WHEN the NSW selectors and coach Craig Bellamy met at 4pm on Monday to select the Blues' team for the Origin decider, incumbent half Peter Wallace had already been given until Sunday to prove he had recovered from a ruptured testicle.

One of the selectors asked the vital question: "What happens if Wallace is not right on Sunday?" Answer: the Blues have lost six days' preparation.

The response caught Bellamy at the intersection of his twin principles - loyalty and preparation. While he wanted to maintain fealty with Wallace for his play in Origin I and courage in Origin II, Bellamy is also a micromanager, seeking to use every minute to prepare a team.

A halfback has never been more important than today. The 25 centimetres between the playmaker's ears span the most valuable real estate in the game. While Bellamy might have had initial reservations about the untried Wallace, he is supremely confident the Roosters' Mitchell Pearce is the type of player around whom cups are created. The selectors agreed.

Despite reports of Wallace's 11th hour medical clearance and his Brisbane coach Wayne Bennett adding mystery by saying, "They just told him he wasn't being picked", Wallace's exit was a case of the selectors convincing the coach.

For six weeks, the dialogue between coach and selectors has been harmonious. There has been almost no horse trading, despite rugby league's highly geared rumour mill spitting out reports Bellamy has conceded players he does not want in exchange for those he does.

Back in Origin I, the mill had Bellamy sacrificing positions in order to secure the place of big Ben Cross, the Newcastle front-rower who won him a premiership with the Storm. However, the selectors saw the merit of Bellamy's game plan and agreed, without any "OK, you've got Cross but you can't have five-eighth Braith Anasta".

If Bellamy has any reservations about the make-up of his Origin III team, it must be the inclusion of the Roosters' Willie Mason as a starting prop. Coaches have a problem with players who talk the talk but don't walk the walk.

The media and ticket sellers love Big Willie but NRL coaches argue that if you call Queenslanders "rednecks", you have to ensure you're not the one left with a red face.

Mason was inept, almost inert, in the Brisbane game. At best, he is an impact player and it would surprise if Bellamy does not start him from the bench.

Mason's teammate, Anthony Tupou, is also fortunate to retain his place. Tupou is one of the NRL's few wide-running back-rowers and his partnership with the Blues' new Roosters halfback pairing of Pearce and Anasta is a positive. But Tupou, in games for both NSW and Australia, has failed to take the step up. There must have been some agonising by Bellamy and the selectors to include Manly's Brent Kite ahead of Tupou.

While Bellamy has always been a fan of Anasta's long-kicking game, selectors are concerned with his association with past Origin failures. But Anasta's problem is not in the past but what is in front of him - he often takes the wrong option on whether to pass, or kick, or the direction to run.

By contrast, Pearce is a gifted decision maker. It is rare to see this in someone so young, particularly when the genetics on the male side did not contribute to his option taking. His father, Wayne, was one of the code's most celebrated players but achieved his status via a high workrate rather than tactical nous.

Mitchell's maturity is a testament to today's junior representative coaching programs whereby playmakers are constantly tutored in taking the right decision, with video back-up and eagle-eye camera technology.

Benchman Kurt Gidley is another of these youngsters educated in the all-round game. He was Bellamy's choice as Blues halfback for Origin I but injury ruled him out. Perhaps the selectors would have also had reservations because, for all Gidley's skills, he does not straighten the attack, an essential quality in a No.7.

However, he is an 80-minute player and therefore wasted on the bench, despite his versatility. Gidley's best position is fullback, and, given that the selectors hand Bellamy a 17 and it is his right to choose his starting 13, the role of the tough Newcastle custodian could be critical in bringing the ball back during the early, fierce exchanges.