BULLY boys no more. NSW coach Laurie Daley will turn to the cunning and experienced Michael Ennis to save this year’s State of Origin series with Blues hooker and stand-in captain Robbie Farah in serious doubt with a shoulder injury for the must-win clash at the MCG in 17 days.

Farah underwent scans on his left shoulder on Thursday, which he injured on Wednesday night in a controversial 28th-minute tackle from Queensland centre Justin Hodges.

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media_camera NRobbie Farah gets some special treatment from Justin Hodges.

“Robbie Farah has sustained a Grade 3 AC joint injury in his left shoulder,’’ a statement from the Wests Tigers said.

“The club is hopeful Farah will be available for selection for Game II of the 2015 State of Origin series at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Wednesday, June 17, with the injury only expected to sideline the 31-year-old hooker for two to four weeks.’’

The initial assessment of Farah conducted by the NSW medical staff during the half-time break of Origin I was far less positive.

Farah required painkilling injections in order to return for the second half, but was in obvious agony.

The Wests Tigers veteran could hardly pass the football from dummy-half, which was evident as the Blues fumbled their way to a heartbreaking one-point loss to the Maroons.

Daley labelled Farah’s performance to finish the match as courageous, but that might not be enough for the NSW coach to gamble on ahead of the must-win Origin II clash.

While Farah will do everything possible to play, the NSW coaching staff have already begun planning how they will level the series in Melbourne without him.

And ironically it’s his old sparring partner Ennis who, providing he survives Cronulla’s next two matches against St George-Illawarra on Sunday and the Sydney Roosters the following weekend, is set to earn a comeback to the Origin arena.

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Described as the “ultimate competitor” by Sharks coach Shane Flanagan, Ennis’ dogged style is perfectly suited to matching the Maroons’ niggling tactics that featured so heavily from Cameron Smith and Billy Slater in Origin I.

Sharks rake Ennis, whose last appearance for NSW was in 2011, has been in career-best form since arriving from Canterbury this season — producing more linebreaks and try assists than the injured Farah.

Ennis, who is the same age as Farah at 31, has won two matches in seven Origin appearances for NSW and it’s his experience to fill the void in such a crucial match at the MCG which has led Daley to pinpoint the Sharks hooker as his leading dummy-half option.

Ennis’ combination with NSW and Canterbury halfback Trent Hodkinson is also an advantage over the only other two possible dummy-half candidates for NSW, St George-Illawarra’s Mitch Rein and Parramatta’s Nathan Peats.

media_camera Ennis has the experience and cunning to replace Farah as Blues hooker.

Ennis and Hodkinson spent four years as a hooker-half combination at the Bulldogs from 2011.

The pair also combined to guide the Bulldogs to the 2012 grand final, which will allow Daley to start his Origin II preparation in Coffs Harbour with two players who share an intricate knowledge of each other’s game.

Ennis said he hoped for the sake of NSW being able to stick with the same 17 from Origin I that Farah would be available to continue on in the role in Melbourne.

But asked by The Daily Telegraph what a Blues recall would mean, Ennis said: “If they asked me, I’d love to play for NSW again. I’d love another opportunity if that was the way Laurie and his staff wanted to go.

“I suppose the best way to explain it is when something is taken away from you, and you miss out on a selection, you learn things about yourself.

“We all mature. I’m a little older now and the game has transformed as well. The opportunity to captain Canterbury, and taking on that leadership role I had to do, I feel that really helped my football and me as a person.’’

Flanagan said Daley had an easy option to make, if Farah was deemed unavailable for selection.

“Mick is fit, he’s healthy and he’ll do any job that Laurie asks of him, should he need to replace Robbie because he’s injured,’’ Flanagan said.

“Given he has played almost 80-minutes in every game for us this year, in what is his first year at the Sharks, to be playing some of his best football is an indication of how well Mick commits himself to anything that is asked of him.’’