SOUTH Sydney playmaker Luke Keary’s fight to be declared a Queenslander is set to intensify with the RLPA to back his battle to reject NSW.

Keary’s status as an Origin player of the future was further cemented with his starring role in the Rabbitohs’ grand final triumph on Sunday night, the 22-year-old playing a blinder at five-eighth to help end South Sydney’s 43-year premiership drought.

The Ipswich-born half had put his Origin eligibility saga on the backburner during the NRL season, but RLPA representative Michael Crocker said the players’ association was ready to help Keary pursue justice all the way to the ARL Commission.

media_camera Ben Te'o and Luke Keary celebrate with fans the day after winning the 2014 NRL Grand Final.

“I’ve spoken to him a lot. He wanted to put it behind him this year obviously because he just wanted to focus on football. But it’s something he is really passionate about,” Crocker said.

“For a kid who is born in Queensland, his parents were from Queensland and he grew up as a Queenslander it is very hard.

“If he wants to pursue that path we are going to be more than happy to fight for him and fight for his right to play for who he wants to play for.

“It’s not about him saying ‘OK I’ve got the best opportunity to play for Queensland’. It's just about the way he feels as a person, as a footballer.

“He is not going to be comfortable playing for NSW.”

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After leading Souths to a premiership, Keary will most certainly come into Origin calculations next season if considered a Blue.

In all likelihood Keary — who moved to Sydney when he was 10 — would be higher in the NSW halves pecking order than Queensland, where Daly Cherry-Evans and Ben Hunt head the list of understudies for the Maroons.

Crocker’s fear is that the prospect of being forced to play for NSW could impact upon Keary’s mindset and ultimately detract from his game.

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media_camera Luke Keary is passionate about playing for Queensland.

“If he gets to that point (of being considered for NSW) that is when it will affect him most,” he said.

“If it is going to affect him as a footballer then it is something that needs to be discussed with the commission and we are more than happy to facilitate that.

“He has always thought he was a Queenslander. It doesn’t matter what he has done in junior football, that is where his allegiance has always been.

“We want to do what is right for him.”

Rabbitohs teammate Ben Te’o said Keary should not be forced to play for NSW if his heart lies with Queensland.

“Origin is about what’s inside, it’s what you feel. That is what he feels,” Te’o said.

“Unfortunately the new rules have changed but there’s got to be exemptions for someone like that.

“You can’t tell him to put on a blue jersey and be proud.

“I know there’s new rules and people say that’s the way it is, but he is a Queenslander.”