Former NSW forward Mark Geyer has called for Blues captain Paul Gallen to be denied a State of Origin farewell.
Gallen has confirmed the 2016 series will be his last, but with the shield already retained by Queensland, Geyer said NSW had to look elsewhere for the dead rubber in Sydney next month.
"Out with the old and in with the new," he told Triple M's Grill Team on Thursday morning.
Gallen, Robbie Farah and Greg Bird were the Blues' three elder statesman in their 26-16 loss to the Maroons at Suncorp Stadium on Wednesday night.
And Geyer has pressed for NRL young guns James Tedesco, Joey Leilua, Tom Trbojevic, Nathan Peats, Bryce Cartwright and Ryan James to earn a call-up in a side he says shouldn't include Gallen, Farah or Greg Bird.
"It's time to usher in the new brigade and say this is the 17 that we're going to stick with for four or five years.
"They're the ones that you stick with, not the ones that are tainted."
But Geyer concedes Gallen will still likely be selected.
"Gal will be picked for game three," he said.
"He will get his send-off because he deserves that.
"But going forward we've got to pick a completely different team."
Blues coach Laurie Daley insists he will not use the third match to experiment with a new-look team.
But former NSW playmaker Matthew Johns sided with Geyer, saying the Blues future plans had to win out over sentiment.
"It's time for a change," he said.
"It's time to usher in the new generation, so why wait 12 months? Let's give some of these young blokes a go right now."
Johns said Josh Jackson, Tyson Frizell and Jack Bird - all under the age of 25 - as NSW's best players on Wednesday night.
Share
