Penrith NRL star James Tamou has conceded his NSW State of Origin career is all but over as the state's next generation of front-rowers comes to the fore.
Tamou admits his individual form is well down this season at the Panthers compared to when he played all three Origin games against Queensland in his final season last year with North Queensland.
Aaron Woods, David Klemmer and Andrew Fifita have all jumped Tamou in the Blues' forwards stocks, closely followed by Kangaroo representatives Shannon Boyd and Jake Trbojevic.
"My audition phase has already gone and I'm comfortable with that," Tamou said on Tuesday.
"And it's not hard to see why. These young front-rowers coming through are playing unreal. I'll back whatever team they have. They've got a lot of young boys to choose from.
"I know any of them can do the job."
The 28-year-old hadn't entirely given up hope of keeping his spot after turning in a monster 73-minute effort a fortnight ago for City against Country.
And while he would welcome selection with open arms, his main priority was finding top form for the struggling Panthers, who last week finally broke a five-game losing streak.
"I'm still scratching. I don't feel like I've hit it yet. Personally, I've still got a lot to offer the team. I feel the couple of weeks I've had has done me good. It's just building from there," he said.
"If picked, I'll definitely put my hand up. Everyone wants to play rep footy, but there's just players out there that have really deserved it. Whatever Laurie and the selectors go with, I'll be happy."
Trent Merrin is another who is likely to remain on the outer despite being a mainstay in the Kangaroos' line-up since last year's Four Nations.
He was part of the Test side who smashed New Zealand two weeks ago, but also acknowledged the emerging Blues' talent at coach Laurie Daley's disposal.
"It just goes to show the talent that we do have in the NSW team, and that's a great thing. We've got some great players coming through and that's great for us as a NSW team," Merrin said.
"I don't see it as a negative at all - you always want to challenge yourself and you always got players nipping you on the butt from behind just trying to push into that scene."
Merrin admits the Panthers' poor start to the year could cost the club having any representatives in the interstate clash, including incumbent five-eighth Matt Moylan.
Peter Wallace is another who has been mentioned as a possible hooker candidate.
"If the team's going well, it puts your individual performances in a better position to get selected. But in this case, we haven't started the season off well," he said.
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