Reece Walsh set to make Origin debut – QLD team announcement

Serious concerns surrounding the health and well-being of Newcastle star Kalyn Ponga have convinced Queensland to rest him from this month’s opening State of Origin clash with NSW at Adelaide Oval.

Boom Brisbane Broncos fullback Reece Walsh will make the Origin debut he was cruelly denied in 2021 when he strained a hamstring on the eve of the second game and was forced to withdraw.

Ponga, outstanding for Queensland when they clinched the series at Suncorp Stadium last year, was close to being in the frame for Origin I until suffering his fourth head-knock in nine months at the weekend.

While Ponga passed his HIA, returned to the field and scored a try, Slater and fellow selectors Gene Miles (chairman) and Darren Lockyer were genuinely concerned about his safety in a game as brutal as Origin, which is far more intense and physically demanding than a regular NRL club game.

Last year three players were knocked out in a hectic opening five minutes in the third match of the series.

Walsh, who would have been the youngest player to debut for the Maroons behind newly appointed Queensland Rugby League chief executive Ben Ikin in 1995, is the only new face in Slater’s extended 19-man squad.

Ponga’s Newcastle teammate Dane Gagai has been left out of the team with Queensland selectors preferring young Dolphins flyer Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow to partner North Queensland’s Valentine Holmes up against the likely NSW pairing of Latrell Mitchell and Tom Trbojevic.

Gagai has played 21 Origins for Queensland since making his debut in 2015.

With Maroons enforcer,Felise Kaufusi facing three to four weeks on the sidelines for a high hit on Storm rival Christian Welch and bench forward Tino Fa’asuamaleaui on report for a lifting tackle, big Gold Coast forward David Fifita has been recalled to Origin.

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A destructive ball-runner, Fifita, has been named in the starting pack alongside the Dolphins’ Tom Gilbert, behind the new front-row combination of Thomas Flegler and Lindsay Collins.

Flegler, a fiery and aggressive 110kg forward, played his only Origin in 2021.

He has been in great form for Brisbane this season along with Patrick Carrigan, who recently made a staggering 69 tackles in a game.

Queensland’s game-breaker Cameron Munster will go into Origin camp in Brisbane battling a few niggling injury issues but is not considered to be in any doubt for the Adelaide Oval opener on May 31.

“He’s had a couple of slight injuries and I don’t want Billy (Slater) ringing me up saying that NSW given have been given a bit of ammunition,” Craig Bellamy said after Melbourne disposed of the gritty Dolphins 24-16 at the weekend.

“The 10-day Origin camp will be good for him; he will probably be back to full strength by the end of it.”

While NSW will have a quality backline, Queensland have stacked their backs with speed, brilliance, and unpredictability by picking exciting youngsters Walsh, Cobbo, and Tabuai-Fidow.

State of Origin Queensland Maroons Game 1 team list

The Queensland team, announced by the Queensland Rugby League at 9am on May 22, 2023, is as follows:

Queensland Maroons

1. Reece Walsh (Broncos)
2. Selwyn Cobbo (Broncos)
3. Valentine Holmes (Cowboys)
4. Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow (Dolphins)
5. Murray Taulagi (Cowboys)
6. Cameron Munster (Storm)
7. Daly Cherry-Evans (Sea Eagles)
8. Thomas Flegler (Broncos)
9. Ben Hunt (Dragons)
10. Lindsay Collins (Roosters)
11. Tom Gilbert (Dolphins)
12. David Fifita (Titans)
13. Patrick Carrigan (Broncos_
14. Harry Grant (Storm)
15. Tino Fa’asuamaleaui (Titans)
16. Reuben Cotter (Cowboys)
17. Jai Arrow (Rabbitohs)
18. Tom Dearden (Cowboys)
19. Christian Welch (Storm)

State of Origin NSW Blues Game 1 Team List

The New South Wales team, announced by the NSW Rugby League at 9am on May 22, 2023, is as follows:

New South Wales Blues

1. Josh Addo-Carr (Bulldogs)
2. Nathan Cleary (Panthers)
3. Tyson Frizell (Knights)
4. Payne Haas (Broncos)
5. Nicho Hynes (Sharks)
6. Apisai Koroisau (Tigers)
7. Jarome Luai (Panthers)
8. Liam Martin (Panthers)
9. Latrell Mitchell (Rabbitohs)
10. Cameron Murray (Rabbitohs)
11. Tevita Pangai Junior (Bulldogs)
12. Junior Paulo (Eels)
13. James Tedesco (Roosters)
14. Brian To’o (Panthers)
15. Tom Trbojevic (Sea Eagles)
16. Isaac Yeo (Panthers)
17. Hudson Young (Raiders)
18. Campbell Graham (Rabbitohs)

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