Captain John Sutton conceded he and his South Sydney halves partner Adam Reynolds missed a valuable opportunity to press for NSW State of Origin claims in the Rabbitohs' Friday night loss to Melbourne.
Ahead of round 10 of the NRL, Blues coach Laurie Daley had publicly stated he was still weighing up his halves combinations for the Origin opener on May 28 following incumbent halfback Mitchell Pearce's Kings Cross antics.
Up against the Storm and Queensland 'big three' in Cameron Smith, Cooper Cronk and Billy Slater, Sutton and Reynolds could have made a compelling statement.
But it wasn't to be as Smith, Cronk and Slater were instrumental as the Storm surged away to a 27-14 win on the back of a 20-4 halftime lead.
Sutton was beaten to a bench spot by Canterbury playmaker Josh Reynolds for Origin I last year and didn't feature for the rest of the series.
He managed some impressive charges to bring Souths back into the contest and is likely to be strongly considered for a utility position when Daley names his side on Tuesday for the interstate opener, but he and Reynolds probably haven't done enough to usurp Pearce and his Sydney Roosters teammate James Maloney as NSW No.7 and No.6.
"We definitely didn't execute tonight so it was very disappointing," Sutton said.
"We just didn't build any pressure. The Melbourne Storm did that; Cooper Cronk's kicks were on the money.
"My kicks and Adam's kicks were way off and didn't build any pressure and we made it hard on ourselves.
"I was disappointed with my kicks. I didn't get them on the money - it let the Storm off the hook.
"Me and Adam had a word about it and we are definitely going to work hard on it and hopefully get better."
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