The NSWRL has accused South Sydney and Wests Tigers for undermining their State of Origin pathways, following the eleventh-hour withdrawals of Alex Johnston and Luke Brooks from the Blues U20s side this afternoon.

Although neither is injured, Johnston and Brooks did not attend a 4pm team medical in Parramatta.

Upset NSWRL boss David Trodden revealed he was first advised of South Sydney’s opposition to Johnston — who made his NRL debut last Friday night — being involved. He felt the Rabbitohs’ stance set a precedent that Wests Tigers followed, with Brooks withdrawn a short time later.

Both players were shaping as drawcards for Saturday night’s clash against the Queensland U20s — which will contain Raiders star Anthony Milford — at Sportingbet Stadium.

“We’re disappointed that Alex Johnston has withdrawn from the New South Wales under 20s team, even though there’s no suggestion that he is unavailable through injury,” NSWRL chief executive David Trodden said.

“It is disappointing for the player to miss out on representing his state, which most people would consider to be a significant honour, but the real difficulty with decisions like this is the domino effect that the decision inevitably leads to.

“We feared that as a consequence of Alex’s withdrawal, other clubs and players would make similar decisions in relation to availability, which would affect the game as a whole. This fear has been realised with the subsequent withdrawal of Luke Brooks from the team.

“Our Blues coach Laurie Daley has been working very hard to try to create the sort of culture within the NSWRL that’s necessary to provide us with long-term State of Origin success. His job is made difficult by not having access the players who have the potential to one day play State of Origin.”