WHEN the new Origin Series kicks-off at the JJB Stadium tonight, there are two hot prospects who look set to gain most from the first of this season's Great Britain trials.

But neither have a chance of pulling on a jersey for either next month's Test against Australia or to face the touring Kiwis.

At a time when the development of representative rugby is a must to stand any chance of competing with the southern hemisphere, it only seems fitting to hand the county coaching jobs to arguably the two best tacticians in the business.

While Yorkshire boss Brian Noble is being groomed as the next national supremo, Ian Millward has conquered alchemy in turning St Helens' limited resources into treble winning material.

But the nagging doubt remains over a conflict of interests between club and county. Both coaches have a the privilige of developing the country's young talent, which can bridge the gap between domestic and international rugby.

Yet it is their clubs who pay their wages and who wait with the axe should their Super League performance start to wane.

The temptation to rest their important club players from the demands of an Origin series must be acute and we have already seen a number of big names drop out.

Even with the players they do risk, surely this could prove an arena to try a few radical ideas in a high intensity match, with no consequences if they fail spectacularly. They could not dream of a better opportunity to gamble on new plays, tactics and testing 'their' players in different positions.

Such a cavalier approach can result in severe reprimands and often sackings in the cut-throat sporting world yet in this fledgling competition they will feel almost immune from such disciplinary action.

All that said, it would be difficult to replace them with strong candidates from outside the top flight. Lee Crooks and Andy Gregory clearly failed to live up to Rugby Football League requirements after taking charge of the inaugural event and, while the Northern Ford Premiership is proving a breeding ground for the pack of top young coaches, none have the experience to take established top flight players to the next level.

It seems we will just have to put our trust in these two county custodians and hope that pride in the roses will fuel a spectacular double-header.