For Egan, the non-selection is understandable. Even though coach Laurie Daley has indicated he wants two hookers in his match-day squad of 19, there are arguably five who could do the job.

Sydney Roosters’ Reece Robson and Blayke Brailey of the Cronulla Sharks will start and come off the bench for the Blues in game one, respectively. That leaves Egan, and former New South Wales hookers Api Koroisau and Damien Cook, of the Tigers and Dragons, on the outer.

But as far as the man himself is concerned, only performances at club level will keep him in the conversation, if and when the time comes.

“Any time you get chucked up, it’s nice to hear about,” Egan said. “It would be nice to make it one day.

“I’m just trying to put my best foot forward for the Warriors. Whatever happens after that happens.

“You get told to pack, just in case. It’s cool to get your name thrown into the ring.

“For Jacko [Ford] especially, hopefully he gets to make the next game. For myself, if I keep playing good footy, you never know what’ll happen.”

After his time as assistant to Ivan Cleary at the Penrith Panthers, Warriors coach Andrew Webster knows exactly what makes an Origin representative.

During his years at Penrith, he had a front-row seat in watching Koroisau, who played four times for the Blues between 2021 and 2023.

But even with the quality of hookers at New South Wales’ disposal, Webster is one of the loudest advocates for Egan to have higher honours come his way.

“There’s some great hookers in the game,” he said. “You’ve got to ask the coaches why they don’t pick him.

“We love him. I personally believe he’s up to Origin level, and he’d do a great job for New South Wales. But I don’t pick the team, I focus on the Warriors.

“Whatever he does with us is a bonus, and if he was to play in that arena, we know he’d kill it.”

Aside from any State of Origin honours, Egan’s displays for the Warriors will come under the microscope as he’s off contract at the end of 2027.

NRL rules mean players can be approached from November 1 the year before they come off contract, in order to negotiate with a rival club.

This year, that situation is further complicated by the arrival of two new teams into the NRL in 2027 and 2028, the Perth Bears and Papua New Guinea Chiefs, both with large money to throw at players.

When Egan re-signed with the Warriors in 2024, he did so before that deadline to avoid the chance of other clubs making an offer at all.

And while there could be temptation for Egan to test his value on the open market, especially considering players who sign for the Chiefs can do so tax-free, there has been no thought about where his future lies – yet.

“I honestly haven’t really thought about it,” Egan said. “I’m just trying to play footy each week.

“As cliche as it is, you just take it week by week. I haven’t even thought about tomorrow yet.

“When the time comes, when I’m off contract, I’ll get my management to look after that for me.”

Alex Powell is a sports journalist for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016.