THE battle between Craig Gower and Brett Kimmorley for the NSW halfback spot in the series-deciding State of Origin match is so tight that form in this weekend's round of the NRL will decide the winner.

The Herald has learned that, while suggestions immediately after State of Origin II were that Gower would come back in for Brett Finch, Kimmorley has played well enough to take the decision down to the wire.

Finch, who starred for the Blues at halfback in Origin I but was disappointing in the second game, will not be retained and Matt Orford will not be considered unless players rated ahead of him are injured.

Selectors are taking veteran Andrew Johns on his public statement that he is standing by his decision to retire from representative football.

The NSW and Queensland teams for the game at Telstra Dome in Melbourne on July 5 will be named on Monday.

Braith Anasta, from the Sydney Roosters, is only a remote chance of keeping his place at five-eighth for the Blues, with St George Illawarra's Ben Hornby and Melbourne's Scott Hill contenders to replace him.

Less likely is the option of switching Mark Gasnier from centre to five-eighth. Gasnier's centre partner at the Dragons, Matt Cooper, who was picked for Origin I but withdrew because of injury and was not chosen for Origin II, will only return if Gasnier is moved.

North Queensland second-rower Luke O'Donnell, who played in Origin I but broke his thumb in that game, is set to return to the squad for any one of three players - Steve Simpson, Andrew Ryan or Brent Kite.

O'Donnell will make his comeback for the Cowboys against St George Illawarra at WIN Stadium on Saturday night.

The Maroons have to find replacements for two players who won't be available because of injury - fullback Karmichael Hunt, who has a broken foot, and centre Steve Bell (fractured cheekbone).

Penrith's Rhys Wesser is the likely new fullback, with Shaun Berrigan a contender for promotion from the bench to a starting spot in the centres.

But the biggest question is who will play at halfback and five-eighth for NSW and the selectors are keeping an open mind.

Gower, who was the chosen halfback for Origin I before injuring his knee at training the day before the game, has had one game since for Penrith - against the Dragons last Saturday week.

He had undergone an arthroscopy to repair cartilage damage 17 days before the club game and looked tentative.

Gower did not play last weekend because the Panthers had the bye, but he will get the chance to win over the selectors when he plays against Wests Tigers at CUA Stadium on Saturday.

Kimmorley, who outpointed Manly's Orford in last Saturday's game, will go in opposite Newcastle's Johns at EnergyAustralia Stadium this Saturday.

Many people thought Kimmorley would not play Origin again after he was dropped following a poor performance in game one of last year's series, but the selectors have not forgotten what he can do when in form.

Kimmorley has produced several superb displays for the Sharks recently and Gower will have to come back strongly to hold him out.

Meanwhile, Dragons coach Nathan Brown and one of his star players, prop Jason Ryles, have declined to enter into a slanging match with Mark Geyer over comments Geyer made in his Rugby League Week column.

Geyer nominated Ryles as the NRL's most overrated player, saying: "I have gone with a front-rower who hasn't made an impact at any level for the past few seasons. [Ryles] spends a heap of time out injured and when he is on the field gives away far too many penalties and pushes too many risky passes."

Asked if he wished to respond, Ryles, who also finished second to Anasta in the most overrated section in the poll, said: "I'm having a bad week, aren't I? No, I wouldn't spray a bloke publicly like that."

Geyer said Brown, with whom he clashed verbally when they crossed paths at Brisbane's Treasury Casino the night before Origin II, was the coach he would least like to play under.

"I would find it hard to respect a bloke who slaps his own players, no matter what the circumstances," Geyer said. "And the way he and some of his big-name players carried on in Brisbane last week, I have to wonder about the discipline in the joint."

Brown wouldn't bite either. "I've got no response," he said. "If he [Geyer] is happy, I'm very happy for him."