Blake Ferguson, James Maloney and Andrew Fifita will take the number of debutants used by NSW since 2006 to 53 but the brash new Blues won’t lack confidence when they take to the field against Queensland on June 5.
In a desperate attempt to end the Maroons’ seven-year dominance, NSW selectors have turned to 50 new faces compared to just 22 by their rivals north of the Tweed.
The Blues have never won a game with a debutant five-eighth but Maloney brushed aside that statistic on Monday after linking up with the squad for the first time in Coogee.
“I suppose records are there to be broken,” Maloney quipped.
“It’ll be nice if we can change it on Wednesday night.
“At the end of the day, when you’re going into the State of Origin arena, you’ve got a short time period to prove that that’s where you belong and you can play at that level.”
While Maloney is comfortable in his own skin on the biggest stage of all, master sledger Ferguson insists he won’t change his approach going into the biggest game of his career.
“I’m just going to play how I normally play at club footy at the Raiders,” Ferguson said.
“I’m not going to change anything. I think I just want to do my best for the team.”
Blues skipper Paul Gallen said on Saturday he hated facing Ferguson whenever Cronulla played Canberra and his front-row partner James Tamou said the 23-year-old is noted in the NRL for having plenty to say on the field.
“Blake Ferguson just loves rugby league, he’ll get in the middle, get in and roll around with the big boys, and that’s when he’s out on the wing,” the North Queensland prop said.
“He gets in there and under your skin. He’s niggly, he sledges. He hasn’t run at me in a game, and rightfully so, but every time I play against him, he’s the one we look out for. He’s a game breaker.
“That is what you need in State of Origin.”
NSW coach Laurie Daley said Cronulla prop Andrew Fifita wasn’t on his radar at the start of the year, but his brilliant recent form catapulted him into the frame.
The 23-year-old, alongside former Wests Tigers teammate Beau Ryan, is regarded as the life and soul of the Sharks’ dressing room and Blues vice-captain Robbie Farah said he’ll feel right at home in camp.
“When he was coming through there was always something about him, he was a confident kid, he had that X factor about him,” the Tigers skipper said.
“He won’t be overawed, he’s a big thing and he’s confident.
“He won’t take a backward step and he’s been coming off the bench for the Sharks making big impacts so hopefully he can do the same here.”
Farah said the good form of the new trio will almost certainly help them when they enter the fray at ANZ Stadium.
“We need to help them as well and make them fit in as quickly as possible,” he said.
“They’re all in great form so they should be confident. They’ve been picked for a reason, they’re here because they deserve to be here and that’s the way they should feel and that’s the way they should play.”
