Gagai ready to step up

No one can replace Greg Inglis but Dane Gagai is confident he can make his presence felt stepping up for the injured Queensland skipper in Wednesday’s State of Origin III. Gagai knows he will have a target on his back in defence after moving from right wing to left centre in a Maroons backline reshuffle caused by Inglis’ broken thumb. Particularly after his right edge was exploited by NSW in the first two games, setting up the Blues’ first series win in 13 years. Gagai admitted it was hard to glean anything from Inglis’s game before Origin III because of his ‘‘freak’’ abilities. But the Maroons flier backed himself to hold his own after being handed arguably the toughest assignment in Origin.