MANLY`s Jamie Lyon will head into Friday night`s game against Canberra knowing he could be just one solid performance away from a recall to State of Origin as a replacement for injured St George Illawarra centre Mark Gasnier.Gasnier, who tore his left hamstring at training late on Wednesday, underwent scans on Thursday morning and is in doubt for Origin II, to be played at Suncorp Stadium on Wednesday week.
Selectors will give the NSW and Australia centre every chance to prove his fitness, although that looks a forlorn hope given he is expected to miss a minimum of two weeks. Gasnier was outstanding in Origin I, shredding the Maroons as NSW won the series opener 18-10 at ANZ Stadium.
Lyon, who played two games for the Blues last year, shapes as the logical replacement although Wests Tigers centre Chris Lawrence could come under consideration given Blues coach Craig Bellamy is a known fan.
The Blues were already facing changes for Origin II, with prop Ben Cross (broken thumb) unable to take his place.
Former NSW centre Brett Kenny yesterday described Gasnier`s potential loss as a huge blow to the Blues.
"Not just physically, but psychologically," Kenny said.
"They would have been very confident knowing that they could just throw the ball wide. That was the story in the first game. Psychologically I think it might affect them a little bit."
Gasnier produced arguably the finest performance of his NSW career in Origin I, tormenting Queensland centre Greg Inglis and throwing the final pass in two of the Blues` tries.
"That`s a big blow ... a major blow," former NSW captain Ben Elias said.
"He`s a brilliant player. You can`t replace players like him.
"If there was one player you wouldn`t want to lose, it would be him. He`s dynamic."
The injury comes at a seminal time in Gasnier`s career. The Dragons captain is in the throes of determining his future, with the lure of rugby union prominent in his thoughts.
Dragons fans can take solace in the fact that even if Gasnier decides to pursue a rugby union career in Europe, he is likely to finish next season in the NRL before heading overseas.
The European rugby season doesn`t start until September and Gasnier is unlikely to leave the Dragons, and incoming coach Wayne Bennett, in the lurch by leaving this year.
Reports in England have suggested Gasnier is poised to link with French club Stade Francais, although that could be contingent on outgoing Waratahs coach Ewen McKenzie joining the club.
St George Illawarra coach Nathan Brown ruled out a recall for dual international Wendell Sailor, who has played two games in the Jim Beam Cup since returning from a two-year drug ban, to replace Gasnier.
Instead, Josh Morris will move into the centres.
And Trent Barrett`s manager Wayne Beavis is expected to meet Cronulla and South Sydney on Friday - the latest step towards sorting out his client`s future.
Discussions over Barrett`s future have been hampered by the confused nature of talks between Beavis and Wigan chairman Ian Lenegan.
Lenegan has stated he will allow Barrett to return to the NRL at the end of the season, but Beavis is becoming increasingly frustrated by the club`s failure to provide him with an official release.
"I can categorically declare that I am not in receipt of an unconditional release for Trent Barrett," Beavis said. "I wrote to him (Lenegan) the other day and said this is all getting farcical and he should address it."
