It is known in Rugby League in general that the halves and backs have the most important positions.

How the halves and backs play in a game can decide who wins and loses.

If games were just left to the forwards, the fate of a game would not really pan out effectively.

Yet, like the backs, forwards too are being trained along similar lines, with short passes/ offloads, backline moves, and various kicks (grubbers/along ground, chips, and bombs).

With the heavy contact and physicality of, and likelihood of injuries in Rugby League in general and NRL, especially being elite, professional sports, it is very significant for teams to have some depth and back-up of halves.

Some potential quality halves may even cancel themselves out of Origin selection because of this strong physicality, preferring to concentrate on their NRL club duties.

This halves-backs situation applies to the National Rugby League (NRL), but also State-of-Origin and New South Wales (NSW) Blues.

There are in fact four possible sets of halves for the NSW Blues that are in fact, good, solid, long-term players.

However, some of the halves from these NRL teams are either playing well and are ranked high on the NRL ladder, and other teams not performing so good.

There is Nathan Cleary and Jerome Luai from the Penrith Panthers, Nicho Hynes and Braydon Trindall from the Cronulla Sharks, Chad Townsend and Scott Drinkwater from North Queensland Cowboys, and then Cody Walker from South Sydney Rabbitohs and Adam Reynolds from Brisbane Broncos.

The Panthers are 4th on the NRL ladder, Sharks 2nd, Cowboys 10th, Brisbane Broncos 7th, and Rabbitohs 17th in last position.

Cleary at Panthers does have a current leg injury and might not play. Luai will also being going to the Wests Tigers in 2025.

Hynes and Trindall are also the NRL Indigenous team halves. Both are playing well, with the Sharks near the top of the NRL ladder. They may therefore not want to jeopardise and sacrifice their bodies with the physicality of State-of-Origin.

The Cowboys made up almost a quarter of the Queensland/QLD Maroons team in 2023. Having NSW-based players in the Cowboys like inform Chad Townsend and Scott Drinkwater (fullback back utility) would play mind-games with the QLD Maroons, with both of them having played alongside these Maroons players.

Although Townsend, a former Shark, is somewhat older now, and in fact a veteran of the game, he is currently playing some of his best Rugby League.

The Rabbitohs have had one of their worst starts to an NRL season. What is more is that Cody Walker is at the Rabbitohs and Adam Reynolds has gone to the Brisbane Broncos. Yet both are still quality halves. However, Reynolds has had a recent injury, and would have had some contact and experience playing in a QLD team.

Additionally, there are also some quality NSW-based dummy halves-hookers.

There are three hookers who have played for the NSW Blues in the past in former Panther-turned-Wests Tigers (14th ranked) Api Koroisau, Damien Cook from the Rabbitohs, and Reece Robson from the Cowboys.

With Wests Tigers and Rabbitohs being much further down the NRL ladder, Robson might be the first selection for the NSW Blues.

Yet there are some other quality NSW-based hookers playing at the moment like Jeremy Marshall-King at the Redcliffe Dolphins (6th ranked), Mitchell Kenny at Panthers (3rd ranked) Blayke Brailey at Cronulla Sharks (2nd rank), Dani Levi and Tom Starling at the Canberra Raiders (8th rank), Lachlan Croker at Manly SeaEagles (4th) and Wayde Egan from the NZ Warriors (12th rank).

Bibliography
- Google.com. '2024 NRL Ladder'
- Personal Experiences:
I have read and viewed on TV and Internet over the years about highlights and matches of the NRL in general, and State-of-Origin between the NSW Blues and QLD Maroons.