BY CURTIS WOODWARD

@woodward_curtis

The New South Wales Blues and coach Brad Fittler have backed themselves into a corner ahead of State of Origin Game I on June 8 after leaving out Josh Addo-Carr.

All Origins are ‘must-win’ – especially the first match of the series – but there’s just a little more riding on this one at Accor Stadium in Sydney for the Blues.

An upset victory for Queensland will set them up for Game II in Perth.

If they fail there, the decider will be held in their own backyard at Suncorp Stadium.

Which makes the decision by Fittler to drop proven stars like Addo-Carr a little confusing to say the least.

Modern Origin coaches understand that they will almost certainly always use more than 17 players over the three matches so there’s still a good chance we’ll see Addo-Carr at some point.

But the Maroons could have one hand on the trophy after Game I – all the more reason why the Blues needed to stick solid. With Latrell Mitchell and Tom Trbojevic ruled out with injury, Addo-Carr should have been training with the team in Coogee on Tuesday.

Addo-Carr has been an integral cog in what Fittler has created over the last few years.

The two-time Kangaroos representative had played 12 games straight for NSW since his debut.

No other player has worn the number 5 jersey for the Blues since Blake Ferguson in Game III, 2017.

Fittler has replaced Addo-Carr with Daniel Tupou who turns 31 next month.

“… I really feel that it was more of a case of Daniel Tupou playing his way in – what he’s done at the Roosters, how safe he is, the way he’s finishing, the way he brings the ball back out of trouble,” Fittler on SEN Sydney.

“I feel like at the moment, I don’t think it’d be right on ‘Foxx’ or the team to go into Game I.

“So we’ve communicated and he’s committed to getting back into the team and my line to him was, well, he belongs here so that was a tough one.”

NSW assistant coach Greg Alexander, also speaking on SEN Sydney, contradicted himself while explaining the decision to drop Addo-Carr with ‘Brandy’ arguing that Tupou was “a target for our kicks, but he can also defend kicks.”

This despite the Blues picking Brian To’o on the other side of the field who stands at just 182 centimetres.

While To’o is a monster when it comes metre yardage, neither he nor Tupou come close to matching the speed of rookie Maroons sensation Selwyn Cobbo.

Addo-Carr has been one of Canterbury’s best players this year since moving up from the Melbourne Storm and can hold his head high despite the Bulldogs sitting dead last on the table.

In 11 games for the Bulldogs (9 of them Canterbury has lost), Addo-Carr has scored six tries with ten-line breaks (just one behind Tupou whose Roosters sit 6th).

Addo-Carr is 5th across the entire NRL for tackle breaks (58) with Tupou back on 36.

Some say Addo-Carr had a forgettable outing against St George Illawarra on Sunday at Belmore which led to his demise after “conceding” two tries on his flank.

In the 23rd minute, the Dragons shifted right with Bulldogs centre Aaron Schoupp making a decision to come up-and-in instead of holding his position which forces Addo-Carr to follow him up. Addo-Carr makes contact with Zac Lomax but the Dragon wriggles free, passing to an unmarked Tautau Moga.

While Addo-Carr didn’t make his tackle, the misread was on Schoupp.

With the Bulldogs ahead 18-16 with 30 minutes to play, Addo-Carr can be seen screaming at his teammates to shift left with the winger outnumbered. It was 3-on-1 and the 26-year-old had no choice but to go for the intercept.

So where to for Fittler if the Blues lose Game I in Sydney?

Despite his successes as a coach in the Origin arena, a peculiar shadow has followed Fittler as he continues to raise eyebrows with his team selections.

He hasn’t made it easy on himself or NSW.

They have won three of the last four series but QLD has never been that far away.

Now Fittler faces up to a QLD brains trust of Slater, Thurston and Smith.

Time will tell if Fittler has got the call right on Addo-Carr.

@woodward_curtis