 David Klemmer, 9 Nathan Peats, 10 Reagan Campbell-Gillard, 11 Bryce Cartwright, 12 Wade Graham, 13 Jake Trbojevic. Interchange: 14 Matt Moylan, 15 Jason Clark, 16 Tepai Moeroa, 17 Tom Symonds.
I'd give Lachlan Coote time in the No.1 jersey to prove his worth in the representative arena. Canberra halves Blake Austin and Aidan Sezer should be given a chance to show how they can control a game together with new partnerships out the back, while the forward pack has plenty of size and skill with the likes of Graham, Cartwright and Trbojevic. Matt Moylan is a utility covering the backline.
NRL.com's combined City team
1 Lachlan Coote
2 Josh Mansour
3 Brad Takairangi
4 Dylan Walker
5 James Roberts
6 Blake Austin
7 Aidan Sezer
8 Andrew Fifita
9 Nathan Peats
10 Junior Paulo
11 Bryce Cartwright
12 Wade Graham
13 Jake Trbojevic
Interchange:
14 Matt Moylan
15 David Klemmer
16 Reagan Campbell-Gillard
17 Tepai Moeroa
This article first appeared on NRL.com
