Big Dolphins call on forgotten QLD gun as Origin’s 2023 ‘shake-up’ revealed: LIVE

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It’s all on the line at Suncorp Stadium on Wednesday night as the Blues and Maroons head into Origin III all square.

History is on the side of Queensland, but with Cameron Munster out, things have gotten just that little bit more difficult for first-year head coach Billy Slater.

Game 3

The Blues have won just two Suncorp deciders in their history, and will be looking to make it three, surrounded by a sea of red.

Catch all the action in the lead-up to the Origin series decider below!

PRAISE FOR MAROONS’ FORGOTTEN DEBUTANT AND DOLPHINS RECRUIT

With the mystery surrounding Queensland’s halves pairing at the forefront of rugby league minds, one Maroons debutant has gone under the radar — Tom Gilbert.

The Cowboys enforcer was drafted into the side after Felise Kaufusi was ruled out, slotting onto the bench, with young gun Jeremiah Nanai moving into the backrow.

Gilbert has been one of North Queensland’s best in 2022 and as such earned a Maroons debut in a huge series decider.

Queensland legend and Maroons assistant Cameron Smith believes Wayne Bennett has a “good buy” in Gilbert after the 21-year-old signed a three-year deal with the new franchise.

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“He has been super impressive,” Smith said. “He has been on the radar now for 12 months, and just seeing what he has produced for the Cowboys this year, it has been super impressive.

“I think the Dolphins have got a good buy in Tommy, but I am looking forward to what he brings to this football side tonight.

“When he gets his opportunity to get on, he is the type of player that is going to go a million miles an hour from the moment he steps onto that field to the moment he runs out of energy.

“I like to think he is going to apply a fair bit of pressure to the Blues.”

ORIGIN SCHEDULE SET FOR A ‘SHAKE-UP’

The State of Origin series schedule is expected to look quite different next year, with Channel 7 reporter Michelle Bishop reporting a “shake-up” is on the cards.

Speaking on SEN 1170 Breakfast, Bishop revealed that the representative round will be scrapped in 2023 while the period between Origin games will be shortened.

“A bit of a shake-up, but it won’t click until the new broadcast deal is in,” Bishop said.

“There’ll be shorter periods between Origins. It’ll be played every two weeks or even over three consecutive weeks.

“We saw that in 2020 with COVID when it was played at the back end of the season, I wasn’t a fan of that, I think it’s a brutal game and we won’t get the best out of our players doing that.

“The flip side of that though is that the NRL clubs will be able to organise who they’ll have in their teams (over Origin periods), it’ll be much smoother with that.”

Bishop also revealed that there will no longer be any Origin games on Sunday night, with all three to take place in the traditional slot of Wednesday night.

SAIFITI’S FIRST RESPONSE AFTER ORIGIN DEBUT CONFIRMED

Knights enforcer Jacob Saifiti is set to make his NSW debut in tonight’s series decider — and the text exchange which confirmed his Origin berth has been revealed.

After travelling back to Newcastle to begin prepare for the Knights’ Round 17 clash, Saifiti’s phone buzzed as he read a text from a Blues staff member.

“Jordan McLean has done his hammy at training. He’s out, you’re in,” the text read according to The Daily Telegraph.

While that moment was a dream come true, Saifiti’s first point of call was to check in on his teammate.

“How bad is it?” Saifiti replied.

Later, the Knights enforcer sent a four-word message confirming to Brad Fittler he was ready for one of the fiercest encounters in rugby league, taking on the Maroons at Suncorp Stadium.

“Okay. I’m ready, brutha,” Saifiti wrote.

Saifiti’s selection sparked huge debate, with Reagan Campbell-Gillard and David Klemmer seen by most as the more obvious options.

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QLD GREAT NOT RULING OUT SURPRISE MAROONS SWITCH

Maroons legend Wally Lewis believes Billy Slater is set to make a late switch in the halves after Cameron Munster was ruled out due to Covid-19.

The rookie coach named Cowboys young gun Tom Dearden in the No.6 jersey, but would not confirm if the 21-year-old would start in the series decider.

Dearden is firming as the likely man to take the field for kick-off alongside Daly Cherry-Evans, but Slater could switch Ben Hunt into the halves and Harry Grant into dummy-half an hour before kick-off.

“It’s very hard to work out, I think Billy may even pull a little bit of a swifty close to the game, come up with something New South Wales weren’t expecting,” Lewis told WWOS.

“That’s the key to State of Origin, coming up with something that your opponents don’t expect.

“It will certainly be won up front, the big boys, and that’s where New South Wales appears to have a lot more size.”

He is not the only one who thinks a late switch could be on the cards.

Speaking on The Big Sports Breakfaston Wednesday morning, Justin Hodges said he also suspects Dearden could be shifted to the bench.

“It’s a tough one, I’ve been tossing that up,” he said when asked if it was the right call to start Dearden at five-eighth.

“In my opinion, I reckon they’ll start Tommy on the bench. It’s such a massive game and the start is so important so you’ve got to have your strongest players out there.

“You probably have to move Ben to 6 and start Harry at 9 and hopefully score some points. Hopefully when Tommy comes on, he just needs to play his natural game, he’s a strong defender and runner. Hopefully he can bring that when players start to fatigue.”

While losing Munster and winger Murray Taulagi is a big blow, Lewis is hopeful the Suncorp Stadium crown can inspire the Maroons to deliver.

“It certainly hasn’t been all that great in the build-up, we’ve lost a couple of our key players, but that’s happened before for Queensland and they’ve never used that as an excuse,” Lewis said.

“If they’re good enough on the night then they’ll win the game, there’ll be 52,500 fans here, very hopeful Queensland will be at their best tonight.”

‘ANSWER THE CALL’: QUEENSLAND DUO URGED TO STEP UP

Maroons superstars Kalyn Ponga and Daly Cherry-Evans have been urged to “answer the call” and stand up when Queensland need them the most in the Origin series decider tonight.

Following Cameron Munster’s omission due to Covid-19, Brad Fittler’s NSW men are heavy favourites to come away with the 2022 series victory, despite losing Game 1.

Munster was the best player on the field in the series opener and now Cherry-Evans and Ponga must etch their names into Origin folklore if Queensland is to pull off an upset.

“The great players in Origin folklore, they answered when the call came, Wally Lewis had this innate sense to recognise when something was needed and did it,” Paul Kent said on NRL360.

“We saw Cameron Smith three years ago, basically declare he didn’t run enough in the first game, so he is going to run more in the second game.

“He just owned the game, put NSW on notice and did it when Queensland needed it.

“These are the two blokes (Cherry-Evans and Ponga) that Queensland, without Munster there, that Queensland need.

“We have seen great games out of Ponga, but generally they pop up when you least expect it, all of a sudden he will come out and you think wow what a game he is having.

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“I don’t think Cherry-Evans has had that kind of impact in Origin.

“Both of them are on notice tomorrow night that this is the game Queensland need them to step up in.”

The Daily Telegraph’s Paul Crawley also highlighted Cherry-Evans’ running game as a potential factor coming into the series decider.

In the first two clashes, the Sea Eagles playmaker had dynamic force on his outside and would often hand the ball to Munster in space.

Now, Cherry-Evans will have to be the man to take the line on.

“This is an opportunity for Cherry-Evans… to step up, if Munster is out there and DCE is going through the hands and he has Munster outside him he is likely to pass,” Crawley said.

“If Queensland are going to win they need other champions to stand up and take the game.”

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