Jamie Soward

Soward's Blues team: Why Cleary shouldn't be picked yet

All things being equal with injuries and form, Cleary is going to be there for the next 10 years.

But for me, Cameron Smith's retirement press conference on Tuesday told us everything we need to know about Origin. The Queensland captain, who has more experience in the interstate arena than anyone else in history, spoke about how draining each campaign can be.

For a 20-year-old halfback, it's unfair to bring him in off, at best, two weeks' game time and preparation, which starts this Thursday against his old man's Wests Tigers side.