Everyone said not to pick Cleary, but I know he's the man for Blues

For the past few weeks, I’ve had more than a few people giving me advice on who should be in the NSW side for State of Origin I.

And plenty of advice on who shouldn’t be there. How many people told me that Nathan Cleary shouldn’t be the halfback?

Try everyone.

When we assembled our team at North Bondi Surf Club on Monday morning for the team photo, and I looked at our halves — Nathan and Souths’ Cody Walker — I was more pleased with the way we went.

It's a big ask but I am confident they will get the job done.

My advisors, Greg Alexander and Danny Buderus, and I have a system where we don’t put anyone’s name in pen until the final round.

If you get really excited about players, you know you are going to get your heart broken because of injury or form. We copped a nice little final jab to the head on Sunday afternoon when Dragons back-rower Tyson Frizell left the field early with concussion.

We started this season with last year’s halves, Nathan and Jimmy Maloney, written in pencil. From there, injury and form guided our thinking.

By last Friday night, I was convinced that Nathan was our halfback.

He went into the Thursday night match against Parramatta at Bankwest knowing what was on the line. The pressure was on. He’d been verballed all year about his form. I’d also spoken to him in the lead-up to the game. He knew what was at stake.

It was a really tough game for him to shine. There were plenty of dropped balls and mistakes in the greasy conditions — but he stood tall above all the others.

Then, on Friday night, things changed dramatically. As soon as I saw Luke Keary concussed for the Roosters against the Knights, I knew he wouldn’t be playing in a sky-blue jumper at Suncorp Stadium on June 5.

To be honest, it was the least of my concerns. His welfare is everyone’s priority.

I checked in with Roosters coach Trent Robinson and then I went down to the Knights rooms. I wanted to speak to their halfback, Mitchell Pearce.

“How you going?” I asked.

“Mate, I’ve got a sore groin," Mitchell replied.

That ended that conversation pretty quickly, which is actually good. Mitchell was up front. He wants the best for NSW.

There and then, Jimmy Maloney’s name came back into my head. So did Cody Walker's.

I’ve been watching Cody's defence closely this year and it’s been a lot better. He gets in there, he’s aggressive, and that’s the thing that sells him as our five-eighth.

Everyone knows what he can do with the ball and with his feet. You can see what he can do every time Souths have had the ball this season.

But we look at the defensive side of things as well. We try not to talk about things that players don’t have, so the thing that comes through this year is that his defence has been great. Maybe, in the past, I haven’t felt that way.

There’s no game that stands out for me but there's been no game when I’ve walked away and said: he can’t be our six.

So, for whatever reason, the two healthiest halves became the two best. Cleary and Walker.

When injuries take away competition, it hurts your discussion. We want to foster competition to be in our side. It makes it better. It's healthy.

We always wanted to pick the team from last year and people had to find a reason to get in — or those who did the job last year had to give a reason for us not to pick them.

It’s tough because it’s all so public. That’s what State of Origin is about: it’s a big show.

People will be angry that we've picked Angus Crichton, because he hasn't been going great for the Roosters. They’re under the pump. They’re a bit battered. But that's where loyalty comes in.

I've seen Queensland's side. I don't think about them too much, to be honest. It's a strong team, across the board, as it should be because the majority of them are internationals.

Ben Hunt has been named at hooker but who will play there when he becomes too tired? Moses Mybe or Josh McGuire? Who knows?

There hasn't been much contact with the outside world since coming into camp because I have a "no phones" policy. That means you get about half an hour when you return to your hotel room late in the day.

When I got back to the room on Monday afternoon, there were 30 missed calls.

But there have been a few text messages back and forth with Jimmy Maloney, who I contacted after the side was named.

It was a difficult decision not to have him here with us.

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