Craig Bellamy and the New South Wales selectors, I'd argue, cost the Blues both State of Origin games this year well before kickoff. They have made a mess of team selection in the past but reached new heights of ineptitude in 2010.

In fact, they have been so ham-fisted this year that, ahead of next Wednesday's series finale, it is now possible to do a Dave Letterman-like top 10 list which highlights the NSW camp's mistakes, failings and gross stuff-ups.

Drum roll please .... The Ten Ways the New South Wales Selectors Have Screwed Up in 2010:

10. Project Players: Blues selectors once again decided to include a project player, this year sticking with Canberra's Tom Learoyd-Lars. Learoyd-Lars has averaged only 46 minutes over 9 games for Canberra this season where his output has been a very average 83.8 metres and 16.8 tackles per match. His numbers in 2009 were only marginally better while in 2008 and 2007 he hardly played. Rather than pick the best players, selectors choose to body types. It has been a miserable failure in the case of Learoyd-Lars.

9. The Lack of Workers: Workhorses have consistently been overlooked for flashy players at the Blues selection table. Nathan Hindmarsh got called up for game two only to be dropped after being the Blues best. Flashy players like fringe runners Ben Creagh and Anthony Watmough and those with a poor work ethic like Learoyd-Lars and Luke O'Donnell have consistently got the nod over the likes of Anthony Laffranchi and Chris Heighington and it has cost the Blues dearly.

8. The Myth of ‘Origin Type' Players: Blues selectors have believed in the notion that big bodies and players with aggro are the right type of player for Origin. This year that has resulted in the selection of Beau Scott, Michael Ennis and Luke O'Donnell at the expense of better credentialed players who actually bring something useful to the team. This usually results in a lack of attacking creativity and an overabundance of penalties. Thurston, Lockyer and Slater aren't giants and they aren't fighters but the Blues hierarchy don't seem to pay any heed of the model Queensland have developed over the last five years.

7. The Untouchability of Jarryd Hayne: Hayne does nothing in game one when on the wing so he gets shifted to fullback at the expense of the captain. He does nothing in game two yet his position is never under threat. Even his Parramatta coach is fed up with his poor form. Josh Dugan, Kurt Gidley and Lachlan Coote are three fullbacks more deserving of the one jersey.

6. Picking Players Out of Position: Jamie Lyon at five-eighth. Tom Learoyd-Lars at prop. Timana Tahu on the wing. Joel Monaghan on the wing. Greg Bird at lock. Blues selectors simply refuse to just pick players in their best positions. They have been picking players out of position for years and it has led to some shocking defensive lapses.

5. Chopping and Changing Halves: Blues selectors have made a sport out of chopping and changing halves since Andrew Johns retired. The first game Jamie Lyon was selected at five-eighth and Brett Kimmorley at halfback. Trent Barrett and Mitch Pearce were selected in game two and have been retained for game three. Pearce will only get better if he is given security of tenure, something Blues selectors have failed to offer in recent years with the halfback nearly always the scapegoat for a loss. Nothing in 2010 suggests anything has changed.

4. Soft Props and No Props: Game one saw the Blues select soft-bellied prop forwards Josh Perry and Brett White to support the hard-headed Michael Weyman. Perry was dropped for game two with a backrower bought in as his replacement. In both games New South Wales were smashed up front. The Blues selectors have at least seen the error of their ways and named promising youngsters Kade Snowden and Tim Mannah for game three with Brett White finally dumped.

3. The Captaincy: Blues selectors have made an absolute mess of the captaincy. Kurt Gidley retained the captaincy in game two despite being dropped to the bench while Trent Barrett was named skipper for game three despite this being his last year before retirement. The leadership vacuum has created an unnecessary distraction and it has provided the Blues with no clear direction for 2011 onwards.

2. No Vision: Trent Barrett's appointment as captain was symptomatic of the lack of vision exhibited by Blues selectors. Despite game three being a dead-rubber, very few risks were taken and very few moves for the future tested. Jamie Soward was once again overlooked at five-eighth. Robbie Farah was not given a chance at hooker. Promising youngsters were again overlooked. Craig Bellamy and the selectors are treating game three as must-win when really it should be used as a testing ground for the future.

1. Containment over Attack: The Blues selectors never gave the team a chance by selecting a defence-oriented backline singularly aimed at containing Queensland's star outside backs. Attacking stars like Michael Jennings, Josh Morris and Jamie Soward were overlooked for the likes of Beau Scott, Matt Cooper, Timana Tahu and Jamie Lyon. It meant that once Queensland got to the front on the scoreboard, the game was over. The Blues simply didn't have the attack to run down a deficit. They weren't built to come from behind. Subsequently, Queensland established two leads and never looked threatened.

A review is currently underway into the Blues Origin setup. After such perplexing, nonsensical and short-term decisions this year, it is difficult to imagine any of the selectors being asked back in 2010. Perhaps then the Blues will be given a chance of taking it to this wonderful Queensland team.

Nick Tedeschi is a (frustrated NSW) rugby league fan and journalist who has written across a range of titles in the past six years.