Feldt, Holmes to benefit from schedule

football to earn the nod.

But that won’t be the case in 2020, with a full 18 rounds of football as well as finals before Origin teams are named.

As revealed by News Corp last weekend, the 40th anniversary of State of Origin will be held over three consecutive Wednesday nights in November. The ARL Commission is yet to formally announce the Origin draw, with the venues for the three games yet to be finalised.

While he wouldn’t be drawn on what that meant for his own chances, Feldt admitted it would make the job of selectors easier.

“I guess it would be better for selectors to see your form across the year rather than just off an eight-week game span. I think it would be easier for them to pick on form,” he said.

Walters said though there had been no confirmation yet around the Origin draw, he was excited about the prospect of having his Queensland stars on show for an entire season rather than choosing them on start-of-year form.

“It’s going to be a fantastic time for Origin in November,” Walters said.

“It makes a lot of sense to me to play the 20-odd rounds of the NRL, then the finals and then the Origin.

“I know it’s going to be a lot different to the players and the staff but it’s something we will make work.”

The Queensland coach actually pinpointed one of Feldt’s North Queensland teammates as a major benefactor of the revised representative draw.

“A guy like Valentine Holmes, who would have gone into this series with eight or nine games under his belt, will now go in with 20-odd,” Walter said. “The same goes with a lot of those younger blokes – it adds another season to their resume, which again puts them in a much better position.”

It will be the first time ever that Maroons and Blues players will get to bunk with each other for three consecutive