A horde of former NSW State of Origin captains have unanimously backed Boyd Cordner to take over from Paul Gallen as the next skipper of the state.
Blues coach Laurie Daley will unveil his leader for the upcoming series when he announces his game one team next Monday night, with Cordner the hot favourite to get the nod over Aaron Woods.
Sydney Roosters second-rower Cordner, who's played six Origin matches, easily garnered all the votes at a NSW captain's call at ANZ Stadium on Monday.
"I like the look of Boyd Cordner," Blues legend Danny Buderus told AAP.
"The look of the young generation coming through with Jake Trbojevic and the guys in the middle are working pretty hard there, they'd all like to follow someone like Boyd.
"Queensland have got someone as their leader in Cameron Smith that does actions and also speaks really well and the boys follow every way.
"Someone like Boyd just has to believe in himself, how he plays, and he doesn't have to change too much about his personality or mentality to lead his team."
Brad Fittler described Cordner as "inspirational", but also believed the 24-year-old is well-equipped to handle the pressure that came with the title.
"He's just got a really good demeanour about him. He's no nonsense, get the job done," he said.
"These days you gotta do so much media. There's a profile that comes with it and it wasn't really there in the past.
"I know what these players, the ex-captains like to think there was a profile, but there wasn't. It was nowhere near as hard as it is now."
Roosters coach Trent Robinson declared Cordner ready to step up to the role, and pointed out his star's strong relationships with the current referees in the NRL.
"I believe he's the NSW Origin captain. His style, he's been ready for a long time," Robinson said.
"The way he delivers to a team, I know it's not a big point but even the way he addresses referees really strong, I think that's key, the respect that he gives but the clarity is there."
Blues coach Laurie Daley, who captained the Blues 13 times between 1992-99, said he wouldn't inform the player until minutes before the team gets named at The Star on Monday night.
"The captain won't know until 5-10 minutes beforehand," he said.
"I've got a number of guys that can do the job."
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