Aaron Woods the favorite, but Boyd Cordnor is the dark horse to get it. Josh Jackson probably rated a long shot.
"The battle for the NSW State of Origin captaincy is far from a one-horse race, but Blues assistant coach Mark O’Meley has declared Boyd Cordner a serious option to replace the retired Paul Gallen.
“Boyd Cordner looks ideal to me,” O’Meley told
NSWRL.com.au.
“I think he’s a no-nonsense player, he does all the little things right and leads by example.
“Guys like that are who you respect in the game.”
Blues prop Aaron Woods is considered the front-runner to fill the role after appearing at the Blues' new spiritual home in Homebush last month.
However, the Wests Tigers skipper is unlikely to be an automatic selection, with Sydney Roosters vice-captain Cordner among a host of candidates to lead the Blues in 2017.
“It depends; NSW will have to have a look and see who’s developed in the off season, who’s maturing more,” O’Meley says.
“We’ve got a lot of senior players that are arguably at the end of their tender, so the new batch will come in as you’ve seen last year with (James) Tedesco and those guys.
“I couldn’t single-out one replacement for ‘Gal,’ but we need to build some stability over the next five or six years.”
Earlier, Blues coach Laurie Daley believed Boyd Cordner a serious option to replace the retired Paul Gallen.
"(Cordner is) a genuine contender. It's a big decision that we have to make so we have to make sure that we get the right person," Daley said at a NSW Indigenous camp in October last year.
"But there's a number of guys that can do it. Boyd certainly has experience in doing it at the Roosters, Woods's done it at the Tigers, (Josh Jackson's) got great leadership qualities as well.”
https://www.triplem.com.au/sport/nr...ed-for-blues-origin-captaincy/?station=sydney
