Injury threatens Wallace dream

A groin injury looks set to cost Peter Wallace a fairytale return to the NSW side and hand Gold Coast hooker Nathan Peats a surprise place in the Blues squad for the opening game of the State of Origin series.
                                               

Wallace limped from the field during his side’s win over Newcastle yesterday and will undergo scans this morning. While Penrith officials remain optimistic, it appears Wallace is fighting a losing battle to prove his fitness in time for Origin I at Suncorp Stadium on May 31.

Wallace was understood to have the edge on Peats and incumbent Robbie Farah heading into the weekend but injury threatens to once again derail coach Laurie Daley’s master-plan to unseat the Maroons.

In the absence of Wallace, Daley has a straight decision between the past and the future. Farah is closer to the end than the beginning of an Origin career that has made him one of the state’s most capped hookers of all time and it is understood Peats is the more likely proposition given at the age of 26 he would represent a long-term investment.

Morris has come into contention following the injury to Manly’s Tom Trbojevic, although Daley could yet opt to shuffle his backline to accommodate Cronulla utility Jack Bird in the centres, a move that would mean a move to the wing for Josh Dugan.

While hooker is the most significant headache for Daley, it isn’t the only one given the form of several Blues candidates, most notably fullback James Tedesco and centre Jarryd Hayne.

Tedesco has been below par this season while Hayne — considered a certainty to make the team — was embarrassed by Manly and NSW centre Dylan Walker on Saturday night.

At the other end of the spectrum is the halfback position, where Mitchell Pearce continued his rich vein of form by guiding the Sydney Roosters to a win over Canterbury at ANZ Stadium yesterday.