North Queensland Cowboys fullback Matt Bowen wants to wear the Queensland number 1 jersey in the Origin decider

MATT Bowen is pleading with Queensland selectors to pick him for the Origin decider.

Matt Bowen runs in to score

I WON'T let you down, Mal.

With that sentiment, Cowboys dynamo Matt Bowen yesterday appealed for Queensland selectors to end his five-year Origin exile as coach Mal Meninga weighs up his contingency plans for injured fullback Billy Slater for the series decider.

With Slater (knee) virtually no chance of being fit for Origin III, the Maroons are considering handing the No.1 jumper to strike centre Greg Inglis, who has been in devastating form at fullback for club side South Sydney.

But Bowen has rocketed into the selection frame after delivering one of the finest performances of his glittering 11-year career in North Queensland's epic 12-0 defeat of the Broncos on Friday night.

The veteran custodian tore Brisbane apart, making 13 tackle busts and 225 metres from 24 runs, as well as throwing the final pass for the two tries to Gavin Cooper (61st minute) and Kane Linnett (75th) that buried the Broncos.

Queensland selectors could certainly do worse than send an SOS for Bowen, whose magical club combination with Johnathan Thurston could be a potent weapon for the Maroons in the Suncorp Stadium decider on July 4.

"I'd love to put that Maroon jersey on again. If I do get selected, I'll be a very happy man," Bowen said. "I'd like to think I'm a chance but there's a few options for the Maroons.

"Benny Barba is in the squad and they have Greg Inglis of course. If I keep doing the little things right for the Cowboys I might be lucky enough to get another chance.

"I want to play for Queensland, I really want to play again. I'm one of the blokes who has been there before and if the opportunity comes for me then great, but if it doesn't then no skin off my nose."

While Inglis and Bulldog Ben Barba have no fullback experience at Origin level, Bowen has fired on the game's toughest stage, playing the last of his 10 games for Queensland in 2007.

Maroons five-eighth Johnathan Thurston urged Queensland selectors to consider his Cowboys colleague for Origin III if Slater fails to prove his fitness.

"I hope he's in the mix, he deserves to be," Thurston said. "It's going to be a tough choice because we have GI (Inglis) and Benny Barba, but 'Mango' (Bowen) is a freak when he's playing with confidence.

"I'd love to see him in a Queensland jumper again . . . I'm glad I'm not picking the team."

Bowen's career was at the crossroads three years ago after undergoing a second knee reconstruction, but the livewire says he has regained total faith in his body.

"It's definitely a sign of my confidence when I run the ball like that and step off both feet again," he said.