OATES TARGETS COMEBACK FOR MAROONS
COREY Oates has appealed for Queensland coach Billy Slater to resurrect his Origin career as the rejuvenated Broncos winger looks to end his three-year exile from the Maroons.
Slater will attend the Broncos-manly showdown on Friday night with his Origin selection radar switched on and Oates can press his claims for a Maroons recall with a bumper display in the Magic Round clash at Suncorp Stadium.
Oates (pictured) played the last of his eight Origin games for Queensland in 2019, when he was a member of the Maroons outfit that suffered a crushing last-minute, 26-20 series loss to the Blues in the decider at Homebush.
But Oates has surged back into the Origin frame with his form revival this season as the poster boy of a resurgent Broncos side that has charged into the top eight and is eyeing a fourth consecutive win this week against the Sea Eagles.
Former Broncos teammate Xavier Coates and Kyle Feldt are frontrunners for Maroons wing spots, but Oates urged Slater to keep an open mind, insisting he is not a spent force in the Origin arena.
“I would love to play Origin again,” said Oates, the greatest ever tryscorer at Suncorp Stadium.
“You never give up hope of getting back and I don’t want to be taking Origin off the yearly calendar just yet.
“At the start of a season, I have never set a plan to play Origin, I’ve always had the mindset that if you play well for your club side first, then you become a consideration for Origin.
“I have loved wearing the Queensland jumper in the past and if I am playing my best footy for the Broncos, then I can’t be doing much more to be picked for Origin.
“If I end up getting selected again, I won’t let the Maroons down. “Hopefully I’m in the mix somewhere this year.”
Off-contract at season’s end, Oates is producing the best numbers of his NRL career. He is averaging a careerbest 163 running metres per game and has seven tries from nine matches heading into his Magic Round clash with the Sea Eagles.
The 27-year-old said he had rediscovered his zest for football after two lean seasons that included Oates being dropped last season.
“The one thing I am trying to do is enjoy my football again and do my job,” he said.
“I wouldn’t know what my best form looks like to be honest. But when I’m enjoying my football and competing for 80 minutes, then my form will benefit from my attitude.”
Former Queensland Origin teammate Johnathan Thurston said Oates had also sorted out his injury problems.
“I did a function with ‘Oatesy’ last year and his body kept breaking down,” Thurston told Channel 9 after Brisbane’s defeat of Souths last week.
“He said he put a lot of effort into getting his body right and that’s what he has done over this pre-season.
“Corey has got himself right and he is now reaping the benefits of it.”