Greg Prichard | May 8, 2009

CRAIG WING could secure a shock recall to State of Origin football if he can produce a couple of big matches for City and his club, South Sydney.

Selection in the 17-man NSW squad for Origin I against Queensland at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne on June 3 is wide open in most positions. The team will be chosen at the end of round 11, and form in tonight's City-Country game in Orange will mean a lot, as will performances this weekend and in rounds 10 and 11.

Souths have a bye this weekend, leaving Wing tonight's game, when he will start on the bench, and two more for the Rabbitohs to press his claims.

The 29-year-old has not played Origin football since 2006, but for several years he held down the critical bench spot, acting as cover for the hooker, halfback and five-eighth positions - plus centre and fullback, if necessary.

Newcastle's Kurt Gidley has sometimes filled the role since but, with Manly fullback Brett Stewart unavailable because of injury, Gidley, who has been playing fullback for the Knights this season, is set to take the No.1 jumper for NSW.

The NSW selectors and coach Craig Bellamy will automatically fill three bench spots with forwards, and will only fill the other spot with someone like Gidley or Wing if they think the right sort of player is in form.

Another option they are considering is naming both the Country (Michael Ennis) and City (Robbie Farah) hookers in the squad, with Ennis starting, and Farah acting as cover for hooker and halfback.

Otherwise, they will probably pick another forward who is versatile enough to cover a position in the outside backs if necessary, and train one of the bench players to give the starting hooker a break if needed.

Form in the City-Country match will go a long way towards resolving a number of NSW selection issues. The City-Country clash is often criticised as a meaningless contest as a guide to Origin selection but that is not the case this time.

The Herald understands that even the seven NSW players in the 17-man Australian squad for tonight's Test against New Zealand in Brisbane are not guaranteed of making the NSW team.

Two of the four NSW selectors are also on the Australian selection panel, but the coach has a big say in these matters, and while Tim Sheens is coaching Australia, it will be Craig Bellamy in charge of NSW.

As far as key positions are concerned, Farah and Ennis are neck-and-neck in the battle for the Blues hooking job. They both excelled for Wests Tigers and the Bulldogs respectively in their clash last weekend, so the selectors are still looking for one to rise above the other.

Should one take the lead in tonight's City-Country game, it will give him the edge.

The same can be said for the two halfbacks in the running - Peter Wallace (Sydney) and Jarrod Mullen (Country). There is little between them either.

If no player establishes an advantage at either hooker or halfback tonight, those battles will continue over the next few club rounds.

But, just as there is a chance both Farah and Ennis could end up in the NSW squad, it is possible Wallace and Mullen could both make it, with Wallace at halfback and Mullen five-eighth.

That depends on how well Country five-eighth Terry Campese plays tonight. Campese was pencilled in for the NSW spot a month ago. He had a couple of quiet games for Canberra recently but it is acknowledged he was ill going into both of those.

If he plays well tonight, his Blues spot will be guaranteed. If he has an average game and both Wallace and Mullen do well, the race for both spots in the halves will continue.