Let's Talk Origin - Round 4

Each week at Leagueunlimited.com we'll do our best to toss up a few names for everyone to debate over. For each state we'll name three players:

• An incumbent member of the squads that featured in last year's series 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.

THE INCUMBENTS

NSW - BEAU SCOTT (SECOND-ROW) - A wise man once said ‘there's nothing soft about Beau Scott'. Scott burst back onto the Origin scene last year and made an immediate impact whacking anything resembling Maroon, with or without ball. Along with his brutal defense, Scott looks to be running the ball as hard as ever. In Saturday's game against a well renowned defensive team like Penrith, he ran for 102 meters, busting eight tackles along the way. Tough as nails, Scott will no doubt have Queensland's play-makers looking over their shoulders and it's probably safe to say Johnathan Thurston won't be giving him any cheeky little slaps across the face like he did last year.

QLD - COREY PARKER (LOCK) - The ageless warrior that just keeps on giving. Parker is showing no signs of letting up in his 15th year of first grade footy. If anything, he could be a bit fresher for this year's series considering Wayne Bennett is giving him more of a breather during games this year. While his stats of 115 meters and 25 tackles per game is somewhat down on his higher numbers in previous years, his carries look more dangerous with more energy to make an impact with every run. Still one of the hardest men in the NRL to prevent an offload from, Parker will no doubt create plenty of second phase play for his champion play-makers to take advantage of.

THE RECALLED

NSW - MICHAEL JENNINGS (CENTRE) - Jet boots Jennings has been a regular fixture in the Blues back-line over the last six years but missed game three last year due to injury. A proven performer at this level, Jennings looks set to resurrect his successful centre pairing with Josh Morris. Jennings looks as sharp as ever this year with four tries to his name to go along with his 15 tackle busts. With his fancy footwork and speed to burn, Jennings will again pose a constant threat to the Maroons throughout this year's series.

QLD - MATT BALLIN (HOOKER) - Obviously, Ballin won't come into serious consideration as long as Cameron Smith is fit and well, but the Maroons juggernaut has thrived on being so loyal over the years, leaving the stocks of players looking for a recall considerably thin. If for some reason Smith wasn't available, Ballin would be one of the leading contenders to earn his first taste of origin since his one and only game back in 2010. Ballin has long been renowned as the glue that holds a star studded Manly team together and still averages over 40 tackles per match. Would no doubt step into Smith's boots admirably and provide quality service out of dummy half.

THE ROOKIES

NSW - JOSH MANSOUR (WING) - Mansour burst onto the rep scene at the end of last year making his Kangaroos debut during the Four Nations. After missing the opening two games of 2015, Mansour has wasted no time making up for lost ground, averaging 168 meters from his 18 runs per game, busting 10 tackles along his merry way. It's these stats and the aggressive manner in which he makes his runs that are screaming out for origin football. As a winger, you need to be able to role the sleeves up and do plenty of work to help out your forwards and Mansour is almost always there for the first and often toughest run of the set. Close to the try line he's a great finisher with his strength making him so hard to stop from close range.

QLD - JAMES SEGEYARO (HOOKER/INTERCHANGE) - Unlike fellow number nine Matt Ballin who we talked about earlier, Segeyaro is looming as more of a genuine contender every time he runs out. Again, he won't wear the number nine while Smith is fit, but could seriously challenge for a spot on the bench. With early season stats of two tries, three line breaks, 16 tackle busts and 10 offloads from his three games, can you imagine this little jack in the box coming on ten minutes out from halftime? He wouldn't take game time from the Maroons skipper either with Smith spending time at lock for Australia in recent campaigns when their bench utility has hit the park.

UNDER THE PUMP

NSW - JAMES McMANUS - No one could ever accuse James McManus of letting the team down. Safe as houses under the high ball and always reliable when the tough runs need to be made coming out of his own end, McManus always seems to find a way to poke his nose through the defensive line and earn his team a quick play the ball. Fact of the matter is though, McManus seems to be the safe option if a fill in is needed later in a series. With plenty of back-line talent putting their hand up, it appears McManus is unlikely to hold his spot again.

QLD - DARIUS BOYD - The equal greatest try scorer in Queensland origin history is under the pump to recover from injury in time as much as anything. After snapping his achilles during pre-season training last December, it was initially feared the majority of his season would be over, but reports are suggesting his recovery is ahead of schedule and he could yet feature in this year's series. If he does make it back in time, all eyes will be on his form after being out of the game for so long, Boyd played his last game back in July last year.

LEFT-FIELD THOUGHT OF THE WEEK

Instead of taking origin games to Melbourne to promote the game, take other fixtures like the odd test match, all-stars or even the nines (there are plenty of other ways). But origin should always be played in NSW or QLD for mine. Maybe we could take an origin game to the country every few years to give back to our grass roots. Yes, the loss of ticket sales would be huge…but maybe the supposed war chest the NRL have could be used to offset some of the lost revenue…