NSW coach Laurie Daley has declared that Jake Trbojevic is no certainty for State of Origin selection in 2025, despite captaining the Blues to a historic series win last year.
Speaking on 9News Sydney, Daley confirmed there’s no guarantee Trbojevic will be selected, even though his leadership proved crucial in the 2024 comeback triumph over Queensland.
“It doesn’t guarantee you, no,” Daley said. “I know Jake didn’t play a lot of minutes last year, but talking to everyone inside the group and talking to the staff, he was a big part of keeping that squad together.”
Form, not favouritism, guiding Origin choices
Trbojevic’s modest form, averaging just 63 run metres per game this season, has been overshadowed by breakout performers like Terrell May and Max King. With Payne Haas, Spencer Leniu, and Mitch Barnett also in the mix, competition in the middle is fierce.
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“Like everyone, you’ve got to look and see how they are performing,” Daley added. “Jake I’ve got a huge amount of respect for… but like everyone, there’s still a couple of games to go. The thing I know with class players is that they can rise to the challenge… I expect Jake to play his best football over the next couple of games.”
Daley also brushed off concerns around underperforming Panthers stars, insisting individual form, not team results, will shape his selections. “A lot of the guys who are in contention for State of Origin are playing well—but as a collective, they’re not getting the results,” he said.
As for the halves, it remains a toss-up between Mitch Moses and Jarome Luai to partner the returning Nathan Cleary. But Daley welcomes the dilemma: “If we’re leaving those types of players out, we’ve got a really good squad.”
NSW’s squad for Game 1 will be finalised after round 11.