Queensland will announce their team for State of Origin Game 1 on Tuesday, May 19, around lunchtime, but we thought we’d give you the opportunity to be Mal Meninga for the next few minutes and pick the Maroons team.
So tell us, who should line up 1-17 for Queensland in State of Origin I this year?
Who do you think should be the side to run out at ANZ Stadium on May 27 and start the journey of bringing the Origin trophy back to Queensland, after their incredible eight-year streak was broken by NSW last year?
We’ll do the number-crunching and come out with a Roar Queensland State of Origin team to compare with the side picked by Maroons’ selectors on Tuesday.
Mal Meninga has been very candid in his pre-State of Origin interviews in announcing his intentions for the Queensland side in the 2015 series.
Coach for Queensland’s eight straight Origin victories, Meninga is very likely to stick by the team that lost the 2014 series. While that doesn’t necessarily make sense on paper, that core have done the job for so long, and did manage a very solid victory in the final game of the 2014 State of Origin series to bring NSW back to earth.
Despite former stalwarts having had injury-riddled starts to the 2015 NRL season, it appears that veteran centre Justin Hodges and try-scoring record holder Darius Boyd will both be selected for Queensland if they can prove their fitness in the final weekend of NRL action over the weekend.
Would you risk them? Or would you be looking at alternatives, like in-form centre Will Chambers, who was selected for the Kangaroos?
In the forwards, the Maroons have a good number of options, but bench and back-up players like David Taylor, Aidan Guerra and Josh Papalii are either suffering from a lack of form or game time.
Similarly, stalwart Nate Myles hasn’t been in the form Meninga would like, which has led to talk of blooding the likes of Brisbane prop Josh McGuire.
All in all, Queensland do have their selection issues, despite the positivity from coach Mal Meninga.
Another question will be Daly Cherry-Evans, and whether to persist with selecting him as a backup to Cooper Cronk, or pick another forward on the bench.
A question that hasn’t entered into the public debate much is whether Greg Inglis would be a better choice at fullback than incumbent Billy Slater. He played there in Queensland’s win over NSW in Game 3 last year, and is the heir apparent to Billy’s number one jumper. When that transition will take place is in Meninga’s hands.
So Roarers, with all those questions and more to answer, who would you pick in your 17 for the Queensland Maroons to take on the NSW Blues in State of Origin 1?
Reckon you can pick the winning team? Build your own dream team with Draftstars daily fantasy and compete on any match. For great odds on the NRL head on over to PlayUp. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.
The only real selection debate for Billy Slater has been settled by Kalyn Ponga’s untimely foot injury. Newcastle’s captain was probably unlikely to get…
Queensland often has the right mix of generational talent, playmaking brilliance and these nuts-and-bolts players that bind them together like glue.
Despite a poor season by his own high standards, Latrell Mitchell is still a chance to force his way into the NSW team for…
Veteran Queensland trio Felise Kaufusi, Dane Gagai and Kurt Capewell have been included in a 34-man Maroons squad that will meet in Brisbane to…
Matt Ballin will replace Cameron Smith on the Queensland coaching staff this State of Origin series. An assistant coach at Brisbane since late 2021,…
Proposed rule changes to Origin eligibility might be that rarest of things: a solution that works for everyone.
