Former NSW Origin captain and Manly Sea Eagles legend Max Krilich isn't sure what the fuss is about when it comes to the permutations for the Blues halves for Origin I given the players who were last-start winners are all available.
While perennial scapegoat Mitchell Pearce currently looks favourite to earn a recall alongside certain-starter James Maloney following a run of red-hot form, incumbent five-eighth Matt Moylan looks on the outer after a tough start to the season at Penrith.
Krilich, captain of the historic 1982 'Invincibles' Kangaroos tourists and a two-time premiership-winner for Manly, says when you have a player of Moylan's ability and track record short-term club form is completely irrelevant.
"I like the way they played that last game last year with Matt Moylan playing five-eighth, giving the ball all the time and not just him having the ball under his wing and [saying] 'let's see what I can do with it'," Krilich told NRL.com.
"He was shoving it out and shoving it out and giving the outside guys all that room to move all the time. I thought he was fantastic."
Krilich said there is no way the Maroons would break up an incumbent winning halves pairing if they were in the same situation – but had no idea if the Blues would adopt the same approach under Laurie Daley and Peter Sterling.
The rest of the spine looks likely to remain intact with fullback James Tedesco and hooker Robbie Farah looking increasingly likely to see off challenges for their spots for the May 31 opener.
Prompted about Moylan's up-and-down time at club level this year, Krilich was emphatic.
"That doesn't matter," he said.
"You know he can play. He's a terrific player. They played him at five-eighth and everyone said it was a gamble because he was playing fullback at the Panthers. But no, he's a terrific player and a good young fella."
