It's becoming clearer with every round that the Blues are facing their worst halves crisis in Origin history. Mitch is back: Mitchell Pearce is back for the Roosters. Credit:Mark Kolbe The only other time it was this bad was 2006 when Craig Gower and Matt Orford went down with injury, Trent Barrett and Andrew Johns refused to come out of rep retirement, and it was left to Brett Finch and Braith Anasta to steer the ship. Finchy, bless him, kicked the winning field goal in game one and became an overnight Origin legend … before having a howler in game two. It will be exactly a month on Friday until Daley names his side for the all-important series opener against Queensland at ANZ Stadium on June 1.

No playmaker deserves selection at this point. Not one. Find me one with any semblance of form that suggests they could do the job for their state. Trent Hodkinson, the incumbent halfback, is barely playing well enough for the legless Knights. South Sydney's Adam Reynolds has played one match in his return from a broken jaw and never played Origin. Superb kicking game, sure, but there are serious questions about how he plays behind a pack not going forward. In Origin, that changes by the minute. James Maloney is finding form at the Sharks and can kick goals, but when he last played for NSW in 2014 the Queenslanders ran over him once, identified the weakness and then kept running at him for the rest of the series. Find me a player who cares as much about the result as Josh Reynolds, but the Bulldogs five-eighth suffers from exploding head syndrome.

Passion personified: Josh Reynolds. Credit:Getty Images Maybe we should look to the future? Blake Austin and Aidan Sezer from Canberra? Not yet. Luke Brooks and Mitchell Moses from the Tigers? They need to win some matches for their club before they contemplate winning for NSW. Last year, I wrote the controlled kicking game of Panthers veteran Jamie Soward is worthy of consideration. Daley could do worse. That said, he was a heartbeat away from retirement in the off-season. Pick some players out of position?

Matt Moylan might be the Panthers' No.6 of the future but he needs some actual game time there before he can play the role at Origin level. Greg Bird's not a five-eighth, he's an angry back-rower. Daley is loath to pick players out of position. He is also suspicious about picking untried playmakers. Expect him to go with what he knows, as reluctant as he might be. "We need a team that can score points!" some critics declare. "We need to start looking to the future!" cry others. If anyone can name these young, fresh-faced, point-scoring weapons who are available for NSW selection, speak up now. We're all listening. Anyone? Something? Hello? Their time will come: Canberra Raiders duo Aidan Sezer and Blake Austin. Credit:Melissa Adams

Which leaves us with Pearce, who will make his return from his eight-match suspension in just over a week when the Roosters play the Knights at Allianz Stadium. Pearce is the most maligned NSW player in history. He is also the incumbent five-eighth. Daley hasn't put a red line through him for this year's series, nor will he say he's even considering him. Those close to Pearce reckon he's doing well following his stint in rehab, but the challenges of living day to day, like anyone sizing up the issues of addiction, are very real. Nobody exactly knows how he will cope with the pressure of playing NRL again. But if he does make a stunning comeback, and leads the Roosters to victories over the Knights, Raiders and Dogs, don't be surprised if he's pulling on a sky blue jumper again.

I can see the headline already ... FROM REHAB TO ORIGIN REDEMPTION. Vintage rugby league. The story writes itself. Hackett rethink? Don't discount the idea of Grant Hackett calling swimming for Channel Seven at the Rio Olympics despite this week's Nipple-gate scandal on a flight from Adelaide to Melbourne. The network's position has apparently softened since the heady events of earlier this week, when the three-time Olympic gold medallist made the front page of newspapers around the country for his drunken behaviour on a plane, when he allegedly reached around and grabbed a man's nipple.

Controversial character: Grant Hackett. Credit:Quinn Rooney The dust will be allowed to settle before a call is made from up high. In other words, by Seven owner Kerry Stokes. There was a gentle sigh of relief among some Olympics officials when Hackett didn't make the swim team because they've dodged a potentially explosive situation at the Games. Spin doctor smackdown Football Federation Australia spin doctor Kyle Patterson has received an embarrassing smackdown from his superiors for an unprofessional rant on social media. Patterson, who is the head of corporate affairs and communications, was beating his chest over NSW Premier Mike Baird's announcement last week about a redeveloped ANZ Stadium. He posted this on his very public LinkedIn profile: "If you listen carefully, the high-pitched whine you'll hear is coming from the eastern suburbs elite and a few hack journos who share the entitlement mentality. Don't Trust (sic) them! Mike Baird doesn't."

Furious FFA execs ordered him to take down the post as soon as they were made aware of it. Indeed, we wonder what FFA chairman Steven Lowy thinks of such unprofessionalism. We wonder, too, what Allianz Stadium tenants Sydney FC think, given the stadium they play out of is now at the end of the line for a much-needed redevelopment. In another life, Patterson was the head of communications at ANZ Stadium so it's little wonder he doesn't want Allianz to receive a lick of paint. The last time I dealt with the bloke was the World Cup in Brazil when he issued several threats concerning a legitimate story about Luke Wilkshire's controversial omission from the Socceroos squad. Patterson threatened to pull access to the national team and my accreditation to a match later in the year against Juventus in Sydney. He also wanted to take credit for a glowing profile piece written about national coach Ange Postecoglou on the eve of the tournament.

This insular mentality is exactly why football remains shackled in this country. Instead of conjuring catty little social media posts criticising others for doing their job, maybe the head of communications at the FFA should do his own – like thinking of ways of getting some traction in the media for the A-League finals. End of an era It will be the end of an era when the waterside home of the late Jack and Judy Gibson goes up for auction next month. The Gibsons bought the block of land in Cowra Place in south Cronulla in 1970 and the supercoach spent hours digging out the foundations and building the six-bedroom, three-storey house. Love at first sight: Jack and Judy Gibson at the launch of his biography in 2003. Credit:Steve Christo

If only the walls could talk. It was the place where dozens of young footballers stayed, especially those from the bush whom Jack had enticed to the big smoke to play rugby league. It was also where Jack would throw lavish parties for the various teams he coached so the players and their wives bonded. Jack passed away in 2008, and Judy left us earlier this year. The end of an era but never forgotten. Bennett speaks out From one mastercoach to the next ... When Wayne Bennett speaks, it's very difficult not to listen. The same will apply when he opens the Change the Game Conference in Sydney on May 7, which targets homophobia and transphobia in sport. There's been considerable effort in addressing homophobia in professional sport but more needs to be done to impact sports at the amateur level. Great to see someone of Bennett's stature getting involved. For more info go to teamsydney.org.au/ctg.

Athletics dying in Australia, warns Tamsyn Tamsyn Lewis will race for the very last time next week before slipping into the Channel Seven commentary box to call the Rio Olympics alongside – gulp! – Bruce McAvaney. This is important, she says, because her sport has much pride that needs to be restored. "Track and field in this country has died a slow and painful death since its heyday," says Lewis, a PocJox ambassador. "I would really like to give an insight to the viewers back home who our athletes are. There are some great personalities and I want the Australian public to get to know them." Tamsyn is a ripper. She has never been afraid to voice her opinion, not least after former head coach Eric Hollingsworth overlooked her for the London Games four years ago. "Yeah, I don't like Eric," she says. "He left me out of all the teams. I'm glad that he's out because there's some positivity heading into these Olympics."

She was supposed to retire after London. Instead, she kept training. Then she had a child. Then she started running some solid times in the 800m. Then she set about trying to qualify for Rio at the age of 37. She narrowly missed out on selection at the Olympic trials earlier this month, but will compete for the last time at next week's High Noon meet at the Australian Institute of Sport. On the run: Tamsyn Lewis Manou. Credit:Daniel Pockett "I was really upset with how the race was run at nationals, but I got the result I deserved," she said. "I know I can run a lot faster, so I thought I would run one last time, in Canberra, this weekend. It's purely for selfish reasons before I hang up the spikes." And then she prepares to be the expert athletics caller in Rio alongside Bruce. When she auditioned alongside the legendary caller, she didn't expect to get a call back. "I just assumed I would never get it – I've never commentated before," she says. "When I called next to him at the auditions, I said, 'Bruce, that's my bucket list item ticked'. Since I was little, I have always watched the Olympics. The idea of sitting next to Bruce, calling races live and listening and learning from him, is just huge."

Lewis also understands some of the pain veteran swimmer Grant Hackett has felt in recent years. "Anyone who loves their sport as a profession never finds it easy walking away," she said. "It's a big game changer when you walk away from it. The only way you can do it successfully is if you have great support around you." www.pocjox.com THE QUOTE "What you saw there was the opening scene of the basketball version of the blood-spattered bride. The opening scene of Kill Bill." – Kobe Bryant reflects on dropping 60 points in his final match. What a coincidence! I thought exactly the same thing. Mamba out: Los Angeles Lakers veteran Kobe Bryant says farewell. Credit:AP

THUMBS UP Bravo, Bulldogs hooker Michael Lichaa, who took the sting right out of the funny little incident with teammate Josh Reynolds, who chucked the ball at him in the loss to the Warriors. "He should have hit my face with the ball, it was that bad a pass," said Lichaa. That's rugby league gold, baby. THUMBS DOWN Nick Lindahl has been convicted of using corrupt conduct information and fined $1000 in Burwood Local Court for his involvement in a match-fixing scandal at the Toowoomba Futures tournament in September 2013. A thousand bucks? Awesome work, justice system. Just awesome. It's a big weekend for … the Wanderers, who take on Brisbane Roar in the A-League semi-final on Sunday with a grand final berth there for the taking. If they win, the fans could burn down Parra Stadium just as they did Cumberland Oval in 1981.