State of Origin: Coach Kevin Walters needs more from Maroons bench

Queensland coach Kevin Walters will ask for more from his bench players in tonight’s State of Origin decider.

Queensland players Ben Hunt and Josh Papalii at Suncorp Stadium yesterday.

Queensland coach Kevin Walters will ask for more from his bench players in tonight’s State of Origin decider as he looks for an edge over the Blues at Suncorp Stadium.

Josh Papalii (32 minutes), Coen Hess (19) and Tim Glasby (25) had only limited time on the field in game two. Walters is aiming to rectify that tonight, but with their added time out in the middle he wants them to make more of an impact.

Papalii made 98m from nine runs. Hess made just 16 from three. In contrast, NSW bench prop David Klemmer made 174m in 16 runs, while Jack Trbojevic made 114m from 11 runs in the 40 minutes they both played at ANZ Stadium.

“We need to get more out of Josh Papalii and more out of Coen Hess,” Walters said yesterday.

Both men said during the week they were not entirely happy with their game two performances.

“I think the (Blues bench) has been a strong point for NSW in the opening two games,” Walters said. “The time for the talk has ended. We need action (Wednesday) night.”

While the pressure was applied to two relatively new members of the team — Hess was on debut last game and it was Papalii’s eighth Origin — the experienced Billy Slater didn’t escape a gentle jab from Walters either.

Slater rolled his ankle in Sunday’s opposed session against the Broncos Under-20s side and at yesterday’s captain’s run Walters limited his running duties.

“He’ll do a few little things to give him the confidence that he needs for tomorrow night,” Walters said, adding he felt Slater would be back to 100 per cent output by tonight.

“We think so. Billy wouldn’t go out and play if he didn’t think he could perform at his best.

“We know NSW will target him somewhat. But he’ll be fine, Bill. He’s an old pro. Billy Slater made a big difference to us in a lot of ways in game two, and we need that difference again for Queensland to get home tomorrow.”

The other improvement Walters has demanded all week is in defence. Queensland missed 58 tackles in game one but reduced that to 42 in game two. By comparison, NSW missed 34.

“Our defence has improved from game one to game two. If we improve that again in game three, I think we’ve got enough points in us so we can score tries — defending them is our biggest issue,” he said. “It is probably the best NSW team we’ve seen in the past 10 years.”

There have been no orders issued to cut out the sledging of Andrew Fifita but Walters warned of the consequences.

“We don’t need to wake the giant, do we? He’s a good player,” he said of the Cronulla prop forward.

“But I guess what happens on the field, stays on the field. He’s going to be big for them again so we need to be nice and aggressive with our line speed and defence to try to contain him as best we can.

“(Halfback) Cooper Cronk can add to that as well, regardless of whether it’s his last game for Queensland. That’s irrelevant. We just need Cooper and Billy at their best for us to win.”

Lock Josh McGuire was seen as Fifita’s main baiter, but Walters wasn’t concerned.

“He’s probably our best forward this series. He’s giving away a little weight to the NSW forwards,” he said.

“But when you’re picking an Origin side for Queensland at the moment, Josh McGuire is the first one you pick.”