THE one time a rugby league journalist is allowed to ditch objectivity and jump on the bandwagon is when State of Origin rolls around.

Here at foxsports.com.au it’s a delicate balance. Unlike the newspapers whose readership is tied to the city and state they’re published in, Fox Sports is a national media outlet that aims to cater to the full breadth of the audience without bias.

That means the jingoism has to go out the window and each interstate clash has to be reported through both eyes, not through a blue or maroon filter.

So, that’s what we work hard to do and in a newsroom made up of journalists from both sides of the Tweed, it’s not as hard as you might think.

It’s why I tossed and turned about outing myself as a proud New South Welshman who has suffered through the last decade like a tortured soul.

WHY DALEY’S SET TO SNUB RAIDERS STARS

As a kid growing up in the northern NSW town of Armidale, the schoolyard was awash with every club jersey under the sun. Being so far removed from Sydney and Brisbane and even Newcastle gave every footy fan a choice.

No one was tied to a club by geography, so we all picked our own teams for our own reasons and argued about their merits until a crush walked by or the bell sounded.

But when it came to Origin, the schoolyard quickly transformed from a streetfight to a church. We all sang from the same hymn sheet and that hymn sheet was sky blue.

If anything, that’s made me a fiercer critic of NSW when things go wrong and a more dazzled admirer of the champion Maroons over their last decade of unbearable dominance.

Whether that makes me a better or worse judge on NSW selection I’m not quite sure. One thing I do know is I’m invested. And worried.

As much as I respect and revere Laurie Daley, and as much as I’ll be found front and centre on the Blues bandwagon regardless of what team he picks, his rhetoric around selection concerns me.

Daley clearly had a plan when he took over from Ricky Stuart to end the chopping and changing and build a NSW side that could slowly (and literally) wrestle ground back from the Maroons.

He did that by conceding Queensland were more talented and picking a side that could bludgeon them up the middle and blunt them on the edges.

Partly, that’s what won the Blues the 2014 series. What’s been lost somewhat since that remarkable dam buster was that the game plan only kept the games close. Ultimately the series was won by the sheer individual brilliance of Jarryd Hayne.

Without him the blueprint that remains simply doesn’t work.

Jarryd Hayne was central to NSW’s 2014 Origin series win. Picture: Gregg Porteous Source: News Corp Australia

At the end of the day, even in a tight arm wrestle reliant on slow rucks and generous concessions to the defensive side when it comes to the offside line, the winning team is still likely to be the team that can create a moment of genius.

Tries have to come from somewhere.

Look through the current NSW team and as Andrew Johns pointed out on Channel Nine’s The Sunday FootyShow, when he unveiled a very different NSW team to the one Daley is likely to choose, there’s no fear factor.

Even Josh Dugan, who was the Blues’ best player in 2015 by a country mile, doesn’t strike fear into opponents with his playmaking ability.

He should be in the team but not at fullback, where James Tedesco must be given a chance.

Wests Tigers fullback James Tedesco is a hot tip for NSW selection. Picture: Gregg Porteous Source: News Corp Australia

And what about the halves? When Daley talks about the requirements for Origin halves he often speaks about control and big match temperament.

Trent Hodkinson has proven he has the bottle for the Origin arena but he’s also proven he doesn’t have the sleight-of-hand to unlock Queensland’s defence.

Can’t we have the best of both worlds? Adam Reynolds is just returning from injury but has just as good a kicking game, is far more capable of breaking a game open with his running game, and has won a premiership to prove his big stage bona fides.

Pick him to control the side and let a big bodied pit bull terrier like Blake Austin loose on the Maroons’ edge defenders.

Raiders five-eighth Blake Austin is a NSW Origin prospect but coach Laurie Daley is hesitant. Source: Getty Images

The forwards have held their own over the last three years so don’t change them for the sake of it but where you do make changes, throw in a player with X-factor.

Keep your Robbie Farahs, your Paul Gallens, your Aaron Woods’ and Greg Birds but throw in a Tyson Frizell or a Andrew Fifita to unsettle the defensive line and create something for the support running of Tedesco.

Don’t drop a bloke like Josh Morris who’s given superb service to his state but balance the defensive brilliance he provides with some attacking punch to hit the Maroons on the way back.

At the moment the NSW side which Daley likes, and he’s likely to stick to, is good for a low scoring game but also has a tendency to get blown away when the conditions don’t suit.

Like all proud New South Welshman, I’m on your side Laurie. All I ask is that you take the result out of Queensland’s hands by shifting the focus of your tactical blueprint.

Roll the dice.