Despite copping a battering on the injury front, Queensland have maintained consistency and cohesion with Billy Slater’s Maroons team named for State of Origin II at Optus Stadium on Sunday.
The Maroons head to Perth looking to wrap up the series, and despite losing three members of the team that stunned the Blues 16-10 in Origin I, will still present a strong and settled line-up for the return match.
After losing Xavier Coates during Origin I with an ankle injury, Cowboys duo Reuben Cotter and Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow joined the list of unavailable players over the weekend, forcing Queensland selectors to bring in some fresh faces for the trip west.
With the ultra-impressive Cotter missing from the No.13 jersey, Titans giant Tino Fa’asuamaleaui shifts back from prop to lock the scrum.
Lindsay Collins, brilliant off the bench in Sydney, has been rewarded with a starting berth in the front row, with the experienced Jai Arrow moving from the extended squad and into the 17.
Murray Taulagi will become FOG No.226 by replacing Coates on the wing, becoming the third Cowboy to earn his Origin debut in this series, following Cotter and Jeremiah Nanai.
But despite being on debut, Taulagi will bring a formidable existing club combination with Cowboys teammate Valentine Holmes to the Queensland left edge.
Warriors fullback Reece Walsh and Broncos winger Corey Oates make their return to the Queensland system as additions to the extended squad, alongside a newcomer in Titans backrower Beau Fermor.
Fermor has played consistently well in a struggling Titans team, capping another impressive display on the weekend with a runaway try against the Sharks.
While Queensland have managed to remain settled and stable despite the injury challenges, the Blues by comparison have stuck with tradition by making wholesale changes to their squad as they desperately try to keep the series alive before the Game 3 blockbuster at Suncorp Stadium.
QUEENSLAND GAME 2: Kalyn Ponga, Selwyn Cobbo, Valentine Holmes, Dane Gagai, Murray Taulagi, Cameron Munster, Daly Cherry-Evans (c), Lindsay Collins, Ben Hunt, Josh Papalii, Kurt Capewell, Felise Kaufusi, Tino Fa’asuamaleaui.
INTERCHANGE: Harry Grant, Jai Arrow, Pat Carrigan, Jeremiah Nanai.
EXTENDED SQUAD: Tom Dearden, Tom Flegler, Beau Fermor, Corey Oates, Reece Walsh.
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