BLUES coach Laurie Daley refuses to rule out a State of Origin comeback for old Willie Mason this year, even though he hasn't played for the Blues since 2008.

Some very good judges, including his Newcastle Knights coach Wayne Bennett, think Mason's up for it.



"He's got confidence and he'd bring energy and belief to the joint," Bennett says. "He's been there, done that and done it pretty well. He was part of the last NSW Origin team that won."



Daley admits he's seriously considering Mason as an option in the forwards or from the bench, especially if the ongoing drugs crisis leaves the Blues short.



At least a couple of Blues contenders are possibly on the 31-player list that ASADA has compiled for its investigation.



On the possibility of picking Mason, Daley says: "I'm going to see how he goes over the next month or so.



"He's a good bloke to have around the joint and he's one of the few blokes still playing who has been in a winning NSW Origin side."Mason is 32 but former Queensland coach Bennett insists age should not be part of the selection criteria.



He was in tremendous pre-season form for the Knights and had a blinder in round one against the Tigers.



"Queensland's great success has been built around older players like the Lockyers, Peteros and Steven Prices," Bennett said.



"No one looks at the birth certificates in Queensland. It's all about performance.



"If Willie's playing well, I'd make him a priority. His pre-season form was outstanding for us.



"He's not going to be intimidated by anything Queensland throw at him, that's for sure."The debate over Mason aside, the Blues team is still wide open from fullback to front-row.



Not even skipper Paul Gallen can be regarded as a certainty because of his club's drugs crisis.



Probably only Robbie Farah, James Tamou and Greg Bird could consider themselves certainties.



At fullback, Manly's Brett Stewart is the obvious favourite, but put the red pen through Josh Dugan's name after his latest indiscretion. Cronulla's Michael Gordon cannot be ruled out, either.



St George Illawarra's Brett Morris and Parramatta's Jarryd Hayne are the likely wingers but for how long can we keep ignoring the wonderful credentials of Souths flyer Nathan Merritt. Akuila Uate was exposed in defence last year and is unlikely at this stage.



In the centres, Canterbury's Josh Morris and the Roosters' Michael Jennings deserve to retain their positions but Blake Ferguson and Chris Lawrence have a month to put pressure on them.

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Five-eighth is without doubt the most debatable position, particularly now Todd Carney has broken down. There is a huge push for the Bulldogs' Josh Reynolds, while the Roosters' James Maloney and Rabbitoh John Sutton need to be considered as well.



Daley is on record as saying the incumbent Mitchell Pearce is his first-choice halfback. Surely, the way he's steering Souths around the park, Adam Reynolds is well in the mix. I wouldn't be writing off Jarrod Mullen or Kurt Gidley, either.



As usual, the Blues have any number of players competing for the back-row.



Surely St George Illawarra's outstanding back-rower Trent Merrin will force his way in. He is a dynamite player.



Gallen will probably play in the front-row alongside Tamou. But youngsters like Ryan James from the Gold Coast and Andrew Fifita from the Sharks have emerged in the early rounds of the competition as potential bench players.



They will have to see off Willie Mason's claims to get there.

Gal's gallant efforts are proving too much

SOMETIMES you get the feeling Paul Gallen is trying too hard for the Cronulla Sharks.



On Saturday night against the Dragons, the Blues Origin skipper made an unbelievable 238m.



No other forward in the competition can get anywhere near that number of metres in a game.



But there is now a suggestion his style is stifling the Sharks attack.

media_camera Paul Gallen making yards for Cronulla against St George Illawarra on Saturday night.





The Sharks attack looked predictable and easy to read.



The club has had a problem scoring points for years.



Gallen received the football 32 times against the Dragons, which is normally about the amount of possession a five-eighth gets.



He has got a great offload but he made too many errors on Saturday night, probably because he was exhausted.



Understandably, the NRL drugs crisis has also affected him and many other Cronulla players.



This shouldn't be read as criticism of Gallen because there's not a more wholehearted player in the game.



Coach Shane Flanagan would be doing him a favour by reducing his game time in coming weeks.



Getting 65 to 70 high quality minutes can often be more beneficial than slogging away for 80 minutes.



THURSDAY night football has come and gone for another year. Apart from the Anzac Day matches in a few weeks, the draw reverts to a Friday kick-off for the rest of the season.



Phew. I'm glad it's over because, while it's been a fantastic way to start the season, five nights of football every week is just too much.



You're well and truly fatigued by the time you sit down for Monday night games.



We've also learnt this year that the kick-off time of 8.10pm on Thursdays is just too late on a school night.



I'm sure the NRL will be looking at a much more family-friendly 7pm kick-off time in future.

Inu deserved early shower

THERE was absolutely no excuse for Krisnan Inu not to be sent off for his spear tackle on Greg Inglis.



Not when you've got two referees, two touch judges and two officials in the video box.



Surely the honeymoon is now well and truly over for referees boss Daniel Anderson.



It's understandable that the send-off is rarely used these days. In fact only nine players have been dismissed in the past four seasons.



The last player sent off for a dangerous throw was Peter Driscoll playing for Souths in 1995.



Action has to be taken against blatant acts of foul play.



It might have been totally out of character for the normally laid-back Bulldogs centre but that doesn't matter.



The referees have an obligation to act on any incident where a player is put at risk of head and neck injuries.



HIGHLIGHT



The best player in any code over the Easter weekend was Gold Coast Suns midfielder Gary Ablett against St Kilda. I only saw the highlights but he looked like Billy Slater and Cooper Cronk rolled into one.



LOWLIGHT



The Krisnan Inu spear tackle on Greg Inglis. After the Richie Fa’aoso shoulder charge, that’s two weeks in a row we’ve had shocking incidents that turn mums and dads off the game. Our judiciary is too soft and players obviously know they can get away with it.



WIN HE’S WORKED FOR



No-one deserved two competition points more than Dragons coach Steve Price over the weekend. The club’s treatment of the coach has been appalling and is one of the reasons the players have look so unsettled in the early rounds.



WRIGHT’S WRONGS



It’s too early in the season to be judging worst buys of the year but let’s just say Sharks winger Jonathon Wright is one of the early contenders. Surely the very talented local junior Stewart Mills will get an opportunity on the wing next weekend against the Eels.



PRESSURE’S ON DES



The Bulldogs-Sea Eagles will be an absolute blockbuster on Friday night. With just one win from four starts, coach Des Hasler will have to knock off his old club to keep in the Dogs on pace for a top-four finish.