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Queensland centre Dane Gagai is likely to play in Origin 1 after suffering a finger injury during the Maroons captain run on Tuesday morning.
It’s unclear if Gagai, who became the first winger to win the Wally Lewis medal for player of the series in State of Origin history in 2017, will be able to line up for the Maroons on Wednesday night, but coach Kevin Walters has told the media he doesn’t think his Maroons will be playing without the utility back.
It was earlier reported Gagai had suffered a compound fracture, but the injury is thought to be not as serious as first thought.
If Gagai was to be ruled out, it’s thought Kalyn Ponga will play from the bench, with Cameron Munster shifted to fullback, Anthony Milford to five-eighth, Will Chambers to the wing and Michael Morgan into the centres.
Walters addressed the media at 1pm (AEST), saying he expected Gagai to play.
“(Dane Gagai) will go for X-rays and scans this afternoon, but we expect him to play tomorrow night,” said Walters.
“He came back out and trained with the team when you guys (the media) weren’t there. The doctor had a look at him and luckily he is a hand specialist so we expect him to play.”
Walters said there was no fracture, but rather a dislocation which had broken the skin.
The Maroons have had a horrific build-up to the start of the series.
After losing Cooper Cronk and Johnathan Thurston to representative retirement last year, Cameron Smith announced just weeks before the start of the series that he too would be stepping down from Queensland duties.
Things took another turn for the worst yesterday in the Queensland camp with coach Kevin Walters calling a snap media conference to announce superstar fullback Billy Slater would be withdrawn from Game 1.
Slater’s injury came as a major blow for the Maroons, with Kalyn Ponga and Anthony Milford both flown into camp as the possible replacements.
News this morning suggested Michael Morgan would be the man to step up at fullback, but the injury and potential withdrawal of Gagai throws another spanner in the works as Walters and his coaching staff look to minimise disruptions ahead of Game 1 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Wednesday night.
Walters confirmed the news when talking to the media.
“Michael Morgan will play fullback. Michael is a really mature player and can handle the expectation of playing for the Maroons,” said Walters.
“We all know that Kalyn (Ponga) is going to play Origin at some point. He hasn’t had much preparation though.”
Halfback Ben Hunt is also in serious doubt for Game 1 of the series, with the St George Illawarra Dragons half struggling through the last few weeks with a leg injury although Walters said he will be right to play.
“Yeah, Ben is right to go. He has trained strongly on Sunday and again today. He obviously has some strapping and you can never be sure with a cork, but he will play,” said Walters.