I’ve got a bone to pick with Dane Eldridge. Well, not Dane as a person. I’m sure Dane is a lovely person. The particular bone I’m picking is on the article he wrote for The Roar on A beginner’s guide to Origin speculation: Bluffing your way to ‘logically’ choose between bolters and blunders.

C’mon Dane. Why can’t Roarers speculate between Queensland bolters and blunders?

Events of the past week show that logically choosing Queensland’s team for Origin II was rife everywhere. Mainly in Queensland. But Queensland is everywhere, so that makes sense.

Here’s some of the problems with Dane’s article.

Rule #1 is pretty black and white, which is the complete opposite to Queenland’s eligibility rules.

And rule #2 completely goes against the long-held trope of Queensland’s “He’ll be right. He’s a Queenslander” or “He won’t let anyone down” or he’s “good around the sheds”.

Even Mal Meninga, who is the absolute king when it comes to picking bolters, rails against #7. Mal loves a bolter. “I would be throwing them in there and having a bit of a crack. There are a few bolters” said the future Western Force coach on Sporting News.

Big Mal named loads of potential bolters. He even picked bolters for NSW. The players he named as a potential bolter included: Beau Fermor, Corey Horsburgh, Trent Loiero, “the J’Maine Hopgoods” (is that a plural?), Tom Dearden, Trent Loiero (again), Tyran Wishart, Jacob Preston, Terrell May, Xavier Savage, Corey Horsburgh (again), Braydon Trindall and Tommy Dearden (wasn’t clear if Tom and Tommy Dearden were different players).

A as footy fans, we have an obligation to really assess the bolter’s performance in Origin after they’ve been labelled as such. So we’re going to look at a team of Queensland players named as potential bolters prior to Origin I, and how many of them made it.

The multitude of players Mal Meninga anointed, including May are automatic selections in the extended squad. They are highlighted with (MMA).

Cameron Munster: “You’re hearing some chat about maybe [Cameron] Munster going to fullback and things like that. If he wants to put Munster at fullback and start Tommy in the halves, then you’ve got KP [Kalyn Ponga] on the bench, so that’s pretty handy as well.”: Ben Hunt

Cameron Munster. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

Xavier Savage (MMA): “The competition is so easy, I mean even. Young players like Xavier Savage, he’s been going great”: Mal Meninga

Rob Toia: “If you move Hammer (Tabuai-Fidow) who have you got coming in to centre? They’ve got Rob Toia… so there’s all these sort of conversations”: Darren Lockyer

Jacob Preston (MMA): “He’s a special player. He can play both sides of the park which is really important”: Mal Meninga

Jaxon Purdue: “Is he ready for Origin right now? I can’t answer that, but he’d do a good job”: Todd Payten

Ezra Mam: “He was outstanding. Look at all those little neat and tidy things he did like popping up with off-loads, kick chases, and scoring tries off kicks. You need that guy … once Ezra gets back he will give them that confidence.’’: Justin Hodges after Ezra’s return for the Western Clydesdale’s last month.

Kurt Mann: “But if there is a dip in DCE’s form, they have a ready-made utility in Kurt Mann”: David Riccio

Alec MacDonald (MMA): “After joining Storm on a train and trial contract MacDonald soon became a bolter for Melbourne’s 2022 season opener”: From the Melbourne Storm Player Profile. (He’s a dual bolter, which is such a rarity in the modern game).

Beau Fermor (MMA): “The middle of the field looks to have a bit more depth but the edges, I still think there are people out there – we mentioned Beau Fermor – that are still vying for positions”: Darren Lockyer (endorsed bolter by Mal Meninga)

David Fifita: “For all of the kids out there… it’s a dream for them to look up to me because I was in that exact same spot as a youngster… and you don’t really believe that you could do it, but I’ve done it, and it always gets me on my toes… you never know who is going to be the next David Fifita or the next up-and-coming superstar who is going to come through the ranks”: David Fifita names himself and future David Fifita’s as potential bolters on the official QRL website.

Corey Horsburgh (MMA): “Origin legend Billy Moore has backed Raiders star Corey Horsburgh to play for the Maroons and explained why some players are picked for Queensland that NSW would never consider”: Billy Moore (endorsed by Mal Meninga)

Tom Dearden (MMA): “He’s pretty much a young version of Ben Hunt, plays in the halves but can play a little bit of 9 as well. He is a tough customer, built for Origin, we’ve seen what he’s produced for Queensland already. You could throw him anywhere”: Cameron Smith (endorsed by Mal Meninga)

Terrell May (MMA): “Rugby league legend and The Continuous Call Team’s Mark Geyer has backed Wests Tigers forward Terrell May to be a State of Origin bolter for NSW this year” MG is at odds with Mal about which Origin team Terrell will be bolting into. Did Mal confuse Terrell with Tyrone when he said, “Tyrell May’s had a great start to the year”? Tyrone who was born in Blacktown, played his junior footy at Penrith and is currently playing for Hull Kingston Rovers, would be the biggest Queensland bolter of all time.

Tyran Wishart (MMA): “Melbourne’s Tyran Wishart may not yet be in the same class as Wing, but he has stood up whenever called upon at the Storm and can comfortably play fullback, wing, five-eighth, halfback and hooker, as well as backrow if needed”: QRL website (endorsed by you-know-who)

“According to The Sydney Morning Herald, Wishart joined several Blues stars – including Nathan Cleary, Mitchell Moses, Tom and Jake Trbojevic, and Jarome Luai – in a meeting with new coach Laurie Daley on Saturday”: WWOS staff article (likely refuted by Mal Meninga)

Trent Loiero (MMA): “You don’t win a raffle ticket to come into this camp and be in this position. (Trent) earned it through their actions (with) their club. I worked with Trent closely down in Melbourne, and I know what he brings to his footy team, and I really like that in a player” Billy Slater (another Mal endorsee)

Braydon Trindall (MMA): “I’m fully aware that he’s a Queenslander, that’s for certain. The way that he’s played, not just this year but last year as well, he’s someone to certainly keep an eye on. I don’t think that would be beyond him, for sure”: Billy Slater (and Mal again)

Tom Gilbert (MMA): “There is a fair bit to like about Tom. He has been playing very well and been on the radar for a while. He is that sort of player you want in your team”: Billy Slater, the official QRL website before he was unfortunately injured.

Reserves – Max Plath: “Dolphins forward Josh Kerr has declared Max Plath will go where Plath’s famous father could not, and help Queensland regain the State of Origin shield as early as the 2025 series”: Josh Kerr, Brisbane Times.

Robert Toia. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)

J’maine Hopgood: “He’s a guy that I’ve been watching… I was even watching him last year when I when he was playing NSW Cup for Penrith Panthers and he was really impressive”: Billy Slater, the official QRL website (Mal. Again.)

So there you have it. The Queensland bolters selected by Queensland FOGs and non-FOGs who wouldn’t have let anyone down. Or did they? Robert Toia certainly didn’t. He was one of the Maroons best in Origin I.

Beau Fermor only got late minutes and was replaced for game two of the series. Cam Munster, sadly, wasn’t chosen at fullback. But he did so well he’s been named as a bolter captain.

One or both of Tom/Tommy Dearden came off the bench and really made an impact. So much so he’s replaced DCE in the No.7 jersey. Trent Loiero, as Billy said, didn’t win a raffle ticket but he’s been retained nonetheless.

A team of guys who have been on the radar a while, could do a job, wouldn’t let anyone down, the selectors have had an eye on for a while, are part of the conversations.

Ask yourself Queensland: out of these bolters, who will be the next David Fifita?