{"id":501857,"date":"2026-05-11T21:06:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T21:06:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=501857"},"modified":"2026-05-11T23:23:31","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T23:23:31","slug":"gallen-swings-the-axe-with-eight-huge-blues-changes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=501857","title":{"rendered":"Gallen swings the axe with eight huge Blues changes"},"content":{"rendered":"

NSW legend Paul Gallen<\/a> has unveiled \ufeffhis ideal team for the State of Origin series opener, making the difficult call to leave incumbent fullback Dylan Edwards<\/a> out.<\/p>\n

In what is undoubtedly the toughest decision facing coach Laurie Daley<\/a> for game one, Edwards is locked in a tight battle with James Tedesco<\/a> for the coveted No.1 jersey.<\/p>\n

Tedesco won the Dally M Medal last season for the second time in his career, but didn't feature for the Blues as they lost the series 2-1.\ufeff<\/p>\n

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Speaking on Nine's 100% Footy<\/em> on Monday night, former captain Gallen delivered the verdict on his Blues' team and has given the nod to the Roosters star.<\/p>\n

"Dylan Edwards for me was the hardest one to leave out," he said.<\/p>\n

"Whoever they pick is \ufeffgonna do a great job, but I just love Tedesco's effort and I don't feel there's a player in the game that puts more effort in than him.<\/p>\n

\"James<\/p>\n

Gallen \ufeffadmitted he thought about selecting Edwards on the wing to accommodate both players, but couldn't look past in-form veteran Daniel Tupou.<\/p>\n

"I thought about having him on the wing, but the reason I didn't have him \ufeffwas purely the height and the kicking threat that Tupou possesses," he said.<\/p>\n

Watch the 2026 NRL season live and free on Nine and<\/strong><\/em> 9Now<\/strong><\/em><\/a>.\ufeff<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\ufeffEdwards has been part of Penrith's golden era, winning four grand finals in a row from 2021-2024, while also featuring five times in the past two Origin series.<\/p>\n

Queensland great Cameron Smith<\/a> admitted he would lean towards the incumbent.\ufeff<\/p>\n

\ufeff"Really interesting – that's gonna be the debatable one," he said.<\/p>\n

\"Dylan<\/p>\n

"I'd have this bloke [Edwards] every day of the week. \ufeffI know Teddy is in great form and has been over the past couple of seasons, but I really like Dylan Edwards.<\/p>\n

"The work that he does in the back-field, he's like an extra front-rower and he's not a big body… those hard yards can be so valuable at this level."<\/p>\n

Phil Gould<\/a> – the state's greatest ever coach – \ufeffremained somewhat coy on the fullback debate, but seemingly gave Edwards the slight edge.<\/p>\n

"It's a pretty good side anywhere in the world at the moment that doesn't have Dylan Edwards in it, I can tell you," the former Blues coach said.<\/p>\n

Gallen made some other big selection calls for the Blues, naming hooker Blayke Brailey to make his debut and pushing for Tolu Koula's inclusion on the six-man bench.<\/p>\n

\"Tolutau<\/p>\n

Rabbitohs duo Keaon Koloamatangi<\/a> and Cameron Murray<\/a> \ufeffare both back on deck, while he also favoured Sharks prop Addin Fonua-Blake<\/a> for a debut in the middle.\ufeff<\/p>\n

Spencer Leniu<\/a> and Stephen Crichton<\/a> are both in Gallen's side for the series opener on May 27 in Sydney despite middling form at club level.<\/p>\n

Paul Gallen's NSW Blues team<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\ufeff1. James Tedesco 2. Daniel Tupou 3. Stephen Crichton 4. Latrell Mitchell 5. Brian To'o 6. Mitchell Moses 7. Nathan Cleary 8. Mitch Barnett 9. Reece Robson 10. Addin Fonua-Blake 11. Angus Crichton 12. Hudson Young 13. Isaah Yeo 14. Blayke Brailey 15. Cameron Murray 16. Keaon Koloamatangi 17. Spencer Leniu 18. Haumole Olakau'atu 19. Tolu Koula<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NSW legend Paul Gallen has unveiled \ufeffhis ideal team for the State of Origin series opener, making the difficult call to leave incumbent fullback Dylan […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":501860,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/501857"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=501857"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/501857\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":501865,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/501857\/revisions\/501865"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/501860"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=501857"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=501857"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=501857"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}