Mal’s push for Holmes to replace Broncos hulk set to fail Oates gaining Origin votes
COREY Oates is set to win the battle for a Queensland wing spot despite Test coach Mal Meninga pushing for the Broncos hulk to be axed in favour of Valentine Holmes.
News Corp understands Oates will stave off the Holmes threat if the giant winger produces another impressive display for Brisbane against Wests Tigers tonight.
Oates and Dane Gagai played all three games on the wing for Queensland last year, but the likely return of Billy Slater is set to push Darius Boyd to the left flank that Oates occupied last year.
The Queensland team for Origin I is named on Monday and Meninga believes Holmes deserves a Maroons debut after edging out Oates for Test selection a fortnight ago.
But it is understood Maroons hierarchy will play the loyalty card with Oates, who was Queensland’s top metregainer in Origin III last year, amassing 153m from 14 runs.
At 195cm and 106kg, Oates is 10cm taller and 19kg heavier than Holmes, physical dimensions Broncos coach Wayne Bennett said Queensland would be foolish to ignore in the code’s toughest arena.
“I can’t get my head around why they wouldn’t pick him (Oates),” Bennett said.
“Incumbency doesn’t always mean a lot but it does with Queensland’s history.
“He was part of a winning series last year and he is playing the best footy he has ever played for us this year consistently.
“Everyone in the game knows he is hard to tackle.”
Oates has a key ally in Maroons captain Cameron Smith. When Queensland coach Kevin Walters discussed the idea of blooding Oates last season, Smith rubber-stamped the move, rating Oates one of the toughest players to tackle in the league.
Statistically this season, Oates and Holmes cannot be separated. Their average runs (15) and tackle busts (24) are identical.
Holmes averages 168 running metres, just one metre more than Oates, who has six line breaks to the Cronulla flyer’s five. Their error rate (10) is also identical.
Meninga believes Oates should be named on Queensland’s bench to give their interchange some punch, but Bennett says his kick returns in the Origin slugfest are crucial.