Queensland's mysterious tactics with Johnathan Thurston part of what makes State of Origin

QUEENSLAND seem to be in chaos with their plans to replace Johnathan Thurston. But that’s just what they want you to think.

QLD's Johnathan Thurston passes during State of Origin Game 2 between the NSW Blues and the Queensland Maroons at Suncorp Stadium , Brisbane . Picture : Gregg Porteous

COP that NSW.

Here you were thinking the Maroons were in selection hell wondering what to do with the big question mark over Johnathan Thurston’s fitness and now the Queensland selectors have thrown the ball straight back into the Blues court.

Anthony Milford starting five-eighth? Michael Morgan off the bench? JT 18th man?

Yeah right.

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The team Gene Miles and his selectors named has got more holes in it than Royal Brisbane.

Even all the talk of Queensland having to name the team alphabetically was just a smokescreen.

The Maroons have named a team, numbered 1 to 18 in order to mess with the Blues’ heads.

It’s the best dummy pass since then-QRL boss Ross Livermore named that renowned winger “TBA” in 2002.

TBA — To Be Advised — was actually Lote Tuqiri, who had been cited in a match the day before the team was announced. With the Broncos winger certain to be suspended one game, the Maroons held off naming him until the Broncos released the team list for their next match.

Thurston is under a fitness cloud.

Tuqiri was duly named by the Broncos and copped the one match ban. A minute after fulltime in that game Tuqiri was added to the Queensland squad and took his place in Origin.

The JT-Milford-Morgan switcheroo isn’t quite in that class, but it still gives NSW plenty to think about.

And it also shows that the Maroons have got a few tricks up their sleeves.

Done anyone really think that Queensland will take a gamble on an untried five-eighth when for the last 37 years they have stuck with the tried and true?

Especially when that untried five-eighth has just been described as having “a bit of growing up to do” by his club coach, who just happens to be none other than Maroons guru Wayne Bennett.

Unless of course Bennett is part of the two-card trick.

The one where you say that you are going with Milford so that NSW thinks you are going with Morgan, when you are actually going with Milford. Unless of course Thurston is fit in which case you will go with Thurston and Milford drops to 18th man with Morgan staying where he was in the first place.

Not that Wayne Bennett would be party to such shenanigans. That’s just not his style. OK, maybe except for when he said that he’d found Brian Smith’s game plan before the 1992 grand final.

Or those times he got Greg Dowling to bag the Maroons forwards in the media to fire them up.

And then there was that little thing about bringing Alfie Langer back from England.

Will Milford play?

So no, Wayne Bennett would never be party to anything that might confuse Laurie Daley and his crew and have them have to come up with three game plans to cope with three different possibilities.

Neither would the Queensland selectors.

What they have done is simply name the 17 players who will take the field, with Johnathan Thurston added to the list in order to provide some moral support to the team.

So that’s it then. Thurston a million-to-one to play, and Milford to start, with Morgan on the bench.

Or not.

Oh, what the heck. You work it out NSW. It’s not Queensland’s problem.

Don’t you just love Origin?