Billy Slater will name Queensland’s team for Game 1 of the State of Origin series at 9am on Monday, with the halfback spot still the key call after Tom Dearden was ruled out of the opener.
Dearden suffered a serious ankle injury last week, ending his push to play in the Origin opener and leaving Queensland to reshuffle its spine before the first game of the series. Slater’s announcement will settle the immediate shape of the side and show how he plans to cover one of the team’s most important positions.
Daly Cherry-Evans has been left as a possible recall for the halfback role, while Sam Walker and Jake Clifford are also in the frame. That gives Queensland several different options, but no certainty, and the final decision will be one of the most closely watched parts of Monday morning’s team reveal.
The selection issue matters because the State of Origin opener often sets the tone for the rest of the series, and Queensland’s approach at halfback will say a great deal about how Slater wants his team to play. Dearden’s injury changed the discussion last week; now the focus shifts to who steps in and how much risk Queensland is willing to take with Game 1 looming.
There is still a gap between the injury and the answer. Dearden’s absence removed the preferred option, but it did not produce an obvious replacement, which is why Cherry-Evans, Walker and Clifford remain part of the conversation. Slater’s choice at 9am on Monday will be the clearest sign yet of how Queensland intends to handle the most pressing selection problem in the build-up to State of Origin Game 1.
