There was a time Boyd Cordner was almost dumped from the NSW team because of comments he made about the snubbing of Mitchell Pearce back in 2014.
Remember the girl in the yellow dress? Well, she was the reason Pearce was overlooked in 2014 in favour of Trent Hodkinson. When asked about it at the time, Cordner – who was with Pearce  that night – said Pearce "should be playing here now".
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That didn't go down well with some members of the NSWRL board – particular those aligned to Canterbury, where Hodkinson called home at the time.
There were calls for Cordner to be dropped from the team, but Blues coach Laurie Daley stood by him. Daley has long been a huge admirer of the Roosters back-rower, rewarding him with the captaincy this year following the retirement of Paul Gallen.
"I still don't know what I did wrong. I will stick up for 'Pearcey' – he should be playing here now," Cordner said back in 2014.Â
Three years later, Cordner has the skipper's armband and mate Pearce back in the Blues No.7 jersey. He even has a child named after him.
The Blues back-rower recently discovered that a family of Roosters tragics named their child after him. Fifteen-month-old Cordner Mayne-Roberts popped into the Blues' Kingscliff camp with parents Ebony Mayne and Corey Roberts during the week to meet the man behind his name.
"I actually heard from them when he was born and they said that they'd named him Cordner after me," the NSW skipper said. "I didn't know how to feel. I'd never been in that situation or position before. I suppose it's a good feeling.
![Namesake: Boyd Cordner meets Cordner Mayne-Roberts, after whom parents Corey Roberts and Ebony Mayne named him.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170602035001im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/g/o/h/1/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gwgete.png/1496202338585.jpg)
"You feel like you're doing something right. I got back from Byron bay on a day off [on Monday] and I didn't know that they were here. It's pretty cool, you know. They messaged me on Instagram saying they were naming their son after me. I was pretty blown away. It's pretty cool."
Magic hands in camp
![Comrades: Cordner and Mitchell Pearce celebrate the Blues defeat of the Maroons after game two in Melbourne in 2015.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170602035001im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/a/m/t/4/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gwgete.png/1496202338585.jpg)
The NSWRL has spared no expense making sure the players are ready for Origin I, flying up the personal massage therapist of Jarryd Hayne, Aaron Woods and James Tedesco to camp in Kingscliff for a week.
Anthony Carbone, the man with the magic hands, is the remedial masseur who Hayne controversially flew down to see in Sydney this year, missing a Titans training session in the process.Â
Carbone has worked around the clock to get Woods right after he picked up a hamstring injury that was originally expected to sideline the prop for six to eight weeks. Woods made it back in half that time and he attributes his rapid recovery to Carbone.
Carbone has been given a room inside the Blues' Kingscliff headquarters and has been working overtime on his clients to get them right for Wednesday night's opening game of the series. Carbone is close friends with Woods and Tedesco's mentor, Joe Wehbe, who had his role at the Tigers terminated by former coach Jason Taylor. Hayne also credited Carbone for his inspirational performance in game one of the 2014 series at Suncorp Stadium.
Farah sees Corby drama
As the media circus gathered around Schapelle Corby in Bali before her deportation back to Australia, there was one intrigued onlooker in a taxi who caught the attention of a few cameramen. South Sydney's very own Robbie Farah ducked his head out of the taxi window to catch a glimpse of the madness surrounding Corby's exit from Kuta. His former NSW teammates might get up close and personal with the convicted drug smuggler, checking into the Sofitel on Tuesday afternoon, where Corby has reportedly been staying. Farah is on a hit-and-run holiday in Bali during South Sydney's bye round.
Pearce aims to inspire
Mitchell Pearce is a vastly different person to the one who last played Origin in 2015. He has tried to pass on some support to players around him, giving prop David Klemmer a book to read to help him throughout his NRL career.
The book is Deepak Chopra's The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success – A Practical Guide to the Fulfilment of Your Dreams.Â
One of the quotes from the book would have strong meaning for Pearce, who has struggled to overcome the heartache of repeated failed attempts in the Origin arena. "The past is history, the future is a mystery, and this moment is a gift," Chopra writes. "That is why this moment is called 'the present'."
NSW deliver for siblings
The NSW Blues had two special visitors pop into training during the week that pulled on the heartstrings of the players. Brothers Dane and Matt Cartwright, who despite being born three years apart, suffer from Battens Disease and aren't expected to outlive their parents.
It's an extremely rare and fatal disorder that begins in childhood, striking twice in the Cartwright family. A disability support worker recently touched base with the Blues to try to organise a meeting with the boys, who happen to be Cronulla tragic. Â Â Â
"Dane has a degenerative condition called Battens Disease which has now led to the complete loss of his vision, and very limited mobility," the letter to the NSWRL said. "Dane is one of the biggest NRL supporters that I know. Dane is a huge Cronulla Sharks and Blues supporter, and we listen to every game either on the TV or the radio.Â
"Dane also has a copy of the Blues winning the Origin which gets played at least once a week. It is Dane's 21st Birthday on the 19th of May and hearing that the team is staying 'literally' just down the road I know just how much it would mean to him and his family if he was able to meet the Blues team and have a quick throw of the ball with them."
The Blues made the wishes of both boys come true.
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