One to keep an eye on: Nathan Peats. Credit:Getty Images What will the NSW and Queensland teams look like in, say, two or three years' time? For the sake of this exercise, we will remove any players from the current Origin availability who were born before 1987. I have a reason for this, which I will explain later in this column. That would mean that notable NSW players, such as Brett Morris (1986), Josh Morris (1986), Anthony Watmough (1983), Greg Bird (1984), Beau Scott (1984), Ryan Hoffman (1984), Luke Lewis (1983), Robbie Farah (1984) and Paul Gallen (1981) will have served their time. Actually, I'm sure the Morris brothers will still be around in two or three years' time and playing a dominant role in representative teams. But I couldn't find any Queenslanders born in 1986 so I made the cut-off date fair to both states for the sake of this column.

Mitchell Pearce could be in the jersey for years to come. Credit:Getty Images For Queensland we will assume that the following players would have moved on: Billy Slater (1983), Justin Hodges (1982), Jonathan Thurston (1983), Cooper Cronk (1983), Corey Parker (1982), Sam Thaiday (1985), Nate Myles (1985), Matt Scott (1985) and Jacob Lillyman (1984). Wow. There are some mighty names among this lot aren't there? What a wonderful group of players. But as you can see from their birth certificates, the majority of this illustrious group will all be retiring about the same time in the next few years. Glimpse of the future: Matt Moylan of the Panthers. Credit:Getty Images So just what is the future of State of Origin for New South Wales and Queensland?

Well, allowing for the fact we may have some superstar kids who have yet to hit the NRL and may well be destined for Origin careers, we can look at those players in the NRL who would qualify for the sides in years to come. Josh Dugan after game two in 2014. Credit:Getty Images A potential NSW team made up of players born in or after 1987 could look as follows: 1. Josh Dugan 2. Alex Johnston

3. Dylan Walker 4. Michael Jennings 5. Daniel Tupou 6. Matt Moylan 7. Mitchell Pearce

8. James Tamou 9. Nathan Peats 10. Aaron Woods 11. Joel Thompson 12. Boyd Cordner

13. Trent Merrin Bench: Josh Jackson, Tyson Frizell, Andrew Fifita, David Klemmer It's not a bad-looking team at all. Consider, too, that NSW would have a talented group of back-up players to the squad, such as James Tedesco, Jack Wighton, Tyrone Peachey, Luke Keary, Tariq Sims, Ryan James, Paul Vaughan and Michael Lichaa. This is why I look forward to the future of the NSW team with great excitement. In this group we see a tremendous squad of youngsters on the verge of making their names at this elite level of football. OK, let's look at Queensland and a potential team for the Maroons in a few years' time.

1. Greg Inglis 2. Edrick Lee 3. Dane Gagai 4. Will Chambers 5. Darius Boyd

6. Michael Morgan 7. Daly Cherry-Evans 8. Josh McGuire 9. Jake Friend 10. Dylan Napa

11. Aiden Guerra 12. Matt Gillett 13. Josh Papalii Bench: Ben Hunt, Chris McQueen, Joe Ofahengaue, David Tyrell The Queenslanders will also have a handy back-up group with names such as Valentine Holmes, Dale Copley, Anthony Milford, Chris Grevsmuhl, Corey Oates, Lloyd Perrett and James Segeyaro.

Not bad at all. In fact, if you look at NSW and Queensland, the future looks pretty bright. We have an enormous number of talented young players already in the system who have either had a taste of Origin football, or who are about to break into these teams. Which side do you like? Maybe I've missed someone you'd like to include. On balance, though, I like NSW's chances in years to come. I think that the loss of so many champion players from the Queensland side all at the one time will see them take a couple of years to regroup. It's why I would like to see a number of these future Blues selected for this year's series. I still think they can win it this year. But the more time they spend playing together will benefit our team greatly in years to come. Many don't agree with my thoughts on picking a NSW Origin side now with a view towards the future. The general feeling is that we stick to what we know, and select the older, more experienced players that make everyone feel a little more confident about winning this year's series. However, I think it's important for the future of our national team that our prestigious Origin series be used as the developing grounds for our next World Cup Kangaroos squad. If the Anzac Test in Brisbane recently didn't scare you a little about the future of our international prospects then nothing will.

Sort through the two state teams that I just picked and come up with your best Australian team from the group of players I've named. Like it or not, the majority of these players will be the ones we take into the next World Cup series in a few years' time. If you think we can just take our old favourites into the next World Cup and get the job done then I suggest you think again. Perhaps a sneak peek at what the Kiwi national team will look like in a couple of years' time will get your attention. Again, let's use the criterion that any player born before 1987 is not included for this analysis. In a few years' time the New Zealand national team could look as follows: 1. Roger Tuivasa-Sheck 2. Dallin Watene-Zelezniak

3. Shaun Kenny-Dowall 4. Dean Whare 5. Peta Hiku 6. Kieran Foran 7. Shaun Johnson

8. Jesse Bromwich 9. Isaac Luke 10. Ben Matalino 11. Kevin Proctor 12. Tohu Harris

13. Jason Taumololo Bench: Elijah Taylor, Alex Glenn, Martin Taupau, Jared Warea-Hargreaves Throw in a back-up group like Gerard Beale, Jordan Kahu, Tuimoala Lolohea, Greg Eastwood, Manu Mau, Sam Kasiano and Kodi Nikorima and you see that the New Zealand team in a few years' time bears a striking resemblance to their national team today. If older stars are struggling to beat them now, can you imagine how hard the Kiwis will be to beat in a few years' time when they've spent another two or three years playing together? Remember too, that I haven't included names for New Zealand such as Jason Nightingale, Manu Vatuvei, Lewis Brown, Simon Mannering, Adam Blair and Sam Moa, who were all born in 1986 and will probably still be playing at a representative level for a few more years. These guys are still younger than the majority of our current top-line Kangaroos. Look at the experience and combination this Kiwi squad will have by the time the next World Cup rolls around. New Zealand rugby league is on the verge of its greatest ever era. We are not going to contain them with our favourite representative players of today. They are simply too old. We've seen they're not good enough to beat them now. What makes us think the same squad will beat them in 2 years? Face reality, my friends, we won't. We need to start building again.

The best development process for our national team has always been the State of Origin arena. If we want to build our next great Australian team, we need to use Origin as our factory for future international-class players. The landscape has changed. The Kiwis are now the No.1 team in the world. In years gone by it was considered that international competition played second fiddle to our elite interstate series. That is no longer the case. We have to come to terms with the fact that New Zealand is now superior, their current team is also much younger than our national squad, and they are only getting better. Our national team is not getting better, it is just getting older. We need to break from the past and get on with the future. I believe that starts with the selection of our State of Origin teams. Hang on to the past if you choose. However, I think it is perilous for the future of our national team to do so.