Jack Wighton should be one of the first picked for Fittler's Blues

The pair recently landed themselves in hot water for a weekend camping trip at NSW's mid-coast that broke a number of coronavirus-influenced social distancing rules.

Both players were fined for their actions but a consequence that would hurt more would be a NSW Blues demotion, a potential outcome that's being spoken about more as we near the start of the NRL season.

Not only did the Indigenous duo break COVID-19 rules, so did Blues' halfback Nathan Cleary as a TikTok video emerged of him with a number of other people which also clearly breached the current laws in place.

While this all spells disaster for the player's respective clubs and the NSW Blues, it puts Lucknow's Jack Wighton in the box seat to not only re-gain his State of Origin jumper in 2020, but to cement himself as a dependable part of the roster for years to come.

Wighton's had a quiet COVID-19 off-season and was arguably the NRL's best player throughout the opening two weeks of the campaign and after being a revelation for Brad Fittler in games two and three of last year's series, will be one of the first in line to get the call up again.

The NRL kicks off on May 26 and provided Wighton doesn't sustain an injury, will be selected in either the centres or at five-eighth for the Cockroaches.