Soward keen to prove he's true blue
St George Illawarra five-eighth Jamie Soward believes he and Mitchell Pearce would complement each other nicely if picked as the NSW halves pairing for State of Origin III.
Soward said if he was given a shot in the dead rubber match, he would look to produce a performance which would solidify his position in the team for years to come.
The Dragons star ran second to Jarryd Hayne in last season's Dally M Medal race, and has been one of the NRL's most dominant playmakers again in 2010.
Despite his good form, Soward's name was rarely mentioned for selection leading into game's one and two, but with the series over and a future focus being adopted, he has charged back into calculations.
The points-scoring whiz said he would relish the chance to partner Pearce and lead NSW out of their current hole.
"If I got the chance to play alongside him I think we'd be good together, him being obviously a guy who likes being on the ball and myself being more of a runner. That's how me and Benny Hornby play (at the Dragons)," said Soward, who ironically left the Roosters because Pearce was getting a start over him in 2007.
"I've never been one to come out and say I'm ready or not ready or whatever, I've just come out there and let my footy do the talking and I think I've been in a good position for the last year and a half where I've been consistent and let my footy do the talking.
"I'd be just looking to put in a nice solid game like Mitchell had in game two, and you see all the wraps he got from it and how blokes are saying he's going to be there for the next couple of years.
"I'm sure if I got picked I'd be taking that point of view to put in a good effort to show enough that I want to be there for the next couple of years."
While Soward is desperate for Blues selectors to look to the future, Parramatta stalwart Nathan Hindmarsh is hoping experienced players aren't just cast aside because of the series loss.
Hindmarsh, who made his NSW return in game two after two full seasons out of the side, is fearing that after one short-lived revival, his Origin career may have come to an abrupt end.
"Definitely for me, yes. They know what the NSW selectors are like, they will kind of go for a new face if something doesn't work so I was kind of thinking that pretty much straight away," said Hindmarsh, who believes it might be a risk to blood too many rookies at once.
"I would love the opportunity. I'm saying stick with the old blokes for just one more game.
"It is a dead rubber, but it means a lot still to not get done 3-0 in a series, so I'd love to be a part of that ... because the opportunity doesn't come around too often anymore.
"You can see if they want to decide to go with a younger team as well ... a dead rubber, still a lot to play for but I don't know if they'd like to stick a heap of rookies out there to make it three zip."
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