May 26th, 2017

May 26th, 2017

All 17 NSW Blues players will be under pressure when they step onto Suncorp Stadium to take on Queensland on Wednesday night, but three of them will carry an even heavier load.

Questions abound over each of the three for vastly different reasons. These are the trio with something extra to prove:

Jarryd Hayne's every move will be watched. (AAP)

Jarryd Hayne.

Are the jet engines on the Hayne Plane still working at maximum power? The man who provided the last image of the Blues’ drought-breaking 2014 success has seen – and done – a lot over the last three years.

After playing a major role in NSW’s only series win in the last 11 years, Hayne tried his hand at both the NFL and Rugby Sevens before landing on the Gold Coast last year.

Now a centre, it will be interesting to see how much the Maroons test his positional play. Manly’s Dylan Walker had a field day against Hayne during their recent NRL meeting – hardly an ideal audition.

Talk that Hayne has been given the chance to roam across the field is an idea fraught with danger. On a positive not there is one thing Blues fans don’t have to worry about - Hayne’s supreme self-confidence is just what the Blues need.

Mitchell Pearce (right) has a lot to prove this year. (AAP)

Mitchell Pearce.

Are the Queenslanders right in saying Blues fans have been unfair in lumping so much of their pain over the last 11 years onto the shoulders of the Roosters half-back? A cynic would suggest the Cane Toads are just buttering him up so that whatever sledging they have planned will be even more punishing when they choose to dish it out.

Mind games aside, surely this is it for Pearce. If he doesn’t lead the Blues to a series win over the next two months that has to be it. He’s back with his old Roosters halves partner James Maloney and he has a great pack of forward to set the platform.

If you’re thinking to yourself we’ve been here before you are 100% right. It just remains to be seen if the result will be any different. Oh yeah, there’s also the fact that the only time the Blues have won a series in the past 11 year they were Mitchell Pearce free.

NSW hoooker Nathan Peats. (AAP)

Nathan Peats.

Yes, this is only his first game, but when you are playing in the number nine jersey against a bloke called Cameron Smith there’s no such thing as a low-key introduction.

Peats looks to have everything you need to play Origin football. But until he actually gets out there and proves it, no-one can be certain.

Peats’ selection ahead of veteran rake Robbie Farah didn’t come as a huge surprise but it does add another layer of pressure onto the 26-year-old.

Farah has turned into a couple a strong performances in recent weeks and wouldn’t look out of place in a Blues jersey later in the series if things don’t pan out as Peats and the Blues would be hoping.