ALMOST two years ago to the very day, Jamie Soward played one of the biggest games on Australia's sporting calender - State of Origin I at Suncorp Stadium. Before 52,144 fans, Queensland went one-up with a 16-12 win. Despite the loss, Soward retained his place as NSW five-eighth for the second match, played before 81,965 fans at ANZ Stadium. Now, Soward's career is at the crossroads. Told on Monday to take a break from Dragons training, Soward was yesterday dumped from Saints' side to play Newcastle on Saturday at Hunter Stadium. Soward has been chosen in the Illawarra Cutters NSW Cup side, who play the preliminary match against Newcastle.Chase Stanley is the new five-eighth for the Dragons and will play alongside halfback Nathan Fien. St George Illawarra coach Steve Price was reluctant to discuss Soward in a statement on the club's website. "There are a few changes this week, including the welcome return of Dan Hunt, who sat out last round recovering from a minor knee injury," Price said. Nathan Green has been playing well for the Illawarra Cutters and gets his chance in the centres, while Chase Stanley moves to five-eighth, replacing Jamie Soward, who will play for the Cutters. "Hopefully Brett Morris and Trent Merrin will come through the State of Origin game unscathed for NSW so they can take their places on Saturday night against a tough and talented Newcastle."Illawarra Cutters head coach Paul McGregor, in camp as trainer of NSW, has chosen Soward to partner halfback Josh Drinkwater. There remains uncertainty over whether Soward will seek a mid-season release. Penrith, the club that signed Soward for the next four years, claim they won't take Soward mid-year. The four-year Panthers deal is worth $3.6 million. But on Monday he said: "I gave him (Soward) a couple of days off just to clear his head. The Daily Telegraph revealed on Monday that Soward was seemingly unpopular among teammates. Stanley spoke on the Dragons website yesterday but he too would not comment on the Soward drama. "They Knights are a good team with plenty of talent across the park," was all Stanley would say.