Maroons team: One modest series should not spell the end of Dane Gagai in State of Origin

Part of Queensland’s State of Origin soul would be absent if Dane Gagai is dropped...now is not the time to make a move like that, writes Robert Craddock.

PERTH, AUSTRALIA – JUNE 26: (L-R) Patrick Carrigan, Dane Gagai and Daly Cherry-Evans of the Maroons line up for the national anthem during game two of the State of Origin series between New South Wales Blues and Queensland Maroons at Optus Stadium, on June 26, 2022, in Perth, Australia. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

Come on Billy. It’s time to give the Great Dane one last crack.

Dane Gagai is near the end of one of Queensland’s most significant yet underrated careers of the past 20 years and his spot is under siege for the first State of Origin match in Adelaide.

The debate is fair enough.

At age 32 he is not an automatic selection any more. It is right to analyse his form to the nth degree amid solid opposition from younger rivals but also important not to get carried away because in State of Origin he invariably finds something extra.

Dane Gagai (C) line up for the national anthem ahead of game two of the 2022 State of Origin series. Picture: Getty Images

Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow probably deserves to be squeezed into the centre and if you put Gagai on the wing there’s no place for Xavier Coates.

But wing is where Gagai does best (ask Mal Meninga) so there is no problem with this call.

And wing is where Queensland may need him most.

When Queensland were smashed 44-12 in last year’s State of Origin match in Perth, wingers Selwyn Cobbo and Murray Taulagi were under the pump all night against the brutal kicking games of Matt Burton and Nathan Cleary.

Wing can be a highly stressful position in State of Origin, particularly in the first game of the series which is generally a massive defensive contest where one dropped ball can be decisive.

The pressure is magnified in the vast open spaces of Adelaide Oval where players can have trouble getting their bearings because, unlike say Suncorp Stadium, the stadium does not have natural rectangular features.

Young guns (L-R) Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow and Selwyn Cobbo lack Gagai’s experience and calm head. Picture: Josh Woning

But the main reason for picking Gagai is simply that before he had his first average State of Origin series last year he was a pillar and powerhouse for seven years and the very embodiment of what the Queensland spirit stood for.

Gagai deserves to get a 50-50 call from Billy Slater on what he has done over his 21 match Origin career.

Even when the side seemed to be going backwards he was going forwards. He found another gear.

Does he still have that gear?

Let’s find out …

Originally published as Maroons team: One modest series should not spell the end of Dane Gagai in State of Origin