OPINION
If ever there was a year in which Ryan Papenhuyzen was a genuine chance to play State of Origin, this might have been it. The NRL’s changes to the interchange bench in 2026 – expending them from four to six players – would have made Papenhuyzen the perfect X-factor player to carry on the pine.
The rule change will be used in Origin as well as club footy, giving coaches six players to choose from while still only being allowed to select four during games. It means outside backs and halves will be picked on the bench more often in case there’s an injury or the need to inject some speed into the game.
Would Ryan Papenhuyzen (R) have benefited from the bench rule change in State of Origin? Image: AAP
Papenhuyzen has been in State of Origin calculations for NSW a number of times throughout his career, but the stars never aligned at the right time. The closest he came was in 2020 – the year the Storm won the grand final and Papenhuyzen won the Clive Churchill Medal.
With Origin played at the end of the season that year due to Covid, former Blues coach Brad Fittler wanted to pick Papenhuyzen. But the gun fullback was carrying an ankle injury, and he narrowly missed out
Fittler said last year: “You know what would be a shame? If he never played Origin. I had him in 2020, but he came in with a bad ankle. He scored that try in the grand final and got the Clive Churchill when they beat Penrith … I was gonna play him.”
Ryan Papenhuyzen (R) could have been an option for NSW to carry on an extended bench.
(Getty Images)Ryan Papenhuyzen retired just before NRL rules changed
Many had always viewed Papenhuyzen as the type of player who could be picked on the bench to come on late in the game to provide some X-factor – a la what Matty Bowen did so well for Queensland when he tore up NSW around the ruck. With coaches allowed to pick 19 players this year, Papenhuyzen would have been the perfect weapon for the Blues to have on the bench.
But the 27-year-old stepped away from the NRL just days before the rules were changed, and confirmed last week that he’s officially retired (for now). “It doesn’t feel fully right, but at the same time, I’m enjoying what I’m doing now, and probably got to a point where I wasn’t enjoying it that much when I was in it,” he said on Triple M radio.
“So I reckon that’s why it was a bit mixed of, ‘I think I’ve retired.’ I’m just going to say I’m transitioning into a different career. I don’t know. Never say never.”
With Papenhuyzen no longer an option, NSW coach Laurie Daley will likely call on players like Ethan Strange, Kotoni Staggs or Jacob Kiraz to fill the 18th and 19th player positions against Queensland this year. It remains to be seen how coaches will approach the six-man benches, especially in Origin.