An insight into how badly Brisbane NRL forward Sam Thaiday is struggling with a calf injury looks set to test Queensland selectors’ famous loyalty ahead of the State of Origin series opener.
Maroons coach Mal Meninga claimed he would stick with his incumbent back row for May 28’s game one in Brisbane, telling the Seven Network that Thaiday would “be there” despite a month spent on the sidelines.
However, Brisbane coach Anthony Griffin painted a grim picture after ruling Thaiday out of their derby clash with Gold Coast when his ex-skipper was again a no-show at training on Thursday.
“At the moment, it’s not about playing football … he can’t get through a couple of run throughs,” he said.
When pressed about Thaiday’s Origin game-one prospects, Griffin said: “I would have to speak to our (medical) guys and speak to Sam about that.
“That (game one) is a couple of weeks away – a lot can change in a couple of weeks.
“At the moment, he would be doubtful.”
Thaiday was all smiles when he fronted the media on Monday and gave himself the green light for Friday night’s Suncorp Stadium clash with the Titans.
“At the start of the week, he was (a chance of playing) but he just keeps having little problems with the calf,” Griffin said.
“We have to be patient with him. It’s frustrating for everyone.
“But sometimes with calf injuries, they can be like that – up and down.
“He’s got a couple of little things going on there – we will wait and see how he recovers.”
Thaiday has not played since the round-six clash with the Titans on April 11 and his plight looks set to challenge Queensland’s selectors before they name their team on Monday night.
Either way, the door appears ajar for in-form Gold Coast wrecking ball David Taylor to end his two-year Origin exile and Broncos forward Josh McGuire to push his game-one claims.
Apart from Thaiday, a question mark looms over fellow Maroons back-row incumbents Chris McQueen and Josh Papalii who have had limited playing time at their respective clubs South Sydney and Canberra this year.
Meninga will attend the Raiders’ Sunday clash with Penrith to run the rule over Papalii while selector Alan Smith will assess McQueen – who has had less minutes off the bench in 2014 – at the Rabbitohs-Melbourne game on Friday night.
Papalii appears most at risk of being cut after recently being dropped to Queensland Cup.
Maroons chairman of selectors Des Morris will head to Suncorp on Friday night to cast his eye over Taylor, McGuire and Queensland’s other back-row incumbents Corey Parker, Matt Gillett and Ben Te’o.
Tom Daly
Guest
The near future will see Queensland in the grip of Origin, by now one would have thought a vaccination for this annual fever would have been developed. As an expat cockroach, now residing in cane toad land I am amused and at the same time apprehensive, as I am fearful some may discover my own origins and to save my skin would have to do a Greg Inglis and denounce all things NSW. As I write this, I can hear the rustling of the bushes in the mountains around Brisbane, the annual pilgrimage of the bush buzzards has begun making their way to within striking distance of Suncorp Stadium, apparently driven by an inherent "hibernational" force. The city becomes maroon and the only sign of blue, is the sky, beneath which, much of the pilgrims set up their own Meccas. It is a time for all things Origin ,though I doubt the majority would not know Wally Lewis from Jerry Lewis, it is their time of getting on the XXXX turps. Grandmothers turn into Mal Meningas, or depending on size, Alfie Langers ,of which there are more, without the footwork and just as prone to dance on pub tables or park benches in their underwear, powered by XXXX , Bundy and the ever faithful Woodstock. It has a habit of transforming Morris Minors into Macks and Elton Johns into Hulk Hogans, a wonderful combination (have you ever heard Hulk Hogan sing) to have roaming the streets. Psychologists and their ilk are in a quandary as to what causes this, more Polar Bear than Bi Polar. I believe it is obviously a state caused simply by being a "Queenslander" and at this time incurable, we can only hope a NSW win, will snap them back into a relative state of sanity, like the rest of Australia.