Billy Slater has three Queensland spots to fill before State of Origin Game II after a pair of injury blows and a bench change left the Maroons reshuffling again for a must-win trip to the MCG.
That is the immediate job facing Slater as Queensland prepares to fight to keep the series alive. Pat Carrigan has been sidelined with an ankle injury, Gehamat Shibasaki is out with a knee injury, and Ezra Mam has been dropped to the bench by Michael Maguire, with the utility now looking set to make way for Queensland.
Game II matters because Queensland need to win it to send the series to a decider, and the selection picture has become more complicated at exactly the wrong time. The Maroons are already dealing with multiple disruptions, and Slater now has to settle three spots while weighing balance, cover and experience against the pressure of a match that will shape the rest of the series.
For Queensland, the problem is not just who is unavailable. Carrigan’s ankle injury removes one option, Shibasaki’s knee injury removes another, and Mam’s move to the bench changes the shape of the side again. Those three changes leave Slater with a decision that has to be made cleanly, because there is little margin for error in a contest the Maroons cannot afford to lose.
Slater is expected to name his side on Monday morning, and that will give Queensland its first clear answer on how he plans to cover the holes before the team travels to the MCG. The next team sheet will show whether he backs continuity, reshapes the bench or makes a bolder call to try to drag the series into one last game.
