The Brisbane Broncos are astounded the NSW Origin brains trust have snubbed former Blues halfback Peter Wallace for representative selection.

An inexperienced Brisbane will be without five Test stars for Saturday night's clash with Melbourne, but believe Wallace has been hard done by and should also be sitting out the NRL game.

The Penrith product has been a key to the Broncos' seven-match winning streak, but has missed out on a Blues audition with Canterbury's Kris Keating and the Sydney Roosters' Mitchell Pearce selected ahead of him as the City Origin halves pairing.

With NSW struggling to settle on a No.6-No.7 combination, Broncos coach Anthony Griffin said he was surprised Wallace did not receive a call-up due to his experience and "great form".

Wallace played the last of his four Origin matches in 2009, but starred in his debut when the Blues took game one of the 2008 series.

"I would have loved to have played but that's the way it is," Wallace said.

"I can't really do much about it. The times I have played, I've loved playing and they've been a great experience."

Todd Carney's return to training with the Roosters further clouds NSW's thinking surrounding their playmakers, but it appears Pearce is competing with Country halfback Jarrod Mullen to retain his No.7 jersey.

Wallace preferred to look on the bright side to his non-selection as Brisbane aimed to upset the Storm with a host of rookies.

"I'm reasonably happy with how I'm going," he said.

"There's always a positive to these things and I get to play for the Broncos this week with all these young kids who are very keen to play."

Among the Broncos greenhorns to get their chance at Suncorp Stadium will be interchange forward David Hala, 21, who has had to wait two years for his second NRL match after debuting in 2009.

Hala's career hit the skids with a back operation before the 2010 season but he's worked his way back with some powerful displays in the Queensland Cup.

"He's in the best shape of his career so far," Griffin said.

"He's obviously a big boy and he's strong and that's what we're looking for in coming off the bench to give us some impact."

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