With the third and final State of Origin match just two weeks away, focus will centre on this weekend’s round of matches to determine who earns selection for the decider in Brisbane.
Of interest will be the battle to fill two places in Queensland’s backline, with Origin veterans Darius Boyd and Johnathan Thurston both ruled out of the decider due to a thumb and shoulder injury respectively.
Thurston’s courageous performance in the second Origin match, in which he copped that fateful shoulder injury before kicking the winning goal, will also see him miss the rest of the season.
It has robbed him of what would have been an emotional Origin farewell at Suncorp Stadium, like those afforded to Darren Lockyer and Petero Civoniceva in 2011 and 2012 respectively.
Boyd, on the other hand, suffered his thumb injury also in the second Origin match, which means the Maroons will be forced into making at least two changes to their victorious side.
The Melbourne Storm’s Cameron Munster is considered a good chance of making his debut, having impressed in Billy Slater’s shoes while the fullback was recuperating from a serious shoulder injury.
So much so, he will be expected to inherit the number one guernsey full-time when Slater eventually retires.
In the meantime, with Slater back in the side, Munster has had to settle playing at five-eighth alongside Cooper Cronk.
The Rockhampton native is expected to be named in the centres for Queensland next week, replacing Darius Boyd, who he would’ve opposed in the Broncos versus Storm match at Suncorp Stadium this Friday night.
The setting for this match will give Munster the chance to prove his big-game credentials, as it will be the venue where he will make his Origin debut, if he is named.
After impressing for the Sea Eagles in their 35-18 win over the Sharks last week, Daly Cherry-Evans remains a chance of earning a recall for the Maroons, after coach Kevin Walters had initially overlooked him as a potential replacement for Johnathan Thurston.
Walters appears to have no choice but to name him, given another five-eighth, Anthony Milford, is no chance of returning for the decider owing to a shoulder injury he suffered earlier this month.
If he is named, the Manly captain would very likely be named on the bench, with Michael Morgan set to start alongside departing halfback Cooper Cronk in the halves.
(AAP Image/Dean Lewins)
Cherry-Evans only needs to get through the Sea Eagles’ clash against the New Zealand Warriors, a side traditionally least-affected by Origin, unscathed, to be any chance of earning a recall for the Maroons.
In the Blue corner, it remains to be seen whether New South Wales decide to make any changes as they attempt to claim their first win in a deciding game since 2005.
Captain Boyd Cordner is in doubt for the decider after he suffered a calf injury in the Game II loss, however he should be named for the must-win clash in Brisbane.
The injury saw him miss the Roosters’ golden-point comeback win over the Storm at Adelaide Oval last Saturday night.
If he is ruled out, then the Blues could attempt to lure Paul Gallen out of his representative retirement, as they did with Brad Fittler in 2004.
On that occasion, Fittler returned for the second game after injuries forced then-coach Phil Gould’s hand, and it was in Game III that he would deliver for the Blues, smothering a kick from the Maroons’ Darren Lockyer and scoring a try which would see his state win that year’s series, 2-1.
Gallen remains the only man to captain New South Wales to a series win in the past twelve years, doing so in 2014.
Expected to retain his place at halfback, attention will again turn to Mitchell Pearce to see how he fares in his first decider since 2015, in which he became the target of criticism and ridicule from both sides of the Tweed following the Blues’ humiliating 52-6 defeat at Suncorp Stadium.
Fullback Jarryd Hayne is also expected to remain in the side.
Therefore, both states’ selectors will be holding their breaths over this weekend’s round of matches to see what changes they may have to make either if necessary, or should any injuries to key players arise.
Both sides will be named on Monday.
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