State of Origin 2023: Maroons switch Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow in bid to expose Tom Trbojevic

Tom Trbojevic heads into Origin with question marks surrounding his fitness and form – and the Maroons have hatched a plan to exploit him.

Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow has switched sides to mark up on Tom Trbojevic.

Maroons flyer Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow is ready to burn the Blues, with Queensland set to throw ‘The Hammer’ at under-pressure NSW star Tom Trbojevic.

On the back of the Blues losing superstar centre Latrell Mitchell (calf), Tabuai-Fidow will be unleashed on ‘Tommy Turbo’ at the Adelaide Oval as the Maroons look to exploit a potential weakness in NSW’s Dally M Medal star.

Trbojevic will head into Wednesday night’s Origin series-opener on the back of a lean run of form for Manly and question marks surrounding his fitness following multiple injuries.

At his peak, Trbojevic is the most devastating player in the game – as evidenced by his 2021 Dally M Medal season and Origin domination of the Maroons that year.

But Queensland coach Billy Slater has made a tactical positional switch in his centres, moving 14-game Origin veteran Valentine Holmes to the right side, where he will confront Mitchell’s replacement Stephen Crichton.

That will pit the in-form Tabuai-Fidow, who’s scored 10 tries in 11 games for the Dolphins this season, against Trbojevic on Queensland’s left edge.

Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow has switched sides to mark up on Tom Trbojevic.

Trbojevic cemented his Blues selection with a hat-trick against Canberra in his last start, but Tabuai-Fidow will enter the contest brimming with confidence.

“No, I’m not nervous,” he said.

“With Billy bringing me into the team, that has given me a massive confidence boost.

“Latrell and Tommy are great players and we know what they can do as some of the best players in the game.

“But whoever I mark, I will cut down their thinking time. That’s what I have to do. They can’t have time because you know what they can do.

“In saying that, I have the speed and I feel stronger this year too. Having that speed and strength, I think it will be a good battle in the centres and I can be a threat too.”

Tabuai-Fidow, 21, burst into the NRL as a winger-fullback at the Cowboys, but made his Origin debut for Queensland at centre in the 2021 dead-rubber.

Former Queensland coach Wayne Bennett, who coaches Tabaui-Fidow at the Dolphins, said he was ready to shine at centre in the Origin arena.

“He’s got his game under control,” Bennett said.

“He is a quiet guy but he is well-mannered, highly respectful and knows his football. He communicates great.

“It’s a bit like Latrell playing centre, Hamiso’s a footballer and Latrell’s a footballer. It’s the same with ‘Turbo’, he’s a footballer.

“They’ve got wonderful skills and a feel for the game. You can’t manufacture that.

“They put those two (Mitchell and Trbojevic) in the centres for NSW two years ago and they were really effective.

“When ‘Hammer’ got his opportunity two years ago in the centres he didn’t let anyone down and he won’t this time.”

Beware of the Storm: QRL hatches plan to lock down Slater

Leading Maroons stars have appealed for coach Billy Slater not to walk away as the Queensland Rugby League hatches plans to secure the off-contract Origin legend until the end of 2025.

New Queensland Rugby League chief executive Ben Ikin has hailed Slater as the right man to mentor the Maroons for the long haul as he prepares to launch his second campaign as coach in Origin I on Wednesday night.

Slater, 39, steered the Maroons to Origin glory in his coaching debut last year, but he remains undecided about his Queensland future, putting contract talks on hold until the conclusion of the 2023 series.

That has triggered fears Slater could be lost to the Maroons, with the NRL club that made him a fullback legend, the Storm, eyeing off the Queensland great as a possible coaching successor to Craig Bellamy.

In the lead-up to Wednesday night’s Origin opener, Slater said “if I’m not the right person for this job, then I won’t be here”, but Ikin is open to a lucrative contract extension to keep the emerging coach at Camp Maroon.

Billy Slater has become hot coaching property. Picture: Liam Kidston

“That quote from Billy would suggest to me that he’s the right person for the job,” Ikin said.

“One of the great attributes all the great coaches have is they know what they stand for, how they want their team to play and who they need to get it done and they aren’t afraid to go after it.

“That’s the sense I’ve got with Billy.

“From the time I have spent with Billy, is it easy to pick up how smart he is and his depth of knowledge about the game.

“He knows what he likes and what he doesn’t like and therefore it is very easy for him to shape what he wants and that was evident in his selection of the Game One team.

“Our expectation is that Billy will be a better coach this year than he was last year.

“He is ambitious and if you mix his intelligence and capability, it’s a pretty formidable person and coach that you are dealing with.”

While Slater is in no rush to sort out his future, the QRL is ready to come to the party – when the time is right – with an upgraded two or three year deal to secure the 39-year-old and keep stability in their Origin program.

Maroons hooker Harry Grant has also worked with Slater at Melbourne, where he operates in an assistant’s role to Bellamy, and the Storm schemer urged the Queensland coach to stay for another term.

Billy Slater calling the shots at Maroons training. Picture: Liam Kidston

“I’d love for Billy to go on,” Grant said.

“He is focused on this Origin series and Game One is around the corner, but hopefully he goes on.

“We are pretty lucky with the coaching staff we have in Queensland’s corner with Billy, Cam Smith, ‘JT’ (Johnathan Thurston), Nate Myles and Josh Hannay is a very underrated coach.

“As players, we are fortunate to be learning from blokes like Billy, who did so much for the Queensland jersey.

“Billy knows what the Queensland Origin culture is all about.”

Maroons enforcer Lindsay Collins added: “Billy’s great. He can bring a group of boys together and manage them well and on the other side, he’s a big footy nerd who watches everything so well.”