Queensland will learn Billy Slater’s Game 1 side on Monday morning, and the selection is set to land with a shock. The Maroons coach is poised to hand Kalyn Ponga the No.7 jersey for the Origin opener after Tom Dearden’s serious ankle injury ruled him out of contention last week.
That injury changed the shape of Queensland’s plans in an instant. Dearden had been part of the conversation for the halfback role, but his absence has left Slater weighing up a new direction, with Daly Cherry-Evans now a possible recall option and Sam Walker and Jake Clifford also in the frame. The team will be unveiled at 9am on Monday, when Origin Game 1 team news breaks and the final call becomes public.
The biggest twist is not just the halfback move. Slater has also made a major decision on the fullback position, underlining that this is not a cautious Origin selection but one built to change the order of things before the series even starts. Queensland’s opener has been the focus all along, but Dearden’s injury has forced a rethink that could reshape the team’s spine for Game 1.
For Cherry-Evans, the injury has reopened a door that looked closed. For Walker and Clifford, it has created a fresh path into the discussion. But the headline call is the one on Ponga, who is set to be named in the No.7 in what would be one of the most striking choices of Slater’s tenure. will have the team when it drops at 9am on Monday, as Queensland’s selection finally comes into view.
What happens next is simple enough: the squad list will tell the story of how far Slater is willing to go to rework Queensland’s attack for Game 1. The answer arrives Monday morning, and it is likely to say as much about his confidence in the team’s direction as it does about the injury that forced his hand.
Origin Game 1 Team News: Billy Slater to unveil Queensland side at 9am
