Billy Slater has backed his side’s depth after promoting players from his Game 1 reserves to cover injuries in Game 2 of State of Origin this Sunday night.
Slater revealed that he would have picked an unchanged team from the Maroons Game 1 victory, were it not for injuries to Xavier Coates, who hurt an ankle during the game, and Reuben Cotter, who strained a hamstring in the warm up before North Queensland’s clash with Manly on Friday night.
“The only reason was injuries,” said Slater of the changes, which see Murray Taulagi come in for Coates and Lindsay Collins promoted to the run on team, with Jai Arrow recalled to the bench.
Slater said that Taulagi was the obvious choice, especially given that his direct competition, Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, is also out due to a concussion sustained for the Cowboys this weekend.
“He’s earned his opportunity,” said the Maroons coach. “He was a part of our 22 for camp 1 and those guys weren’t here for a holiday.
“They were here because they’re next in line, and Murray was the first guy I thought of when Xavier went down.
“The other guy was Hamiso, but he’s out with a head injury so he won’t be part of this week. Murray has earned his opportunity and was close to playing Game 1.”
Taulagi will link up with his clubmate Valentine Holmes on an edge, but Slater said that their combination did not factor into his decision-making.
“It helps that Murray plays alongside Val every week, but that’s not why he’s in the team,” he said. “He’s in the team because of his own actions and what he brings to his footy team.
“It just so happens that he’ll play alongside Val and that’ll help him, but he’s earned his opportunity from his own actions.”
With Tabuai-Fidow out, Brisbane winger Corey Oates has been drafted into the reserves as cover.
Murray Taulagi. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
“Corey has been playing great footy this year,” said Slater. “He’s played for Queensland before and, to be honest, I’m not sure that I’ve seen Corey play any better than what he’s playing this year. Again, he’s earned his opportunity in the squad.
“We’re a 22-man squad. Yes, 17 will take the field on Sunday night, but everyone contributes.”
Titans backrower Beau Fermor and New Zealand Warriors fullback Reece Walsh have also been added to the reserves, with Walsh a potential option as incumber Kalyn Ponga has been ill in recent days.
“Kalyn wasn’t overly well yesterday with Newcastle, but Reece in here for his own actions. He deserves to be here,” said Slater.
“He was here last year and unfortunately strained his hamstring in the captain’s run, so didn’t get his opportunity to play for Queensland.
“I’ve been impressed with the development of his game this season and I’m looking forward to having him here.”
The Maroons coach said that he was not concerned about the changes that the Blues have run, with seven alterations to their squad from Game 1.
“I haven’t looked deeply into their team just yet,” said Slater. “Both sides will be prioritising preparation around themselves.
“That’s what we’ll do: we’ll be looking at what we did well in game 1 and how we can get better, because Origin shows that Game 2 is a much more complete performance than Game 1, and both sides will improve. We need to prioritise how we improve.
“They’re a good team. The position that NSW are in is that they are able to field a quality side whoever they pick. They’ve gone with some changes and that’s fine. We’ll respect them like we did in Game 1 and we’ll know what we’re up again.”
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