Queensland coach Billy Slater has to bring in a few new faces in his bid to win back the State of Origin shield due to injuries and form.
Broncos duo Reece Walsh (knee) and Ben Hunt (hamstring) are unavailable with Dolphins captain Tom Gilbert set to join them after suffering a pectoral injury in Saturday’s loss to the Warriors.
Slater has a few other players down on form in the lead-up to this year’s series opener on May 28 at the same venue.
Daly Cherry-Evans has opted against retiring from representative football and is set to lead the Maroons again although his form has wavered recently following his revelation that this season will be his last at the Sea Eagles.
The good news for Slater is Tino Fa’asuamaleaui is back on deck after missing last year with a torn ACL and Cameron Munster is another who will be back in Maroon after sitting out the 2024 series due to injury.
(Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
Canterbury veteran Kurt Mann has surged into contention for a bench spot and if given a shot, the 32-year-old journeyman would become the oldest Queensland debutant since Arthur Beetson 45 years ago.
Titans forward Beau Fermor is another uncapped Maroon who could find a spot in the forwards.
Gilbert was likely to start in the pack or at the least be used as a bench option until he suffered his untimely injury on Saturday while trying to deny a Marata Niukore try.
The Dolphins skipper, who missed most of the 2023 season with a shoulder dislocation and all of 2024 with an ACL rupture, was seen in the dressing room with ice on his pec and left arm in a sling.
His Origin return is now in tatters.
“He’s disappointed, but he’s a tough man,” Dolphins coach Kristian Woolf said.
“He has handled disappointment before and he will do it again. He’s not going to be playing in the next couple of weeks with a pec injury, I wouldn’t have thought.
“I don’t know the exact severity of it. We will find that out with a scan, but if it was a minor one he would have played on.”
The Maroons are set to announce their team next Monday.
Last year’s team
Origin III
1 Reece Walsh
2 Selwyn Cobbo
3 Dane Gagai
4 Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow
5 Valentine Holmes
6 Tom Dearden
7 Daly Cherry-Evans (c)
8 Moeaki Fotuaika
9 Harry Grant
10 Felise Kaufusi
11 Kurt Capewell
12 Reuben Cotter
13 Patrick Carrigan
14 Ben Hunt
15 Lindsay Collins
16 Jeremiah Nanai
17 Kalyn Ponga
The spine
Walsh was already facing a challenge from Newcastle captain Kalyn Ponga for the No.1 jersey but the star Bronco is out of Origin I contention after suffering a PCL injury in the Round 7 loss to the Warriors.
He had been hot and cold for the Broncos while Ponga has been strong for the Knights even though he has received little help from teammates at club level.
Munster has been back to his best for Melbourne and while Cherry-Evans has not been at his peak for Manly the return of his long-term rep halves partner is likely to mean Tom Dearden will be squeezed out of the starting side.
Storm hooker Harry Grant made a successful return after being out for a month following a hamstring injury in this Saturday’s loss to Cronulla at Shark Park.
Ben Hunt will not share the dummy-half duties with Grant as they’ve done over the past few years because of his hamstring problem so Dearden and Canterbury duo Kurt Mann and Reed Mahoney are in contention on the bench as his back-up.
Reece Walsh. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
Outside backs
Dane Gagai lined up in game three last year and is unlikely to get a start this time around while Selwyn Cobbo looked like he would also lose his spot but his recent form has put him back in the frame.
Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow and Dragons recruit Valentine Holmes are locks for two of the spots with in-form Melbourne winger Xavier Coates and Cowboys winger Murray Taulagi in line for a recall.
Storm centre Jack Howarth had been mentioned by Slater as a potential debutant but he dislocated his shoulder against the Dolphins last month.
The forwards
Kaufusi and Capewell were part of last year’s series deciding loss and are unlikely to get another start this time around.
Roosters prop Lindsay Collins made his comeback from a knee injury for the Roosters on Friday and is back in the frame for Origin I.
Fa’asuamaleaui, Pat Carrigan and Reuben Cotter are likely to be the starting middle forward trio with second row up for grabs.
Cotter played there last year but is more suited to the middle, Nanai and Titans forward Beau Fermor is an option while Jaydn Su’A has been performing well for St George Illawarra this season and could be in line for another shot at Origin.
If Cotter gets picked on the edge, Gold Coast’s Mo Fotuaika could start at prop.
(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
The bench
Hunt’s absence opens up a bench spot. Mahoney is a contender, Munster has nominated himself as a potential bench option if Dearden retains the five-eighth spot while Mann is a versatile candidate who can cover most positions.
Canberra firebrand Corey Horsburgh is back in with a chance after a down year in 2024 with, Jaydn Su’A, Fotuaika, Nanai and Collins fighting it out to be on the interchange.
Capewell’s versatility could mean he retains a bench berth – he filled in at centre for the Warriors on Saturday and has plenty of experience at Origin level.
Likely Maroons team
Origin I
1 Kalyn Ponga
2 Xavier Coates
3 Valentine Holmes
4 Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow
5 Murray Taulagi
6 Cameron Munster
7 Daly Cherry-Evans (c)
8 Tino Fa’asuamaleaui
9 Harry Grant
10 Moeaki Fotuaika
11 Jeremiah Nanai
12 Reuben Cotter
13 Patrick Carrigan
14 Tom Dearden
15 Kurt Mann
16 Beau Fermor
17 Lindsay Collins
