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Queensland named their State of Origin squad on Monday Night, and as expected have thrown very few surprises in their squad.
Players who have been a part of the eight-year dynasty have been rewarded.
So who has made the Queensland team, who has missed out and what are the strength and weaknesses of each team?
Full Back – Billy Slater (Melbourne Storm)
The only real challenger for the fullback position to Billy Slater was Greg Inglis. But since Slater has been playing in the number one jersey for Queensland for nearly their entire eight-year dynasty, there was next to no chance of Slater missing the team.
At the end of the day the Queensland selectors probably saw that having both Slater and Inglis in the team would make it better.
Wingers – Darius Boyd (Newcastle Knights) and Brent Tate (North Queensland Cowboys)
Queensland’s wingers for Game 1 of this year’s State of Origin were almost certainties from way back to the end of last year’s series. Now that Boyd and Tate have stayed uninjured they will be the wing combo for Queensland, and there were not many challengers for the position.
Centres – Greg Inglis (South Sydney Rabbitohs) and Justin Hodges (Brisbane Broncos)
The centres were a bit of an interesting position for the Maroons. First up many were thinking Greg Inglis was going to play fullback. If Inglis wasn’t at fullback then he was always going to be in the centres, so there is no way anyone was challenging for his spot.
Justin Hodges, on the other hand, is just returning from serious injury and a very long recovery, therefore it is interesting to see that he has in fact been named for the Maroons. However, the only serious challenger, Will Chambers, has been named on an extended six-man bench. Chambers can count himself unlucky that he isn’t in the starting team for the Maroons, while Hodges can count himself lucky that he is.
Five–Eighth – Johnathan Thurston (North Queensland Cowboys)
In scintillating form for the Cowboys and linking well with Matt Scott, no challengers and not much more needed.
Half Back – Cooper Cronk (Melbourne Storm)
Cronk’s number seven spot has been questioned in the lead-up to the Queensland squad selection, with club form dropping off and Daly Cherry-Evans snapping at his heels. However, typical to the Queensland selection policy, Cronk has retained his spot.
Front Rowers – Matt Scott (North Queensland Cowboys) and Nate Myles (Gold Coast Titans)
Matt Scott and Nate Myles were always going to be the front rowers, and really there are no challengers for their starting spots. Both players run the ball hard, tackle hard and have done a good job for Queensland over the years.
Hooker – Cameron Smith (c) (Melbourne Storm)
Cameron Smith, the Queensland captain, was always going to be the hooker unless he came down with an injury. The only challengers would seem to be Jake Friend, who has been included on the bench, and Andrew McCullough, but they were nowhere near taking Smith’s spot.
Second Rowers – Chris Mcqueen (South Sydney Rabbitohs) and Matt Gillett (Brisbane Broncos)
Matt Gillett starting comes as no surprise whatsoever, however McQueen starting is a little bit of a surprise. Not many people would have been expecting that, but he did a solid job off the bench last year for the Maroons, and he has been given a shot in the run-on team, however Ben Te’o will probably be feeling like it should be his starting spot.
Lock – Corey Parker (Brisbane Broncos)
The lock comes as no surprise. Corey Parker did a solid job for the Maroons last year, also knows how to kick goals. He has no serious challengers. He also has the ability to play 80 minutes, which will help the Maroons case having only the three forwards on the bench plus Cherry–Evans.
Extended Interchange:
Daly Cherry-Evans (Manly Sea-Eagles), Aiden Guerra (Sydney Roosters), Ben Te’o (South Sydney Rabbitohs), Josh Papalii (Canberra Raiders), Jake Friend (Sydney Roosters) and Will Chambers (Melbourne Storm).
The bench for the Queensland really did not pick itself this year.
Cherry-Evans would have been one of the first picked in the team no questions asked. But the other three being Aiden Guerra, Ben Te’o and Josh Papalii could be viewed as interesting selections, with players like David Shillington, Ben Hannant and Josh McGuire missing out.
McGuire missing out is an interesting decision from the Maroons selectors. He has been in very good form for the Broncos and can count himself unlucky. Even Anthony Milford could count himself unlucky for missing out on the extended bench with 19 players being named, however the selectors had to make a decision and none of the players on it deserve to miss out.
So what are the Queensland Origin squad’s potential strengths and weaknesses?
Let’s start with the strengths. Obviously the biggest strength for the Queensland team is their Origin experience. A number of the players in this line-up have been there for the majority of their eight-year origin dynasty, and as such know a thing or two about winning Origin.
Another major strength for the Maroons is the fact that a majority of their spine, play together at club level – Billy Slater, Cooper Cronk and Cameron Smith – while and Johnathan Thurston plays international football for the Kangaroos with those three. It means they know each other’s games inside out.
It also helps to have Inglis out in the centres, who used to play with the three from the Storm. Thurston also plays with one of the best front rowers in the game, Matt Scott.
The other strength for Queensland is obviously having some of the best players in the world on the field and a majority of the Australian team.
For the Queensland Origin team it is hard to find weaknesses.
The first of these weaknesses would have to be their bench. Will they have enough firepower? I am almost certain that players like Ben Te’o would not make the New South Wales team. It will be interesting to see if the Queensland squad can stand up to the test of Origin.
The second weakness for the Queensland squad is age. The spine of the team are only a couple of years from retirement. Age is not known to be a player’s best friend in the Origin arena, and it may be showing for Cronk, Smith and Slater this season. It will be interesting to see if it is a factor.
The third and final weakness for the Maroons is cockiness. In keeping much of the same squad for the last eight years a lot of them have experience winning and that is it. Will the Queenslanders get tired of winning? No, but will they rely on either Cronk, Slater, Smith or Inglis performing some individual magic? I believe yes, and it could well bring about Queensland’s undoing.
Queensland’s Origin squad is well balanced and ready to win series number nine, but this dynasty has to end eventually. Stay tuned tomorrow for the New South Wales squad analysis.