Billy Slater will name his Queensland team for Game 1 of the State of Origin series at 9am on Monday, with the first big call of the campaign centring on who wears the No. 7 after Tom Dearden’s ankle injury blew the race wide open.
Dearden suffered a serious ankle injury last week and was ruled out of contention for the Origin opener, leaving Queensland to reshuffle a key position in the qld origin team. Daly Cherry-Evans had seemingly been left with the door open for a recall after Dearden went down, but Sam Walker and Jake Clifford are also in the mix as Slater finalises his halfback options.
The announcement matters because Queensland’s team for Game 1 is not just about filling a jersey; it sets the tone for the series opener and tells the rest of the camp how Slater intends to manage the biggest selection issue in front of him. The halfback decision is the one that has held the spotlight since Dearden’s injury, and Monday morning will bring the answer in full.
Cherry-Evans’ name carries the weight of experience, while Walker and Clifford represent alternative directions if Slater decides to go another way. That choice is the tension in the selection: Queensland lost Dearden last week, but it has not yet shown its hand on who will replace him.
For the Maroons, the moment on Monday is straightforward and consequential. Slater will speak first through the team sheet, and the identity of his halfback will reveal how Queensland plans to attack Game 1 from the opening whistle.
