Jai Arrow and Dylan Napa can bring some old school steel to the Queensland pack

SOME whispers south of the border say Queensland have a soft forward pack. GORDEN TALLIS knows the two players who can give the Maroons the old school toughness they need.

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I AM hearing whispers around Sydney that the people of NSW think Queensland are weak in the forward pack.

There is no doubt the Maroons playing group is facing their biggest challenge since they kicked off their remarkable dynasty in 2006.

But are we weak? Absolutely not.

All Queensland needs to find is their next Trevor Gillmeister — that tough-as-nails, relentless, hardworking forward.

And he exists. His name is Jai Arrow.

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The Titans youngster has done enough to be handed his Origin debut this year.

He fits the mould of that Gillmeister, Martin Bella or Gary Larson type of player.

He can be underestimated, but every performance is unbelievable.

You can always rely on him for 40-odd tackles, to run hard and straight, and just get the job done.

Arrow has a real chance to grab his opportunity and become one of those cult heroes for Queensland this year.

He’s got that no-nonsense attitude and a great work ethic.

Arrow has become a star on the Gold Coast.

And if there was a moment this season that proved just how ready he is for the Origin arena, it was his clash with Canberra giant Junior Paulo in Round 9.

Getting hit by Paulo I imagine feels similar to that of a freight train.

But Arrow put his body on the line and that’s just half the battle.

That clash moved his rib cage. I’ve never even heard of that before.

I’ve heard of broken ribs, cracked ribs, damaged rib cartilage, being winded ... but never a rib contusion.

He went to the hospital because of the pain and still only sat out for one week.

He ticks the boxes for being tough, for being a Queenslander, and for being what we need at the moment.

I also believe Arrow should be there even if Josh McGuire returns from injury in time for Game One.

Napa can give the pack the physicality they need.

For me, this would mean Coen Hess misses out, not because Hess has done anything wrong. It’s just in my mind, Arrow is a must-have.

Combine him with the likes of Matt Scott, Dylan Napa and Felise Kaufusi, and I don’t think anyone could call Queensland’s pack “weak”.

This will also be a big series for Napa.

I’ve sat back over the past week and listened to a lot of commentary around the Roosters prop.

People like Wayne Bennett and Darren Lockyer have had their say over his tackling style and why he needs to “change”. But he doesn’t.

He is Queensland’s next forward leader and I am sure Lockyer wouldn’t have had a problem playing behind Napa.

In fact, he did play behind a lot of guys just like that.

When the Roosters played the Broncos, I watched Matt Lodge, Brisbane’s “tough man”, try to go sideways on him.

He avoided him with every run after that first massive hit.

Korbin Sims also put the brakes on and tried to go right on Napa, and that’s what contributed to the accidental head clash which left Sims with a broken jaw.

They don’t want his contact and you need people like that in Origin. We need him to rattle the cages.

Despite all the political correctness that has hit our game, we need someone that literally scares the shit out of people.

That person is Dylan Napa.

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Originally published as Jai Arrow and Dylan Napa can bring some old school steel to the Queensland pack