Rugby league guru Phil Gould has urged NSW Blues coach Brad Fittler to err on the side of caution when it comes to the selection of sidelined Storm star Ryan Papenhuyzen.
Papenhuyzen was knocked out in the opening 15 minutes of Melbourne's 44-18 Magic Round thrashing of the Dragons after making his return to the lineup following a shoulder injury that kept him out for three weeks. He will miss the Storm's clash with the Raiders on Saturday and is no guarantee to return for next Thursday's clash with the Broncos - his final chance to get back on the field before the Origin sides for the series opener are picked.
While Roosters fullback James Tedesco is a certainty to retain his spot in the No.1 jersey, Papenhuyzen's emergence, which was last year highlighted by his best on ground performance in the Storm's grand final win, has seen a number of pundits call for Fittler to find a spot for him in the team.
He is considered a front-runner to wear the No.14 jersey as an x-factor ball-runner to inject from the bench.
Gould, the most successful NSW coach in history, said it would make little sense to debut a player at Origin level who's been limited this season with injuries, having played in only six of the Storm's 10 games so far.
"My first criteria is, how many Origins has he played? I would not bring in a player on debut who had spent a lot of time off the field in preparation for Origin," Gould told Wide World of Sports' Six Tackles With Gus podcast.
"Number two, the position he plays. First and foremost, his experience in the game, his experience in Origin.
"I brought Ben Kennedy into an Origin game and he had been out for eight weeks. He had a whole career playing at the top level and I had no doubt he could handle it.
"There were others we brought in after injury periods. So my first criteria: the experience of the player, particularly their Origin experience.
"I doubt I would ever bring in a debut player that had a lot of time off the field."
Gould said regardless of who Fittler hopes to name, that it was important the Blues coach waited for player medicals to be undertaken before naming a squad.
"My only advice to Brad Fittler about selection has always been, don't pick your team until the medical is over," he added.
"When you sit down and have to name it, there will be a number of players that you wanted that are no longer available.
"If you start making announcements on what sort of combinations you want now... and then you get to game day and find that player is not available - the next bloke knows he's the second or third choice.
"That's not how I ever wanted any player feeling. I never wanted to let it publicly be known what my preference would be because I didn't want anyone ever coming in thinking they were the second or third choice."
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from WWOS https://wwos.nine.com.au/nrl/why-ryan-papenhuyzens-origin-debut-needs-to-wait-phil-gould-storm/eb700ae4-3c4c-4a50-9e86-6def3f79d551
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