NSW coach Laurie Daley has already said he will stand by Penrith’s Matt Moylan for NSW’s must-win game in State of Origin II at Suncorp Stadium but these are the cold hard statistics that suggest Wests Tigers James Tedesco should be there too.

Tedesco was the favourite to wear the Blues No.1 jumper in the opening Origin game in Sydney before a shoulder injury ended his chances and opened the door for Moylan.

Moylan’s position in the team for game two was questioned after an inauspicious debut which saw the usually reliable Panthers fullback struggle under the high ball — a tactic that Queensland will no doubt exploit again as they look to wrap up the series at their spiritual home, Suncorp Stadium.

SHOOT-OUT: Daly names back-row contenders

Upcoming Matches

NSW’s attack also come under fire after a number of attacking raids ended with only one try to Boyd Cordner as the Blues dropped the opening game 6-4 to put Queensland on track to win their 10th series in 11 years.

THE HEAD-TO-HEAD COMPARISON

Fox Sports Lab has uncovered statistics which show that Tedesco has been the most consistent fullback in the NRL since the start of the season. He has scored 10 tries, averages 128 metres a game, has busted 50 tackles, broken the line nine times, has eight linebreak assists and seven try assists.

ORIGIN SCOUT: Leilua’s NSW prospects, Maroons utility duel

By comparison Moylan has one try, averages 101 metres a game, has 10 tackle busts, one linebreak, 10 linebreak assists and nine try assists.

FITTING TWO INTO ONE

The City team squeezed both players into their side against Country last year with Moylan wearing the No.1 jumper while Tedesco played on the wing (admittedly the experiment didn’t work with Country running out 34-22 winners).

It begs the question should Daley follow suit and try to fit both players in to increase the backline’s potency — a move that Queensland has used to great effect in the past.

Billy Slater is widely regarded as one of the greatest fullbacks the game has produced but he started off his representative career with the Maroons on the wing to accommodate other players.

There are also question marks still hanging over the fitness of St George Illawarra’s Josh Dugan, who is pushing to return from an elbow injury in time for game two.

Even if Dugan is cleared it will be a month since he last played after he suffered the injury against South Sydney on May 19.

THE COUNTER ARGUMENT

Matt Moylan had a shaky first Origin game. Source: News Corp Australia

Australian selector Bob McCarthy defended Moylan’s performance from game one and said he would resist any urge to either replace him with Tedesco or accommodate both players in the team.

“I know Moylan made a couple of errors but we’ve got to keep him because he’s the future,’’ McCarthy said.

“You can go back to Darren Lockyer in his first rep game and people wanted to send him to Sibera after he dropped about 85 balls.

Gold Coast forward Luke Douglas joins Ben Ikin, Nathan Ryan and Ben Glover on the Market Watch podcast to discuss the Titans’ new recruits and secret to the club’s revival.

You can also subscribe via iTunes or for Android users, listen on the iPP Podcast Player app.

“I don’t think you could stick (Tedesco) on the wing. I know (Blake) Ferguson was quiet in that first game but he’s got that x-factor about him and (Josh) Mansour is so strong he’s like an extra forward.

“I wouldn’t make too many changes because we weren’t too far off it.”

McCarthy said the only way he could ever see both players representing NSW at the same time was if Penrith made the decision to switch Moylan to five-eighth.

The Panthers fullback has often been compared to Lockyer, who started his career at fullback for the Broncos before going on to be regarded as a champion five-eighth.

“I think Moylan would have to play five-eighth consistently for his club and then you could have the other guy there,” McCarthy said. “Speed is everything in Origin and Tedesco has got an abundance of it.”

The writer is on Twitter @stuhoneysett

Download the new FOX SPORTS App to get the latest news and scores from your NRL team.