Australia’s Test failure against New Zealand will not spook Queensland coach Mal Meninga into making wholesale changes to his State of Origin squad.
Multiple Maroons mainstays were part of the Kangaroos side that fell to the Kiwis in last weekend’s Anzac Test – but while regeneration is on the cards for the national team, Meninga has vowed to stick with the tried and true.
Meninga said there would be “no surprises” when he names his squad for game one in Sydney on May 18.
“I’ve got no reason and I don’t think the selectors have got any reason to doubt the players we’ve got at the moment,” Meninga said.
“They had a bit of a hiccup on the weekend and everyone’s jumped on the bandwagon about that.
“You’re allowed to have some sort of hiccup every now and again.
“You look at all the players, particularly in the Queensland system, they’re all playing really well for their clubs.
“For me, we’ll remain loyal as long as the players remain loyal to us and want to put in for the Queensland jersey and do the right thing.”
Meninga does not see this year as a “transition” period for the Maroons following the end of their eight-year Origin dynasty at the hands of NSW.
He said his players have earned the “right and respect” to follow in the footsteps of Justin Hodges and call an end to their representative days when they feel the time is right.
“(With) natural attrition maybe this year we’ll see a couple of new faces,” he said.
“As time passes on we’ve got to make some tough decisions.
“At the end of the day, the players, if they’re really honest with themselves and want to do the right thing by the program, they’ll come to me and say maybe my time’s up.”
As for those new faces, there are numerous names in contention – such as Roosters brute Dylan Napa and Broncos forward Josh McGuire – but only a few spots are likely to open up.
Ben Te’o (Super League) and Brent Tate (retired) are gone, Dave Taylor may not have the form behind him to warrant selection, and Darius Boyd remains under an injury cloud as he plots his return from a pre-season Achilles injury.
However, Meninga said Boyd may not even need to play an NRL game at all to earn another Queensland jersey, provided he is fit and healthy.
“We’ve had that philosophy before – one game or sometimes no games,” he said.
“He’s experienced.
“If they’re fit and ready to go we’ll be talking about them around the selection table.”
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