State of Origin 2018: Dane Gagai on verge of becoming the fastest player to Origin 10 tries
THE shield may have gone but Dane Gagai is on the verge of securing his own State of Origin record, when he lines up at left centre for Queensland in Game Three.
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RECAST Maroon Dane Gagai is bearing down on a slice of Origin history, with one try on Wednesday to make him the fastest to 10 tries for either state.
Gagai’s move from the right wing, the position where he won the player of the series last year, to left centre in the shakedown to Greg Inglis’ unavailability will not change his mantra of getting involved often.
Tries in each of the first two games this year took him to nine tries from nine matches for Queensland.
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No player has scored more than eight tries in their first 10 Origin appearances, with Inglis, Dale Shearer, and NSW’s Timana Tahu having managed that output.
Asked what his checkpoints for success are, Gagai said: “I like to get involved early and get plenty of touches.
“I get my (number of) carries up and run as hard as I can. I just try to give the big boys a break. The boys in the middle do a lot of the defence.
“My only intention is to do everything to help out the boys around me.’’
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Gagai will have greater defensive responsibility and workload as a centre than he had on the wing.
Gagai made 20 tackle busts in his three Origin games last year, nine fewer than all the NSW players managed between them.
The Rabbitohs three-quarter has made three tackle busts in each of the first two matches this year.
“That award I got last year is an unbelievable achievement in my career but it all comes down to a team effort,’’ Gagai said.
Bronco Corey Oates will play left wing for Queensland, with a move to the right wing for Valentine Holmes, who has scored six tries in his first four Origin matches.
Holmes would be the second player in Origin history to score in five consecutive games, Shearer did it in six games, if he crosses the line at Suncorp Stadium on Wednesday night.
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