State of Origin: Queensland Maroons bolters set to make debut in 2020
Queensland coach Kevin Walters has dismissed concerns over the Maroons’ depth and is ready to blood a stack of new faces for this year’s November Origin series, led by a Storm young gun.
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Storm monster Tino Fa’asuamaleaui is on track to make his Queensland debut this season as coach Kevin Walters prepares to blood a new wave of Maroons for the historic November series.
The Sunday Mail can reveal Walters plans to include as many as seven fresh faces for the 2020 campaign under plans for Queensland and NSW to field extended 25-man squads to cope with COVID restrictions for the three-match series.
At the vanguard of Queensland’s next generation is Fa’asuamaleaui, who will continue his surge towards a maiden Maroons jumper in Melbourne’s clash with the Cowboys on Sunday at Sunshine Coast Stadium.
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The 197cm, 115kg Gympie giant, 20, has been a revelation for the Storm this season and will inject some much-needed bulk to Queensland’s pack, either as a starting prop or interchange weapon.
Other rookie Maroons being considered by Walters include Roosters duo Lindsay Collins and Jake Friend, Wests Tigers hooker Harry Grant, Titans attacking sensation AJ Brimson and Cowboys tryscoring machine Kyle Feldt.
While some may not make immediate debuts for Game One on November 4, Walters said the COVID lockdown format this season means all squad members must be on standby for an Origin baptism during the series.
Incumbent Maroons prop Joe Ofahengaue is almost certain to be axed after a woeful Broncos campaign, while bench veteran Tim Glasby will not be selected due to concussion issues that have sidelined him since June.
That opens the door for two front-row positions and Walters says he cannot ignore Fa’asuamaleaui and Collins, whose respective club sides Melbourne and the Roosters will go deep into the finals.
“Tino and Lindsay are picking themselves for the Queensland team at the moment,” Walters said.
“They are both from strong club cultures and developing nicely.
“Tino is certainly on the radar. He is a massive fella but he is also athletic for a big forward which suits the game the way it is being played today.
“He is in a brilliant system in the Storm where they teach the little habits and they expose their players to methods that help us at Origin time.
“As for Lindsay Collins, he is a ripper of a talent. I like the way the Roosters are using him in the 20 and 30-minute bursts and he‘s tough - Lindsay looks tailor-made for State of Origin.”
Ben Hunt was Queensland’s 2019 player of the year at hooker but his patchy form for the Dragons this season brings the likes of Friend, Grant and Reed Mahoney into the equation.
Feldt has scored 14 tries this season and will vie for a wing spot with Corey Oates and Valentine Holmes, while Walters is considering the versatile Brimson as Queensland’s No.14 super sub.
“I’m looking at the next wave of guys like Harry Grant, Pat Carrigan, Phillip Sami, Reed Mahoney and AJ (Brimson),” Walters said.
“Jake Friend is another one who is a great club player and has won premierships at the Roosters.
“Unfortunately, Jake hasn’t had his chances at Origin level and he got injured at the worst time last year, but we respect him enormously in the Queensland Origin program.”
The Maroons have traditionally struggled for depth compared to their NSW rivals.
Queensland used 22 players last year and must find a new centre to replace Will Chambers, but Walters dismissed concerns the Maroons can’t match NSW’s resources as the Blues eye a third straight series win.
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“I’m not concerned at all about our depth,” he said.
“NSW traditionally have a bigger pool but if you look at the guys who are coming through, we have some great talent ready to step up to play Origin.
“It will be similar to a Kangaroo tour squad this season with the COVID restrictions.
“We haven’t got a specific number of guys from the NRL as yet but our squad size will be somewhere around 25.
“The future is now so we will expect some of our younger guys to handle Origin. There won’t be any development guys in a sense, if we pick an extended squad they will all be expected to step up at any time if there’s injuries.
“We will need Maroons players in the bubble and ready to go.”
MAROONS REVEAL ORIGIN COVID CONTINGENCY PLAN
Queensland will undertake one of the most complex tasks in interstate history with the Maroons to hold three ‘COVID camps’ 2000km apart in a bid to reclaim Origin supremacy from the Blues.
The Courier-Mail can reveal the Queensland Rugby League is exploring the prospect of housing Maroons stars in mini-COVID bubbles across Sydney, Townsville and Brisbane for the historic Origin series in November.
Planning for the 2020 campaign will be one of the most delicate in Origin‘s 40-year history with both the Queensland and NSW camps having to confront three brutal games in 14 days while trapped in COVID lockdown.
Queensland coach Kevin Walters admits he is worried about the mental health of his Maroons players given the strict COVID guidelines the NRL‘s 400-plus players have had to abide by over the past six months.
There are also fears this year’s Origin showdown could be an injury hazard, with some Queensland and NSW players to go into the series opener on November 4 without having played a game in six weeks.
To ensure the series is COVID-free, NSW and Queensland will be instructed to select Kangaroo Tour-style squads of at least 25 players, who will train and play in Origin lockdown for up to a month.
Walters revealed that during the NRL finals, Maroons players with no playoffs commitments will be separated into COVID camps across three cities to ensure Queensland‘s train-on squad maintains fitness for Origin I.
“We are getting our planning right to make sure we bring that Origin shield back to Queensland,” Walters said.
“Our plan is to get the players in these little Origin pods training in small clusters.
“We will give the guys a small rest to let them get into the real world and then we will go back into lockdown.
“We will look to break down our Queensland squad into groups initially.
“For example, we have our Cowboys contingent of guys who can train in Townsville, we will have a group in southeast Queensland with Titans, Broncos and Storm players and then we will have a group in Sydney.
“We won‘t leave guys to their own devices, we will put some controls around what they are doing.
“But we also have trust in our players. They know they have an Origin series in front of them and they will have to do the work required to ensure their bodies and minds are in good shape for the series ahead.”
The Courier-Mail understands South Australia will clinch their maiden Origin game, with the NRL expected to announce next week that Adelaide Oval will host the series opener on November 4.
Sydney will host Game Two on November 11, with Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium to celebrate Origin’s 40-year anniversary on November 18.
The NRL is still formulating COVID squad sizes for the Origin series, mindful that NSW used 25 players last year, while Queensland deployed 22.
Walters admits the prospect of Origin players embarking on hit-and-run missions, emulating the NRL‘s private charter travel this season, will be a huge ask for Maroons and Blues combatants.
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“The big challenge is keeping guys fit while making sure they get some time and space for themselves for their mental health,” he said.
“The NRL guys have been in the bubble for so long and they have had major restrictions around what they can do.
“For the winning teams, it’s been a bit easier, but teams like the Broncos who have had a really tough year, it’s had repercussions for the mental wellbeing of the players.
“Talking to the players, it’s not ideal with some guys leaving their home at 10am on game day (for private plane travel) and getting back home at 3am to their beds.
“If the game goes ahead in South Australia, it may be a fly-in, fly-out scenario where we get there the day before the game and get home.
“The days of the longer camps arriving in Sydney three days before a game won‘t be happening.”