Queensland Maroons 2019

[Big Pete]

It's time to put the other thread out of it's misery and look forward to the upcoming series. The series kicks off at Suncorp Stadium on the 5th of June and it will be interesting to see who Walters goes with. In Game III last year Kevin Walters went with this side:

Queensland Maroons 2019 Game III Side
1. Billy Slater (c)
2. Valentine Holmes
3. Dane Gagai
4. Will Chambers
5. Corey Oates
6. Cameron Munster
7. Daly Cherry-Evans
8. Jai Arrow
9. Andrew McCullough
10. Josh Papalii
11. Gavin Cooper
12. Felise Kaufusi
13. Josh McGuire

14. Ben Hunt
15. Jarrod Wallace
16. Coen Hess
17. Tim Glasby

Queensland won the game 18-12, but will be without Billy Slater (retirement) and Valentine Holmes (NFL) for the upcoming series. Both players will leave a tremendous void. Billy Slater was the Wally Lewis Medalist of the 2019 series and Valentine Holmes was close to the Maroons best player the entire series. Early mail suggests that Kalyn Ponga will be the Maroons new fullback with Gagai returning to the wing and Inglis coming into the centres but there's a lot of footy to be played and a lot of question marks hovering over the side.

 

[Big Pete]

After Round 1, here's all the players Walters has to pick from.

Fullback
Brendan Elliott - Manly Sea Eagles
Corey Thompson - Wests Tigers

Wing
Javid Bowen - North Queensland Cowboys
Dane Gagai - South Sydney Rabbitohs
Brenko Lee - Gold Coast Titans
Edrick Lee - Newcastle Knights
Nene MacDonald - North Queensland Cowboys
Corey Oates - Brisbane Broncos
Phillip Sami - Gold Coast Titans

Centre
Will Chambers - Melbourne Storm
Hymel Hunt - Newcastle Knights
Greg Inglis - South Sydney Rabbitohs
Justin O'Neil - North Queensland Cowboys
Tom Opacic - North Queensland Cowboys

Five Eighth
Kane Elgey - Manly Sea Eagles
Anthony Milford - Brisbane Broncos
Cameron Munster - Melbourne Storm
Corey Norman - St George Illawarra Dragons
Kalyn Ponga - Newcastle Knights

Halfback
AJ Brimson - Gold Coast Titans
Daly Cherry-Evans - Manly Sea Eagles
Brodie Croft - Melbourne Storm
Ben Hunt - St George Illawarra Dragons
Lachlan Lewis - Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
Michael Morgan - North Queensland Cowboys

Prop
Dunamis Lui - Canberra Raiders
Dylan Napa - Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
Joe Ofahengaue - Brisbane Broncos
Josh Papalii - Canberra Raiders
Matt Scott - North Queensland Cowboys
Jarrod Wallace - Gold Coast Titans

Hooker
Jake Friend - Sydney Roosters
Jake Granville - North Queensland Cowboys
Reed Mahoney - Parramatta Eels
Andrew McCullough - Brisbane Broncos

Second Row
Kurt Capewell - Cronulla Sharks
Coen Hess - North Queensland Cowboys
Felise Kaufusi - Melbourne Storm
Jaydn Su'A - Brisbane Broncos

Lock
Jai Arrow - Gold Coast Titans
Matt Gillett - Brisbane Broncos
Tim Glasby - Newcastle Knights
Josh McGuire - North Queensland Cowboys

Interchange
Corey Allan - South Sydney Rabbitohs
Jayson Bukuya - Cronulla Sharks
Lindsay Collins - Sydney Roosters
Gavin Cooper - North Queensland Cowboys
Dale Copley - Gold Coast Titans
Mitchell Dunn - North Queensland Cowboys
David Fifita - Brisbane Broncos
Thomas Flegler - Brisbane Broncos
Aidan Guerra - Newcastle Knights
Corey Horsburgh - Canberra Raiders
Ethan Lowe - South Sydney Rabbitohs
Kurt Mann - Newcastle Knights
Thomas Mikaele - Wests Tigers
Francis Molo - North Queensland Cowboys
Christian Welch - Melbourne Storm

Retired
Darius Boyd - Brisbane Broncos
Cooper Cronk - Sydney Roosters
Cameron Smith - Melbourne Storm

 

[Big Pete]

There's a real concern at fullback with neither Kalyn Ponga or Greg Inglis playing in the position for their club side. If Ponga is selected, I believe he'd be able to slot in just fine but given Greg's interrupted pre-season it would be real long odds for him to play there for Queensland. If he's fit, I'd imagine he'll play in the centres and Bennett may have done Queensland a solid by putting him and Gagai on the right hand-side and forming that combination.

Cherry-Evans most likely has the 7 sown up after his impressive display at Suncorp in the dead-rubber but he'll have plenty of competition from Michael Morgan. Morgan's kicking game against the Dragons was really impressive, especially in the second half when the game was in the balance.

Christian Welch who came off the bench for Melbourne was very impressive and appears to have gone from strength to strength. Welch has been a member of the Maroons pathways program for a couple of seasons now and must be firming for a debut.

The other stand-out was Nene MacDonald who made a real difference for the Cowboys on the wing. MacDonald's carries were crucial to the Cowboys exit sets and he scored a crucial try on the stroke of half-time which proved a turning point in the game. He's got heavy competition in Oates and Gagai, but if for whatever reason a position opens up, he appears to be a handy alternative. Considering all the reports about his pre-season he was shockingly good on Saturday.

Otherwise I thought the first round was a case of a lot of incumbents putting their hand up. Oates, Kaufusi, Munster, Papalii and McGuire were all fantastic. They put their hands up and while I had question marks over Kaufusi and Munster after their disappointing series, they could turn out to be better for the experience.

Finally, I believe we'll see a change at dummy half. The buzz seems to be that Ben Hunt will play 9 for Queensland like he did for the majority of Game III last year, but if Jake Friend can keep his form, Kevie may opt for the more complete option. Friend was pretty poor for most of 2018, but since the back-end he's picked up his game and he was one of the Roosters best in a frustrating performance by them.

 

[Big Pete]

Queensland Emerging Squad 2019
AJ Brimson
Jake Clifford
Brodie Croft
Kyle Feldt
David Fifita
Brenko Lee
Nene MacDonald
Rhyse Martin
Tautau Moga
Corey Norman
Joe Ofahengaue
Phillip Sami
Jaydn Su'A
Ashley Taylor
Christian Welch

The Emerging Squad is typically a decent indicator for which up and coming players are in line for a debut and who is out of mind. Last year Kalyn Ponga, Jai Arrow and Felise Kaufusi were all graduates and in 2017 it was Tim Glasby, Coen Hess, Valentine Holmes, Ben Hunt, Anthony Milford, Cameron Munster, Dylan Napa and Jarrod Wallace. Of those names, Christian Welch is my lock with Feldt, MacDonald and Ofahengaue all having strong chances. One bolter that may shock people but wouldn't be beyond Kevie and the selectors is David Fifita. It really depends on how well David progress' and whether Seibold will give him enough time in the middle, but he's highly regarded and they've shown in selecting Hess and Ponga that they're not afraid to pick talent.

 

[Perth Tiger]

Gee who does Sami have photos on to get picked in that squad. the rest seem reasonable.

 

[Big Pete]

Gee who does Sami have photos on to get picked in that squad. the rest seem reasonable.

What's wrong with Sami?

I thought he was really solid out on the wing for the Gold Coast Titans. 14 tries, 15 carries a game for good metres and can play anywhere in the backline, he seems like the type of candidate this type of camp is for.

 

[theinsideman]

1 Kalyn Ponga
2 Corey Oates
3 Greg Inglis (c)
4 Will Chambers
5 Dane Gagai
6 Cameron Munster
7 Daly Cherry-Evans
8 Jai Arrow
9 Ben Hunt
10 Josh Papalii
11 Felise Kaufusi
12 Matt Gillett
13 Josh McGuire

14 Michael Morgan
15 Dylan Napa
16 Coen Hess
17 Joe Ofahengaue

 

[ALX25]

No room for Matt Scott?

 

[Desert Qlder]

If Ben Hunt is anywhere near the starting side, we may as well be handing the shield to NSW. The obsession continues with this f**king useless dud.

Kevin Walters is already on very thin ice. He cost us the series last year with his ridiculous, boneheaded and stubborn selections. Plus he has a support cast of numpty Broncos like Hodges who shouldn't be anywhere near a coaching box. Unfortunately with the presence of Meninga no longer in charge, the failed policy of pick-a-bronco has reared its ugly head.

Morgan and Friend should be first picked, starting 7 & 9. Blokes who can control big games. Build the team around those proven performers.

I could only barely digest one of Hunt or Milford, and even then it has to be on the bench.

If we lose the series this year, in a similar fashion to 2018, then Walters should be immediately sacked.

 

[Big Pete]

Hodges has actually been a surprisingly effective coach at a junior level. The promotion to assistant coach is premature, but the reality is that there aren't a lot of good Queensland assistants floating around. Hodges came in for Josh Hannay who has a very mixed record as a coach.

 

[theinsideman]

No room for Matt Scott?

Oh yeah fully forgot about Thumper

 

[Desert Qlder]

Morgan: I want to play in the halves for Maroons
Thu 21 Mar 2019, 06:01 AM

Michael Morgan has outlined his personal goal to play in the halves for Queensland this year as the new Cowboys captain targets leading his club side back into finals contention as the chief playmaker.

The 27-year-old, who scored a try and set up another in Saturday's 24-12 win over the Dragons, has played fullback, centre or come off the bench for the Maroons in nine Origin games. Morgan has played six of his 12 Tests for Australia at five-eighth and finished the 2017 season as the World Cup-winning number six.

A biceps injury cut short Morgan's 2018 season after he played game one of the Origin series at fullback, but his goal this season is to win a halves berth with the Maroons for the first time.

"I want to get back to playing Origin. I missed the last two games last year because of injury and I played the first game at fullback which is not really my preferred position," Morgan said.

"I think I played two club games at fullback before Origin One last year so I probably wasn't overly ready for it. I loved the opportunity. I enjoyed the game and I thought I went all right there, but I'd love to play in the halves for Queensland. That's probably my first [goal] - that's individual."

The Maroons have plenty of options in the halves with Cameron Munster and Daly Cherry-Evans the incumbents. Ben Hunt, Kalyn Ponga and Anthony Milford will also press their claims.

Morgan's desire to play in the halves was music to the ears of Maroons chairman of selectors Gene Miles who said Queensland wanted all their playmakers in form in clubland.

"Morgo has been part of our setup for coming up to five years now. He started playing off the bench but he definitely deserves a starting jumper," Miles told NRL.com.

"I've got no doubt if Morgo continues to play the way he does then he will put a lot of pressure on everybody involved to get his starting gig. He's always been highly thought of. He's in the 17 for sure, whether he's number 17, number seven, number four or number one. He will be a 10-year player for us no doubt and has deserved his spot every time."

Miles said he expected the captaincy of the Cowboys would agree with Morgan and bring out the best in him.

"I think he will bring something else to the team with his leadership now that he has the little 'c' beside his name. It is a little added responsibility and he knows he has got to lead the way like his former skipper [Johnathan Thurston] did for the Cowboys for so long," Miles said.

"He was always earmarked to be a leader and a future captain. He will handle it. I am one of his biggest supporters. I love the way he plays."

Morgan is determined to lead the Cowboys back to finals football this year but warned they would need to start better against the Broncos at Suncorp Stadium on Friday night to get over their fierce Queensland rival.

"As a team, bare minimum the goal would be to be in the semi-finals, and obviously the ultimate one would be to win a premiership. My goal would be to get back to playing good consistent footy as a team and not have people saying 'we've lost JT so we can't win and we're no good' anymore," he said.

"I personally felt relieved just having the first win and getting it done, so hopefully we can make it two on Friday.

"There's always room for improvement. We did our review and the coaches showed us where there were opportunities we may have missed. We felt it was a little bit clunky early in the game just getting our timing and rhythm again, so if we can start a bit smoother that'll be good."

https://www.cowboys.com.au/news/2019/03/21/morgan-i-want-to-play-in-the-halves-for-maroons/

 

[SBD82]

If the Maroons are serious about maintaining their standards of on field leadership, I’d say their best option by far would be:

7. Morgan (c)

 

[Big Pete]

Round 2 Wrap

New Eligibles
Josh Kerr - St George Illawarra Dragons - Interchange
Marion Seve - Melbourne Storm - Interchange
Lachlan Lam - Sydney Roosters - Interchange
Moses Mbye - Wests Tigers - Fullback

Positional Changes
David Fifita --> Second Row
Jaydn Su'A --> Interchange
Gavin Cooper --> Second Row
Coen Hess --> Interchange
Corey Thompson --> Wing
Phillip Sami --> Interchange

Stand-Outs
Josh Papalii
Cameron Munster
Felise Kaufusi
Christian Welch
Corey Oates
Joe Ofahengaue
David Fifita
Jaydn Su'A
Thomas Flegler
Jake Granville
Josh McGuire
Jai Arrow
Dylan Napa
Reed Mahoney

 

[King hit]

https://www.couriermail.com.au/spor...m/news-story/acadda3223e4558617f2a4fb925e466f

Um remember the last time you picked a down and out Boyd in Origin Kevin

 

[Bring back John Fifita]

In Game III last year Kevin Walters went with this side:

Queensland Maroons 2019 Game III Side
1. Billy Slater (c)
2. Valentine Holmes
3. Dane Gagai
4. Will Chambers
5. Corey Oates
6. Cameron Munster
7. Daly Cherry-Evans
8. Jai Arrow
9. Andrew McCullough
10. Josh Papalii
11. Gavin Cooper
12. Felise Kaufusi
13. Josh McGuire

14. Ben Hunt
15. Jarrod Wallace
16. Coen Hess
17. Tim Glasby

Going by the theory of who I would not want to see playing for Qld against the blues - changes from the team above.

Ponga into fullback for Slater
McDonald on the wing for Holmes
Inglis in the Centres with Gagai (Chambers dropped)
Napa Starting Prop (replacing Arrow - dropped)
Friend at Hooker (McCulloch dropped)
Morgan (bench - replacing hunt, dropped)
Matt Gillett (bench - replacing Hess, dropped)
Matt Scott (bench - replacing Jarrod Wallace, dropped)

So.
1. Ponga
2. McDonald
3. Inglis
4. Gagai
5. Oates
6. Munster
7. Cherry-Evans
8. Napa
9. Friend
10. Papalii
11. Cooper
12. Kaufusi
13. McGuire

14. Morgan
15. Gillett
16. Scott
17. Glasby

 

[Rhino_NQ]

give seve a few years and could every well see him those canons barely fitting into a maroons jersey

 

[Big Pete]

Round 3 Wrap

New Eligibles
Korbin Sims - St George Illawarra Dragons - Interchange
Ben Hampton - North Queensland Cowboys - Centre
Jake Clifford - North Queensland Cowboys - Five Eighth
Corey Jensen - North Queensland Cowboys - Interchange
Rhyse Martin - Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs - Lock
Keegan Hipgrave - Gold Coast Titans - Interchange

Positional Changes
Kurt Mann - Fullback
Corey Allan - Wing
Dale Copley - Wing

Stand-Outs
Corey Norman
Korbin Sims
Daly Cherry-Evans
Josh Papalii
Cameron Munster
Felise Kaufusi
Christian Welch
Dane Gagai

Round 4 Wrap

New Eligibles
Karl Lawton - Warriors - Hooker
Ash Taylor - Gold Coast Titans - Halfback

Positional Changes
Matt Gillett - Second Row
AJ Brimson - Interchange
Brendan Elliott - Centre
Jayson Bukuya - Lock
Marion Seve - Centre
Will Chambers - Wing
Kalyn Ponga - Fullback
Tim Glasby - Prop

Stand-Outs
Jarrod Wallace
Jai Arrow
Corey Thompson
Daly Cherry-Evans
Michael Morgan
Mat Scott
Josh McGuire
Marion Seve
Cameron Munster
Rhyse Martin
Kalyn Ponga
Corey Norman

 

[Big Pete]

Injury Ward
Greg Inglis - Shoulder/Personal Leave - TBA
Korbin Sims - Broken Arm - Round 12
Dylan Napa - Ankle Syndesmosis - Round 10
Kyle Feldt - Groin Injury - Round 6

 

[Spot On]

Who can Kevvie pick in the centres to avoid having Gagai in there?