Billy Slater will announce his Queensland Maroons team for Game 1 of the State of Origin series at 9am on Monday, with Kalyn Ponga set to wear No.7 and a major call still to be made on fullback.
The timing lands after Tom Dearden suffered a serious ankle injury last week and was ruled out of contention for the opener, leaving Queensland to settle the most watched selection debate of the week. Daly Cherry-Evans was left open as a possible recall after Dearden went down, while Sam Walker and Jake Clifford remain other halfback options.
What has made the selection harder to read is that Slater has already moved toward Ponga in the playmaking role, even though Ponga himself has said, “I'll play anywhere.” That flexibility gives Queensland more room to shuffle the spine, but it also leaves the fullback spot clouded by a decision Slater has already made and has not yet revealed.
For Queensland, the issue is no longer whether Dearden will play. It is how Slater reshapes the side around his absence and whether he backs a fresh halfback solution or turns back to a familiar name. The answer arrives Monday morning, and it will tell the first real story of how the Maroons plan to open the series.
