Billy Slater has some difficult decisions to make as he attempts to guide Queensland to their third successive State of Origin series win later this month.
The Maroons were forced to a decider against New South Wales after suffering a heavy 38-18 loss in Melbourne.
Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow sustained a shoulder injury during Game II but is expected to be cleared for the clash at Suncorp Stadium.
However, the home side will be forced into making at least one change after Xavier Coates went down with a hamstring injury while backing up for the Storm.
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Who will replace Xavier Coates for Queensland Maroons in State of Origin Game 3?
The Queenslanders have experienced an interrupted series across their backline with Reece Walsh ruled out of the opening game after copping a high tackle from Joseph Suaalii.
The resulting shuffle saw Tabuai-Fidow move to fullback and Selwyn Cobbo brought off the bench.
Yet ‘The Hammer’ was then the one to go off in Game II as he was briefly replaced in the centres by the recalled Kurt Capewell.
Coates has been a consistent pick on the wing since debuting in 2020, only for injury to often curtail his chances of appearing in all three matches each year.
In fact, he has played an entire series just once, when he was involved in the losing 2021 series for QLD.
Slater must once again find a replacement for the 23-year-old ahead of Game III.
"Xavier has worked so hard and he's such a great person and he's going to miss a fair chunk of the season now and obviously he's going to miss the decider," the QLD coach said on Nine’s The Billy Slater Podcast.
"I'm looking forward to watching the round of football and then sitting down with Darren Lockyer and Gene Miles on Sunday night and building Queensland's best team."
MORE: Will David Fifita be picked for the Maroons in Game III?
Selwyn Cobbo
Cobbo seems to be the most obvious choice after playing his part in QLD’s opening win of the series before being snubbed for Game II.
Slater noted how the Brisbane centre needed a rest, while he also wanted him to work on parts of his game which he thought were lacking.
In his first display since missing out on Origin selection, Cobbo was impressive in a losing side against the New Zealand Warriors.
He finished with 137 run metres to go with two linebreaks and nine tackle busts. And he has the chance to add to this with another strong performance against Penrith in Round 18.
Dane Gagai
The veteran hasn’t played for the Maroons since 2022, when he completed his seventh straight Origin series for his state.
However, Gagai was brought back into the fold for Game II when Slater included him in his extended squad.
The 33-year-old has played in 22 Origin matches during a glittering representative career and is considered a strong chance of earning a recall after acting as the 18th man in Game II.
Gagai has been solid rather than spectacular this campaign as he has recorded just three tries and two assists in his 13 appearances in the NRL.
It’s a far cry from his output last year where he formed a lethal combination with the since departed Dom Young to finish with four tries and 13 assists.
Although his big-game experience and history of putting his best foot forward for QLD, regardless of club form, could weigh in his favour at the selection table.
AJ Brimson
The Gold Coast star has endured another frustrating stop-start campaign with a groin injury sidelining him for a large chunk of the season.
Brimson went down in Round 10 just as he was starting to string together a run of great form in a struggling side.
The 25-year-old arguably has the biggest attacking upside out of the contenders to replace Coates after he scored five tries and made seven linebreaks in his past five games before injury struck.
However, this came after Brimson had been moved out of the centres in order to play either at fullback or five-eighth.
So, picking Brimson in the centres and moving Valentine Holmes to the wing would be a risk after he was clearly blunted during his four matches in the position at the start of the season.
Brimson does have massive utility value though, which could be utilised off the bench if he is overlooked for a place in the starting side.
