Kevvie has to wing it at selection time
Reynolds to cure culture at Tigers Johnson remains with NZ Warriors Gagai homes in on Knights stay
TEST match fixture. Glamour boy. Premiership star. But should Valentine Holmes get a game for Queensland?
Hall and Oates were once a famous singing duo but it’s Holmes and Oates that Queensland coach Kevin Walters may struggle to bring together at Suncorp Stadium in the first Origin match.
Mal Meninga did not pick Billy Slater for Australia this week but by the time the first Origin rumbles around Slater will be match hardened and ready to play at fullback or on the wing – somewhere, anywhere – for Queensland.
And so starts one of the most intriguing selection riddles any Queensland Origin coach has ever had to unravel.
Slater is regarded by many as the greatest fullback to have played the game.
If he plays it should be at fullback which means Darius Boyd would play wing. Then the headaches start. Vying for spots on the other wing would be three blue chip performers – Corey Oates, Dane Gagai and Sharks flyer Holmes, who next week plays his fifth Test, against New Zealand in Canberra, even though he is yet to lace on a boot for Queensland.
Bold, brassy Holmes looks a player born for the big stage. But his first Origin jumper will be hard earnt.
It’s not just the wingers who are caught in a talent crush – it’s the men inside them.
If Gagai misses out on a wing berth he will be in competition with Will Chambers and Justin O’Neill in the centres.
The easy thing to say is that because both were chosen ahead of Gagai in the Australian squad to face New Zealand next week Queensland should respect that pecking order.
But Gagai’s form for Newcastle under supreme duress has been exceptional.
Gagai has somehow managed to stand out as one of the form centres in the competition in a team anchored at the foot of the leader.
If he can produce diamonds under pressure for the Knights he might just prove a match winner for Queensland.
And he played exceptionally well in last year’s series, justifying the high opinion of coach Walters who has been one of his biggest fans.
O’Neill is a solid player whose form ebbs and flow with his confidence.
Could Gagai have a bit of extra stardust in his game against the Blues at Suncorp?
Over to you Kev ...