Let me sort out the fullback and halves dilemmas with the NSW and Queensland teams for you ahead of them being named after this weekend's round of NRL games.
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It's not actually a dilemma to me. It looks pretty straight-forward I think. But it's a massive debate in many other people's eyes.
First I'll say who should be there and when I get through that I'll talk about the reasons why.
Dylan Edwards at fullback for NSW and Reece Walsh for Queensland, with Kalyn Ponga on the Maroons bench. Mitchell Moses and Nathan Cleary at five-eighth and halfback for the Blues and Cameron Munster and Sam Walker for the Maroons.
Do you agree? Disagree? What do you think and why? Now that we're on the doorstep of team selections for Origin I at Accor Stadium on May 27 it's going to dominate discussion for the next few days.
You know everyone's got an opinion. Even the most distant of rugby league fans who lives in a cave and can't get a reception for his or her Kayo Sports is going to venture outside to tell the world what he or she thinks. (Remember, we're an equal-opportunity column here).
Doesn't matter if all they're talking to is the local flora and fauna and nobody else can hear them. It's all about having your say.
Even that annoying know-it-all in the pub who you'd prefer to ignore is allowed a shot. Just nod and keep looking straight ahead.
I can't understand the obsession some people have with pushing for James Tedesco's return to the NSW side.
Sure, he maintains a consistent record of playing very well for Sydney Roosters, but there's a reason he was axed from the NSW side in 2024. And it was never going to be a decision taken lightly, since he was the captain.
Origin had become a battle for him and it was time for the younger Edwards to get his chance. No shame in that. It happens to every player in the end.
Tedesco was, of course, recalled for Origin I in 2024 after Edwards went down injured at training, but his performance in that match, which Queensland won 38-10 after NSW went a man down early following the send-off of Joseph Suaalii, proved the point.
"Teddy" started well, scoring a try, but overall he had an off game.
Edwards has been the Blues fullback ever since. He was playing injured for most of last season and it showed, but he was back fully fit for the start of this season and his form for Penrith has been dominant.
Tedesco has excelled for the Roosters, but he is 33 now and Origin is the fastest game of league on earth.
If he had remained the NSW fullback all along and continued to play well at that level, fine. But there is no reason to go back to him now. Not when you have a fit and in-form Edwards available.
Reece Walsh has not played as well for Brisbane this season as he did last season, but it's not as if he's playing poorly and he did have an injury interruption.
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The guy doesn't lack confidence. He reeks of it. Put him in the Queensland side at fullback alongside other star players and he'll believe he can do anything. Might even pull it off, like he did in last year's NRL finals series.
Newcastle's Kalyn Ponga, the other contender for the position, would deserve it if picked there, but by going with Walsh the Maroons can include Ponga on the bench from where he would have the potential to be devastating.
Remember his Origin debut back in 2018? He came off the bench as a 20-year-old and played 52 minutes out-of-position in the middle of the field, doing plenty of tackling and being a roving threat in attack. It was a fantastic effort.
Walsh doesn't appeal as a bench player. Ponga has proved his adaptability at the highest level and by choosing him on the bench the Maroons can have them both in their squad.
Recently I wrote here I didn't think there should be any debate over who should partner Penrith's Nathan Cleary in the halves for NSW. I was a bit concerned because a couple of other names were being thrown up as five-eighth possibilities.
Parramatta's Moses has proven himself at Origin level, both in his normal position at halfback when Cleary was out injured and at five-eighth alongside Cleary.
He's a go-getter and if you needed a timely reminder he provided it in last weekend's game against North Queensland, when he orchestrated a short-side move for a try to force golden-point extra-time and then kicked a field goal for the win.
Melbourne's Munster will obviously be the five-eighth and captain for Queensland. The question is who will be halfback following the injury to North Queensland's Tom Dearden.
Multiple names have been thrown up, including Roosters halfback Walker's new halves partner this season in 37-year-old Daly Cherry-Evans.
"DCE" was axed as Maroons halfback and captain after their game-one loss last season and I wouldn't go back to him for the same reason I wouldn't recall Tedesco for the Blues.
Like it was with Tedesco, Origin had become a battle for Cherry-Evans. No matter how well they're playing in the NRL they've had their time at Origin level.
Walker has long been identified by expert judges as a future Origin player. He's certainly old enough (turning 24 in June) and experienced enough (95 first-grade games) and he's in great form for the Roosters.
He was going to have to wait longer for his chance had the Munster-Dearden combination remained intact, but now the opportunity has arisen and Queensland should make the sensible choice and go with the obvious next man up.
