Greg Prichard: How to save the Blues

The more I look at video of the two of them playing halfback for their respective clubs, the more I think they would suit each other.

Put Hynes in the No.6 jumper and Reynolds in the No.7, it doesn't really matter.

They would both be making things happen.

And while you might want to give each of them one side of the field in the general match planning, for basic structure's sake, you wouldn't lock anything in because that would eliminate the biggest advantage of putting them together in the first place.

Let Reynolds have the right and station Hynes on the left for the sake of the exercise, but plan it such that when the Blues are moving into attack mode you allow them the freedom to go wherever they see fit.

Particularly Hynes.

He gets an enormous amount of touches for Cronulla and bobs up effectively on both sides of the field.

He can quickly work a short side just as well as he sets up in a bigger space.

He's also threatening when he runs the ball and is a great support player as well.

Reynolds is just so smart.

He knows when to push the button himself or defer to a teammate who's in a better position to do something.

The Blues would have a week to work it out at training.

There are several good reasons Ezra Mam is developing so well at five-eighth in the Brisbane side.

He's got tremendous ability and is willing to back himself, that's obvious.

But he's also constantly learning from playing alongside one of the best in the game and getting that opportunity to shine.

Like any elite player, Reynolds would have an ego and a tremendous amount of pride in his own performance.

But, above all, he's a team player. He's not selfish.

He's about executing a plan to get the best possible result.

If that means he shines in the process, fine.

If it means several of his teammates shine, while he pulls some strings behind that, then that's fine too.

Reynolds is the sort of player NSW need right now, to try to get themselves out of the jam they're in with halfback Nathan Cleary having gone down injured. But only with the right player alongside him in the halves.

There has been no shortage of suggestions Reynolds should be paired with Cody Walker, to take advantage of their understanding from the many years they spent together at South Sydney, but this idea that you've got to heavily favour proven club combinations is bordering on obsession.

The idea of picking a lot of Penrith players in the NSW team and extending that theme by playing a Panthers style of football to a degree didn't win last year's series and already they're a game down this year.

What I see in a Reynolds-Hynes combination is an old head in Reynolds making it easier for a player like Hynes, who would be playing just his second Origin game and his first as a starter, to handle the occasion of a must-win game at Suncorp Stadium.

Hynes has a very good kicking game, but Reynolds has an even better one and could take charge in that area during the early stages.

Picking Hynes at halfback alongside existing NSW five-eighth Jarome Luai would be putting Hynes under enormous pressure to be the main man from the start in his first Origin game at the cauldron.

I'm not saying Hynes wouldn't handle that pressure. I've got faith in him that he would, but I see what I think is an even better potential solution to the situation NSW find themselves in.

Reynolds turns 33 next month. If picked, he would know his return to the NSW side - after two games for two losses in 2016 against that great Queensland side stacked with legends - was only going to be temporary.

For the veteran, it would be strictly about doing what had to be done for the Blues to try to stay alive in the series by winning in Brisbane on Wednesday week and then clinching it by winning a series decider in Sydney on July 12.

Hynes would naturally be keen to make an impact as soon as he could, but with Reynolds there alongside him he wouldn't have to be that dominant player right from the start. He could ease his way into the game just that little bit.

The Blues team won't be named until after this weekend's NRL round, but I would expect coach Brad Fittler and his chief adviser Greg Alexander already know what they're going to do in the halves. I wouldn't think they would need this round to further shape their opinions.

The only way this round should affect things is if there's an injury to someone they had pencilled in for six or seven, or if one of those players puts on a real horror show with an inexplicably poor game that made them think again.

I wrote before Origin I that I would've had Hynes in the team at five-eighth, with Cleary at halfback. I think Cleary's injury frees Fittler up to go with a whole new halves combination, if he sees fit.

Whatever team NSW go with - and there are some other major concerns with injuries to key players - it will be extremely difficult for them to keep the series alive. But not impossible.

All you can do is give it your best shot and hope that's enough to record a famous victory.

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